2024/25. Project aim: Enhance Connectivity for the Glossy Black Cockatoo.

Mid Lachlan Landcare received  Bupa Landcare grant funding to run a project to enhance connectivity and improve ecosystem functioning on private properties in the corridoor spanning Conimbla  and Nangar National Parks for the Glossy Black Cockatoo. This area is part of the Western Woodland Way, an area that begins in the north on Queensland’s border at Dthinna Dthinnawan National Park and ends in the south at Weddin Mountains National Park.  This project is in partnership with Kangarooby Catchment Landcare and Eugowra Catchment Landcare.

This project is part of the planting of over 80,000 trees and plants across Australia, linking environmental health with community wellbeing.

This area is well known for Glossy Black Cockatoos who favour She Oaks (Allocasuarina sp) as feed trees.  We’ll be planting a range of trees and understory species including Allocasuarina Verticillata, one of two prefered feed tree species for our local Glossy’s.  This planting also includes the following: Eucalypts, Acacia’s, Kurrajong, Melaleuca, Hakea.

The project will expand and strengthen Glossy Black Cockatoo feeding grounds and as a consequence, improve ecosystem health and  bird watching opportunities for the region. Cowra in particular has an excellent reputation for birdwatching thanks in no small part, due to the work of our Cowra Woodland Birds group who’ve been conducting bird surveys in this region for over 20 years.

The following activities & on-ground actions make up this project:

• Building Habitat Connectivity – A talk across the landscape held at the Blue Mountains Planetary Health Centre in Katoomba.  You can read more about that and watch the Youtube interview of  Amanda talking  about this project, her link with the Blue Mountains & the value of working together by following the link above.
• Collaboration & Partnerships – Amanda gave a project update at the Kanangra 2 Wyangala (K2W Link) Annual Forum in Goulburn in June. The Kanangra-Boyd to Wyangala link partnership is a collection of land holders, communities and organisations – including Mid Lachlan Landcare – who’ve been working together since 2012 to reconnect & enrich landscape between the Greater Blue Mountains & Wyangala Dam.  K2W receives funding from the Great Eastern Ranges initiative.
• Habitat Planting at five private properties across the Nangar, Conimbla Corridoor.  For our first planting we were joined by a team of bright young volunteers from Sydney.  Our second planting pulled volunteers from across the region, re-ignighting old connections while making new.  A write-up and pictures of the first two plantings can be found here. Our third planting was a real family affair with babies, toddlers and primary-school aged children showing amazing care and enthusiasm for the trees. You can read all about that and hear the Superb Parrots & Butcher bird that accompanied our planting here.
• Habitat Planting continued: Our last two planting dates for this project are coming up on 5th and 19th July. Before that we’ll be lending a hand at the Spring Forest planting for Cowra Woodland Birds on 2nd-3rd July.

This project has been made possible due to generous funding from Bupa and Landcare Australia.

2020 – 2021. Project aim: Provide food resources for the Glossy Black Cockatoo.

Mid Lachlan Landcare received funding to run a project to propagate and plant out feed trees on private properties in the area through Conimbla National Park for the Glossy Black Cockatoo.

The Glossy Black Cockatoo is a threatened species in NSW and a regular visitor to Conimbla National Park as documented by local wildlife photographer Jayden Gunn. His work to raise awareness of this special birds presence has inspired this project.

Seeds from it’s main food source Allocasuarina diminuta were collected by our team of staff & volunteers.  Here’s a link to our blog post on our seed collecting.

The seeds were propagated at the Weddin Community Native Nursery & cared for until they were mature enough to plant out in groves on 6 local properties during 2021.

To find out more about the Glossy Black Cockatoo click here.

Every year,  Birdlife Australia facilitates a citizen science project called the ‘Great Glossy Count’. Find out more about that here and consider signing up for the next round of surveys in your area!

This fantastic field guide was released in early 2022 and can be downloaded here

Check out Jayden’s article in the Cowra Guardian to raise awareness of the presence of Glossy Black Cockatoo’s in Conimbla National Park.

Thanks so much to the NSW Government Saving our Species program for helping us to get this project up and running.