Looking for Glossies, the Glossy Black Cockatoo

Threatened species are usually rarely seen. One such vulnerable bird is the Glossy Black Cockatoo, or Glossy. This is a generally unobtrusive animal that quietly forages in she-oaks. The public and citizen science databases (Atlas of Living Australia, iNaturalist, NatureMapr) have very few records for KV. So where do you start if you want to help this species survive and thrive here?

Published 1st November 2024 By Greg Thompson, Carla Jackett and Sue Cochrane
Share

Shoalhaven Landcare received funding from the NSW Environmental Trust to assist community efforts to support endangered species in the Woodhill to Bugong landscape. Glossies are one of the species targeted to help.  Working with Kangaroo Valley Environment Group, Glengarry students, landowners and others, the first plan was to expand the replanting of their favorite food tree, the forest oak.  We are trying to put in 300 to 400 each year. Maybe in 10 or 15 years, there will be an expanded food source for Glossies.

But what about now? They are known to be fussy eaters, shredding the cones of the oaks to extract the seeds from just a few species of she-oak . Plus they only feed on a small percentage of the oaks in any area.  Glossies have favorite feed trees – perhaps they are ones with a higher nutrient content in the seeds, or larger seeds, or   something else. We don’t really know. But looking for feed trees appealed as a strategy to find out more about their presence.

With help from Carla Jackett from Birdlife Shoalhaven, a team of ten volunteers started inspecting woodlands where the black oaks, Allocasuarina littoralis, are common. Of our first six sites visited, we found 40 trees showing signs of recent feeding.  And Bingo! Return visits to these found two or three Glossies feeding at 2 sites.  How good is that!

We want to invite anyone keen to support Glossies to come and join us on these site inspections and learn about this amazing creature.  It’s more like a casual walk through the bush, with some friends, than work. When we find trees with a carpet of chewed cones underneath, we take some measurements, make some notes, and then keep exploring. We go out for about two hours every couple of weeks. The areas are mostly flat and fairly easy to walk through. Come and join in.

Greg Thompson, Carla Jackett, Sue Cochrane 

For the Glossy team

Share