Where we work

Friends of the Orange-bellied Parrot (OBP) group works across the OBP's range with a focus on Tasmania's west coast, King Island and Melaleuca.

What we do

The objectives of our group are to:

Conduct migration and winter surveys in various locations from Strahan to Woolnorth and on King Island when funds are available.
Raise awareness of the plight of the OBP.
Raise funds to support the activities of volunteers and other recovery actions.
Help support the monitoring program at Melaleuca (SW Tasmania) including working bees.
Assist with any habitat management projects.

The group is overseen by a committee that is elected at an Annual General Meeting each September.

Wildcare news articles about our work are at the bottom of this page. In addition, you can read the transcript of a talk by Marianne Gee at Wildcare's AGM in May 2025.

Visit the gallery to view images of the Friends of the OBP in action.

Visit branch files to see newsletters from the OBP Recovery Team and other PDFs including links to OBP news, research papers and video footage.

OBP monitoring at Melaleuca

Volunteers with Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania (NRE Tas) observe Orange-bellied Parrots visiting the feed tables, recording individual leg bands and nest observations. This data is collected for the department's OBP Program staff to monitor survival and breeding success of wild and captive-bred release birds. While Friends of the OBP may assist the NRE OBP Program in various ways, we have no direct involvement with their volunteer program other than distributing information about the expression of interest process when it becomes available.

2026 migration surveys

The dates and locations for the 2026 migration surveys are still being decided, but the list below is fairly settled. The weekend of 4-5 April (when we would ideally like have a survey) is in the Easter break.

14-15 March at Strahan, Trial Harbour & Granville Harbour
21-22 March at Strahan, Trial Harbour & Granville Harbour
28-29 March at Arthur River
11-12 April at Woolnorth
11-12 April at Sisters Beach - dependent on someone volunteering to lead the survey
23-30 April on King Island* - made possible thanks to a grant from the Tasmanian Nature Conservation Fund (TNCF)
10-11 October at Woolnorth
17-18 October at Arthur River

*Note that a number of members will be selected to take part through an Expression of Interest (EoI) process during January 2026. Those selected will need to pay for half of the cost of their return airfare. The TNCF grant will cover the other half of the cost of airfares, accommodation and transport on the island. Full details will be available through Wildcare's events page from early January, and a notice will be emailed to members. Applicants will be informed of the outcome of their EoI by mid-February.

Other members of the group will be welcome to join the survey by self-funding any travel and accommodation needed.

Accommodation at Melaleuca

If you are a member of the Friends of the OBP and are selected by NRE as a volunteer for the OBP Summer Monitoring Program, member accommodation at Melaleuca may be available to you.

To request Friends of the OBP accommodation at Melaleuca please email friends.of.the.obp@gmail.com.

For all other enquiries about any aspect of volunteer work through NRE's OBP Program, including monitoring OBPs at Melaleuca or assisting at the OBP captive breeding facility near Hobart, please email volunteering@nre.tas.gov.au

Fundraising

Friends of the OBP receives income from two online shops with 100% of profits on our merchandise supporting efforts to save the critically endangered Orange-bellied Parrot and supporting the work of volunteer OBP monitors at Melaleuca.

Friends of the OBP items in Wildcare's online shop
Friends of the OBP shop via Redbubble
You can either browse all products from the home page or navigate through "collections" at the top of the page.
From 2 November, everything is discounted by up to 50%. The sale is likely to end on 16 November.

We also receive contributions to our fundraising through the "Support Friends of the OBP" portal that is on our webpage. Note that donations made through the "Donations" tab at the top of any of Wildcare's webpages go to the Tasmanian Nature Conservation Fund.

Contact us

Email friends.of.the.obp@gmail.com (Marianne Gee, President and representative to the National OBP Recovery Team).

Friends of Deal Island

Meet Friends of Deal Island Treasurer, Jo Widdowson