16 February 2021

Roger Jaensch, Minister for Environment

Protecting and increasing Tasmania’s Orange-bellied Parrot population

Important milestones have been reached in the fight to prevent the extinction of the Orange-bellied Parrot in Tasmania, with our captive breeding program breaking decades-old records. 

The Tasmanian Government is committed to protecting and growing the Orange-bellied Parrot population, and we are pleased to have 544 adult Orange-bellied Parrots in captivity across our breeding programs. 

This includes 254 adults and 130 nestlings and fledglings currently housed at our $2.5 million Five Mile Beach facility, which opened in 2019. 

Other recent positive outcomes for the population include:

• 51 birds survived the over-winter migration to return for the breeding season, which is the highest population size in over a decade;
• 31 captive-bred birds were released in Spring to further increase the size of the potential breeding population;
• 137 eggs were laid at Melaleuca this season, resulting in 88 confirmed nestlings, the most since monitoring began in the 1990s;
• 305 eggs were laid at the Five Mile Beach captive breeding facility, resulting in 29 nestlings and 101 fledgings so far, with a second round of breeding underway;
• Thanks to the success of captive breeding, 50 juveniles will be released to increase the size of the flock migrating north from Melaleuca this breeding season; and
• 150-200 birds are predicted to make up the flock, which is another recent record and huge success for this species.

Tasmania’s Orange-bellied Parrot captive breeding program plays a vitally important role in helping prevent the extinction of the critically endangered species.

Captive breeding is a vital component of Orange Bellied Parrot protection and recovery efforts, and the Government remains committed to supporting the innovative efforts underway. 

For more information, go to: www.dpipwe.tas.gov.au/obp

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