Ngoolarks, or Carnaby's cockatoos, have connected Noongar families for thousands of years, but with human pressures, we are in danger of losing them forever.
The City of Cockburn is proud to partner with
Murdoch University, with support from Lotterywest, to launch
Keep Carnaby’s Flying – Ngoolarks Forever, a community empowerment program that will see researchers, Aboriginal organisations, other local governments, and conservation groups take action together to protect and preserve the endangered birds.
Working with four local governments each year, the project will support community-led on-ground activities including revegetation of black cockatoo habitat and installation of bird water drinking stations, while developing black cockatoo Conservation Action Plans for councils to safeguard their black cockatoo flocks in the long term.
The City of Cockburn joins the City of Melville, City of Wanneroo, and Shire of Serpentine-Jarrahdale as the first four councils to engage in the project.
“As a Local Government that is home to a significant population of Carnaby's Cockatoos, the City of Cockburn is acutely aware of the need to protect these precious birds and their habitats,” said City of Cockburn Mayor, Logan K. Howlett.
“Carnaby's Cockatoos play an important role in our local environment and the wider ecosystem, and we're committed to ensuring their survival for generations to come,” said Mayor Howlett.
“Every year we take actions including the installation of nesting boxes, planting and preserving habitat, and installing water and Cockatoo-friendly plants in our reserves and parks. Our community also gets involved with monitoring efforts, like Birdlife Australia’s Great Cocky Count
“The Ngoolarks Forever project will help to take these efforts to a new level. Being able to collaborate with the extensive coalition of organisations involved in the project and draw on their combined expertise and resources will be an incredible boost to our conservation strategies,” said Mayor Howlett.
Carnaby’s Black-Cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus latirostris) are native to south-west Western Australia and often seen in the City of Cockburn. They are an endangered species due to habitat loss from land clearing and a shortage of nesting sites. They are large, black birds with white tail feathers and a white spot on each cheek. They are migratory birds, moving between nesting and feeding grounds through the year.
Project lead Professor Kris Warren from Murdoch’s School of Veterinary Medicine and Harry Butler Institute said the aim was to provide simple, effective ways for communities to support the survival of the birds, which are in danger of extinction within decades.
“A major threat to Ngoolarks is the clearing of their foraging habitat, including in the Perth-Peel region,” Professor Warren said.
“Without more food, we are watching them slip into extinction.”
One of the project’s activities involves installing signs at native plant nurseries around Perth, to encourage gardeners to plant cockatoo-friendly native plant species such as banksia, hakea, and marri, and non-native, high-energy macadamia trees, which can provide food for Ngoolarks in the short-term as the slower growing native plants establish.
Nursery staff will also provide advice to gardeners, and the
project’s website has detailed information about what to plant, and what else people can do to help keep Perth’s Carnaby’s cockatoos flying.
Renowned botanist and Lotterywest board member Professor Kingsley Dixon said Carnaby’s Cockatoos are now so desperate for food they are eating themselves out of house and home.
“We need to revegetate with native species, but also provide fast-growing food that has a high calorific and nutritional value like macadamias or almonds as they are a quick maturing and useful early summer food source,” Professor Dixon said.
The project’s Cultural Engagement lead Barb Hostalek said Australian First Nations people have a deep respect and understanding for the complex interrelationships between land, sky, and water, and the preservation of all life.
“Noongar people have watched the movement of the birds with the changing seasons, for generations their unmistakable call signalling the onset of rain on Noongar boodjar,” Ms Hostalek said.
Professor Warren said connection with Noongar Elders and Traditional Custodians was vital to the success of the project.
“Holistic community action can help save Perth’s black cockatoos, by working together we can make a tangible difference,” she said.
The City of Cockburn will host two community planting events as part of the project:
- Saturday 27 May – Bibra Lake South Bank
- Saturday 3 June – Manning Park
For more information
visit the City's event page.