Male and female Blue-winged Parrots. Photo: Sue Woolley By Sue Woolley and Neil Woolley
IN 2022, a small team of volunteer members of BirdLife Bass Coast started a project to find out more about Blue-winged Parrots. At that time, some of us hadn’t even seen one, and knew nothing about them.
These beautiful slender parrots, a similar size to a budgie, are closely related to the critically endangered Orange-bellied Parrot (OBP). Although their numbers are declining and they have recently been listed as Vulnerable, there is a population that calls Bass Coast home.
The first nest that was found in the Bass Coast area was in the Gurdies, and was incidentally found by the incredibly patient Dick Wettenhall who was sitting around with his dog, Basil, looking for orchid pollinators to photograph for his book, and happened to park himself under a BWP nest.
IN 2022, a small team of volunteer members of BirdLife Bass Coast started a project to find out more about Blue-winged Parrots. At that time, some of us hadn’t even seen one, and knew nothing about them.
These beautiful slender parrots, a similar size to a budgie, are closely related to the critically endangered Orange-bellied Parrot (OBP). Although their numbers are declining and they have recently been listed as Vulnerable, there is a population that calls Bass Coast home.
The first nest that was found in the Bass Coast area was in the Gurdies, and was incidentally found by the incredibly patient Dick Wettenhall who was sitting around with his dog, Basil, looking for orchid pollinators to photograph for his book, and happened to park himself under a BWP nest.
BWPs breed in both Tasmania and on the mainland, including in the Bass Coast area. The Tasmanian population breeds there and migrates to southern Australia in Autumn to feed, the same as the OBP and the Critically Endangered Swift Parrot which only breed in Tasmania. These are the only three migratory parrots in the world.
The Tasmanian BWPs return to Tasmania to breed, and flocks can sometimes be seen near the Victorian coast in September feeding up for the flight.
The original plan was to observe them and discover more about what they were feeding on, where they were breeding and their seasonal movements.
It turned out that there was very little historical research to guide us, so we put out a call and were amazed when a landholder in Meredith (between Geelong and Ballarat) contacted us with information about BWPs successfully breeding in rotted out strainer fence posts on his property! We had scoured the bird sighting databases (Birdata and eBird) for breeding records, but the Meredith property proved to be the first confirmed contemporary record of BWPs breeding on the mainland.
So, the project got off to a fine start!
Where are they now?
Outside breeding season, the birds get together in feeding flocks and some move up into NSW and even Southern QLD. They forage mainly on the ground for seeds of grasses and herbaceous plants, including a variety of weeds. They can be found feeding in pastures and on crops, on weeds growing at edges of crops, roadsides and other disturbed areas, and shrubby saltmarsh on plains near wetlands.
When feeding, the BWPs are very hard to see as they are small and are mostly on the ground, often hidden in the grass or other vegetation. They are quite nervous and easily flush when people get near.
Not all BWPs leave the Bass Coast area; we have been alerted to a number of recent sightings.
Breeding
BWPs are hollow-nesting birds, and use isolated clumps of trees, old paddock trees and rotted fence posts. They nest from September to February in small hollows, laying 3-6 eggs. Anecdotally, they nest within 100km of the coast in Victoria and South Australia, but we haven’t been able to prove that, one way or another.
They nest in loose colonies, so if we locate one nest, there are almost certainly others close by.
The Tasmanian BWPs return to Tasmania to breed, and flocks can sometimes be seen near the Victorian coast in September feeding up for the flight.
The original plan was to observe them and discover more about what they were feeding on, where they were breeding and their seasonal movements.
It turned out that there was very little historical research to guide us, so we put out a call and were amazed when a landholder in Meredith (between Geelong and Ballarat) contacted us with information about BWPs successfully breeding in rotted out strainer fence posts on his property! We had scoured the bird sighting databases (Birdata and eBird) for breeding records, but the Meredith property proved to be the first confirmed contemporary record of BWPs breeding on the mainland.
So, the project got off to a fine start!
Where are they now?
Outside breeding season, the birds get together in feeding flocks and some move up into NSW and even Southern QLD. They forage mainly on the ground for seeds of grasses and herbaceous plants, including a variety of weeds. They can be found feeding in pastures and on crops, on weeds growing at edges of crops, roadsides and other disturbed areas, and shrubby saltmarsh on plains near wetlands.
When feeding, the BWPs are very hard to see as they are small and are mostly on the ground, often hidden in the grass or other vegetation. They are quite nervous and easily flush when people get near.
Not all BWPs leave the Bass Coast area; we have been alerted to a number of recent sightings.
Breeding
BWPs are hollow-nesting birds, and use isolated clumps of trees, old paddock trees and rotted fence posts. They nest from September to February in small hollows, laying 3-6 eggs. Anecdotally, they nest within 100km of the coast in Victoria and South Australia, but we haven’t been able to prove that, one way or another.
They nest in loose colonies, so if we locate one nest, there are almost certainly others close by.
Blue-winged Parrot nesting in a fence post at Meredith. Photo: Cook family
In the breeding season, males can be seen sitting still in the tops of dead trees or on dead branches while the female is in the nest. For some reason, they are much more tolerant of disturbance than they are outside the breeding season.
BWP nests are hard to find, and it usually means spending a lot of time in a suitable target area, waiting for a sight of one of these small birds and then watching, watching, watching.
After lots of time and a couple of “friendly” snake encounters, our team has now located a number of nesting colonies on both public and private land in the Bass Coast. In addition to The Gurdies, we have confirmed breeding colonies near Inverloch, Outtrim, Koonwarra, Lance Creek and Meeniyan.
BWP nests are hard to find, and it usually means spending a lot of time in a suitable target area, waiting for a sight of one of these small birds and then watching, watching, watching.
After lots of time and a couple of “friendly” snake encounters, our team has now located a number of nesting colonies on both public and private land in the Bass Coast. In addition to The Gurdies, we have confirmed breeding colonies near Inverloch, Outtrim, Koonwarra, Lance Creek and Meeniyan.
Blue-winged Parrot nest near Outtrim. Photo: Sue Woolley
Looking to the future
There is so much more to find out about these beautiful birds. Why are they declining? How can we help them, maybe using nest boxes and revegetation?
If you would like more information, would like to be involved or would like to go on our BWP project mailing list, please email [email protected].
Next issue: The Blue-winged Parrot Project, nest boxes and the collaboration with other conservation organisations.
There is so much more to find out about these beautiful birds. Why are they declining? How can we help them, maybe using nest boxes and revegetation?
If you would like more information, would like to be involved or would like to go on our BWP project mailing list, please email [email protected].
Next issue: The Blue-winged Parrot Project, nest boxes and the collaboration with other conservation organisations.