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.

28-29 March at Arthur River FULL
31 March and 1 April around Stanley and Sisters Beach. This is a small trial event and was not open for registration.
11-12 April at Woolnorth - FULL
24-29 April on King Island* - please email us if you are interested in taking part on any or all of the days at your own cost.
10-11 October at Woolnorth - details will be available later in the year and will be emailed to members when registration opens.
17-18 October at Arthur River - details will be available later in the year and will be emailed to members when registration opens.

*Note that some members were selected through an Expression of Interest process to take part using a grant from the Tasmanian Nature Conservation Fund (TNCF).

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

We 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.

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

On occasion, we have a stall at a market or festival.

Sunday 29 March (10am to 2pm) - Kingston Market at Kingston Community Centre, 35 Redwood Road, Kingston.
Saturday 11 April (9am to 4pm) and Sunday 12 April (9am to 3pm) - Ecofest at Camp Clayton, Ulverstone. Northwest Ecofest website. and Facebook page. More details will be added as the weekend gets closer.

Contact us

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

Friends of the OBP

OBP observation shifts at Melaleuca are now open!