Conserving cockatoos
Three types of Black cockatoos: Carnaby’s Cockatoo, Baudin’s Cockatoo and the Forest Red-tailed Black Cockatoo reside within the south west of Western Australia. Due to a decline in their population, resulting from the loss and alteration of their natural habitats, the Commonwealth government recognises these species as threatened under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, 1999.
To minimise impacts to cockatoos when planning new infrastructure, Western Power:
- selects line routes that, where possible, avoid habitat areas
- conducts detailed surveys to identify areas of significance and potential impacts to these areas
- modifies designs to reduce impact to habitat
- adopts modified clearing and construction methodologies such as selective pruning and restricted vehicle access
- uses offsets such as habitat protection, re-vegetation and research funding
- installs cockatoo nesting boxes to provide artificial habitats
Carnaby’s Cockatoos
Photo courtesy Teagan Johnston (DEC)
Forrest Red-tailed Black Cockatoos
Photo courtesy: Simone Varvell
Baudin's Cockatoo
Photo courtesy: Rick Dawson (DEC)
Case study: Cockatubes®
Artificial nesting boxes or Cockatubes® are constructed for cockatoos from recycled PVC piping and have an average diameter of 33 cm and depth of one metre. The tubes are designed, produced and supplied by the registerer Landcare SJ Inc. Each tube has drainage holes at the base to prevent flooding, a layer of mulch to provide nesting material, a piece of wood to provide something to chew on and an internal ladder to allow easy access in and out of the tube. Tubes are installed in trees that are:
- easy to access
- native to the area and applicable to the bird targeted for use of the tube
- mature to over mature/ decline in upper crown but structurally safe and sound for the life of the tube
- at least 20 meters in height as the tubes are ideally installed at 10 – 16 meters
- ideal canopy to support a tube in the North Eastern direction for suitable weather exposure
The tubes are preferably installed as upright as possible on the side of Jarrah and Marri trees. This reduces the likelihood of the tubes being taken over by bees, as bees do not like to be rained on. The Cockatubes® have been having breeding success with both red and white tail cockatoos.
Successfully installed cockatube at Binningup being used by black cockatoos
