Searching for Swift Parrots

This morning a small group of us met at the Cowra Council Peace Precinct on a search for the critically endangered Swift parrot (Lathamus discolor). It’s estimated there are only 1000 left in the wild so we all knew we’d be lucky to see one today.

Swift Parrots migrate across the Bass Strait to the south-east of Australia to overwinter, feeding on nectar and lerp in our Box Gum woodlands. Cowra is definitely on their migration route with the best time to spot them being between March and June.

BirdLife Australia have a number of survey sites identified in and around Cowra including those we visited today.

While it wasn’t the best conditions for spotting Swifties (the birds, not the music fans), we did see lots of other wonderful birds including this very chatty Mistletoe bird.

How to join this Citizen Science survey & complete your own 5 minute Swift parrot search

Download the birdata app – this app is available for both Apple & Android devices.
Create yourself an account – you’ll need to be in wifi range and have an email address for this bit. You also need to set up a password.
Familiarise yourself with the app before setting out. If you’re here for the Swift Parrot search:
- click on ‘Record Survey’ and scroll down to the Swift Parrot Search line. Click there and this will bring up a map.
- Zoom into your map and look around. Designated Swift Parrot survey sites near you will become visible as purple circles.
- If you want to carry out your survey now, move yourself into one of the survey circle zones.
- Once in the zone, double tap your screen to confirm your position and start the survey. The survey won’t start until you are in position and have done this.
- Fill in as much data as you can about the trees, lerp and blossom. If you are unsure, leave this blank.
Complete your 5 minute survey then confirm your data and submit it to Birdlife Australia.

We didn’t spot any Swift parrots today but will keep on looking & completing these surveys over the season as the more we get out there and look, the more likely we are to spot them.

Swift parrots are critically endangered due largely to habitat loss and fragmentation, a situation that’s putting a number of our native species in peril.