Record-Breaking Migration of Orange-Bellied Parrot Will be Flying High After Years of Conservation Work Pays Off

March 14, 2025 journo

An orange-bellied parrot into the wild – credit, supplied to ABC by Natural Resources and Environment Dept. Tasmania

With the news headlines around the COP events full of general doom and gloom about species decline, it’s worth taking the time to meet one lucky bird that’s on the mend.

From as few as 17 known individuals, the orange-bellied parrots of Tasmania now number in the low hundreds after years of hard conservation work.

Recently, a new group of 28 captive bred juvenile parrots will be released into Melaleuca, southwest Tasmania, to join an adult breeding and nesting colony near Five-Mile Beach.

One of 28 captive-bred parrots to be released into the wild this year – credit, supplied to ABC by Natural Resources and Environment Dept. Tasmania

This is vital for this species, which migrates to the coast of Queensland, Australia during the winter. During their short migration, the juveniles have to learn the various migration routes from experienced parrots who have made the flight before.

The release was carried out by the Orange-bellied Parrot Tasmanian Program, managed by the state’s Natural Resources and Environment Department, whose secretary, Madeleine Ogilvie, was ecstatic over the success of the program.

“Our wildlife experts predict that over 200 orange-bellied parrots will migrate north this breeding season, which would set yet another record,” she said.

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“That’s a remarkable turnaround compared to the 2015-16 breeding season, when only 15 nestlings were produced, and an estimated 35 birds migrated north.”

Last year, 92 parrots returned from their winter migration, which combined with 15 parrots released last spring, led to 105 nestlings being recorded, the most since the program began in 1994.

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It demonstrates the birds’ ability to survive and reproduce self-sustainably. Many of Tasmania’s birds are threatened with extinction, and they above all other animal families are on the steepest declines in the island state.

But the Department’s success with the orange-bellied parrots shows that if there is a will there’s a way.

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