Eastern Ground Parrot found dead at Noosa

A dead Eastern Ground Parrot (above) has been found at Noosaville on the Sunshine Coast. The bird is one of just a handful of this threatened species that survives in Queensland outside of the Cooloola section of the Great Sandy World Heritage Area. The juvenile parrot, probably recently fledged, was found dead in the garden of Colin Eden in Cooyar Street. Colin says it’s not possible to say how the Eastern Ground Parrot died. It may have been killed by a cat or hit a window while flying. Where the bird died is adjacent to an area of wallum heath - known to be frequented in the past by the species - between Ernie Creek Road and the Noosa Junction shopping centre, though recent surveys have failed to find them there. A small number of Eastern Ground Parrots – probably fewer than 20 – were thought to survive in the area of wallum heath in Noosa National Park and Mt Coolum National Park that extends from Noosa in the north to Marcoola in the south.

An additional ground parrot population of about 15 birds was hanging on in a patch of heath protected by the fence around Sunshine Coast Airport. However, that population is endangered by construction underway for the new airport runway; we don’t know if it survives today. Single birds from this population were hit by vehicles nearby in 2013 and again in 2015. Ground parrots also appear to have gone from known sites including near Mt Emu and Mt Coolum. The savage fires late last year around the Sunshine Coast presumably also had a serious impact on ground parrot populations in their wallum heath habitat (below).

Several sites could be surveyed for Eastern Ground Parrot by interested birders on the Sunshine Coast listening for their distinctive calls at dusk. There is a track crossing the heath behind the police station in Langura Street, Noosaville; this is the area where the dead bird was found recently. Heath behind Sunshine Beach State High School can be accessed from Girraween Court and Grasstree Court; I’ve heard them here several times. I’ve heard them in a couple of spots behind Marcus Beach; check Google Maps for access points to the heath. I’ve also heard them from Woodland Drive, Peregian Beach, and from outside the Sunshine Coast Airport boundary. The most likely causes for the regional decline in numbers are predation by foxes and cats, and habitat rendered unsuitable by fire or, ironically, absence of fire. Heath has been allowed in some places to grow unchecked and unburned for many years, where it is too tall and thick now for the species. It's also likely that the species needs much larger areas of heath, like Cooloola, to survive.