Good news from Melaleuca
It is pleasing to see the return numbers of Orange Bellied Parrots from Victoria is better than predicted with several weeks more for others to appear. It is especially good to see that the sex ratio is 1:1 – the first time in many years.
Volunteers have now observed 18 wild return OBPs at Melaleuca (9 female, 9 male!!).
Of these:
- 10 are wild born birds that have undergone natural migration;
- 1 is a wild born bird that was previously head-started and released, migrating naturally this year;
- 2 are captive-bred birds released in previous spring releases,
- 2 are captive-bred birds released as juveniles in 2018, and;
- 3 are captive-bred birds released as juveniles in 2019.
A further 22 individuals have now been released at Melaleuca, with 10 more to be transferred this week for release in early November.