On the evening of Thursday, 7 April, hundreds of volunteers will head to various sites across the South West from Geraldton to Esperance and inland to the Wheatbelt. Their mission? To record sightings of Carnaby's Black-Cockatoo, in the Great Cocky Count 2011.
This magnificent bird, once numbering in the tens of thousands, has suffered from the effects of land clearing, shooting and nest robbing; in the last 50 years there has been a 50% decline in the population. Their range has been reduced by up to one third. Carnaby's Black-Cockatoo is now an Endangered species.
Scientists are collecting data to try to work out more precisely how many birds are around, where they roost and where they feed. This is a vital step to help protect the species from further decline. This is where the volunteers come in! Many volunteers, each collecting a little bit of data, make this project much easier to accomplish. The volunteers in the Great Cocky Count will each go to a designated roost site 30 minutes before dusk and then tally the birds that come to the site until 30 minutes after dusk. Simple!
Would you like to help? Check out the Birds Australia link to see how you can get involved.
If you're local to Ellenbrook or nearby, and you'd like to come out with me to count cockatoos, please contact me on my mobile: 0421 735 731. Or email me - ldalgliesh at hotmail dot com.
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