What do you think about the Minister’s comments? Letters to the editor would be great! (mercuryedletter at dbl.newsltd.com.au ) We’re always interested in any stories on Swift Parrots in mainland (or international!) media, please forward to our email address, if you spot anything.
 
The auditor general’s report into the management of threatened species in Tasmania (mentioned in the Mercury) article is now available online, go to:
 
http://tinyurl.com/dn4zmq
 
From my quick skimming through yesterday, it gives a good idea of what’s NOT happening in terms of protecting threatened species in our state. You can view the Greens media release in response to the report at:

http://www.tas.greens.org.au/News/view_MR.php?ActionID=3585
 
There IS lots happening on the Swift Parrot front at present though, reports being written, speeches made…our Premiers even going to be out planting 2,500ha of Blue Gums to supposedly help save the species. We’re setting our sights on achieving some much more useful and scientifically-sound ways of saving these beautiful birds from extinction. A full report on all the goings-on will be posted soon.
 
Bye for now
 
Sharon East
Wild Wielangta
wildwielangta at gmail dot com  

If Swift Parrots are to avoid extinction they need to be able to breed successfully. For this they require forests full of old trees with suitable nesting hollows such as are found in Wielangta Forest, where most of the world’s remaining Swift Parrots have been breeding this year. But these all-important breeding sites in our State Forests are continuing to be woodchipped.

The Premier has completely missed the point. He is offering to provide Swift Parrots with a possible food source in the distant future whilst at the same time condoning the destruction of their nest trees. It is useless for these birds to have food but nowhere to breed. The protection of old growth forests is the key to their survival.

Premier Bartlett has clearly not consulted any scientists with expert knowledge of this endangered bird or even consulted relevant Government Departments before announcing this bizarre and misguided initiative. Two key scientific government reports that directly relate to the management and conservation of Swift Parrot habitat are soon to be released – the Strategic Management Plan for Swift Parrot Breeding Habitat and the Wielangta Swift Parrot Breeding Season Report 2008/09. The Premier has jumped the gun and unleashed this unscientific scheme before the experts have provided the Government with the advice the Government itself requested.

We are glad to see the Premier finally acknowledging that urgent action needs to be taken to save this beautiful bird from extinction albeit with a crackpot scheme. Hopefully in the coming months, he will take a dose of much needed scientific advice and announce a range of measures that will make a genuine difference to the conservation status of Swift Parrots.

For more information contact:
Sharon East 03 6253 5348
Lisa Cuatt 03 6253 5493
0428 399103
http://wildwielangta.edublogs.org
wildwielangta at gmail dot com

We hope to be able to update you further soon.

Volunteers from across Tasmania, from Southport to Grindelwald, from Bruny Island to Triabunna offered their help and many cards were also requested from supporters in Victoria, New South Wales and the ACT.

We even had a request for cards from Darwin!

Right select ‘Save target As…’ to download the print version and send it off yourself.

Wild Wielangta members met with the Tasmanian Premier’s office yesterday, hearing that the Premier’s getting the message, loud and clear, that the community wants immediate action to save this beautiful bird. The Premier’s forestry advisor admitted that they’d been swamped by cards and emails about Swift Parrots.

Questions have now been asked in State and Federal Parliaments and there’s been intense media interest, with The Australian, Canberra Times, Age, Sydney Morning Herald, ABC Radio National, local ABC radio and TV stations all covering the unfolding story.

The National Swift Parrot Recovery Team are visiting Hobart next week and we are hoping to have the opportunity to take them out to Wielangta, to see the birds we’ve observed nesting there and to talk with them about the Government’s response to this conservation emergency.

Right select ‘Save target As…’ to download this fabulous new report ‘The Swift Parrot in Tasmania: its Conservation Status and the Impact of Logging on its Breeding Habitat’ by Marg Blakers and Isobel Crawford, for lots of detail on what’s happening to Swift Parrots and their habitat.

Cassy O’Connor, Green Parliamentarian in Tasmania has also been challenging Premier Bartlett and Minister Llewellyn on their lack of action to protect the Swift Parrot. Right select ‘Save target As…’ to download the Hansard notes of her recent speech.

So, many thanks to all of you who’ve helped with postcards, written to politicians and kept the Letters to the Editor rolling in to your local papers.

Other areas where these endangered birds are breeding are, most likely, being logged right now, with the loss of eggs, chicks and the adult birds at the nest. For ideas for a letter see the recent post on blog: Swift Parrot ‘Reprieve’ Not Enough to Halt Extinction Threat

Please help keep the pressure up by writing to the Tasmanian Premier, David Bartlett, GPO Box 123, Hobart 7001. Tell Premier Bartlett that it’s not enough to temporarily halt logging in one coupe in Wielangta Forest.

You can also write to Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, C/o Parliament House, Canberra 2601. Ask him to intervene to save the Swift Parrot’s breeding habitat in Tasmania using his powers under the Regional Forest Agreement.

See the recent post Swift Parrot Critically Endangered – Faulkner undertakes to tell Rudd about his Swift Parrot responsibilities for ideas for your letter.

Oh! If you live in Australia, check out your local cafes for another Swift Parrot postcard that’s been produced by Greens Senator, Bob Brown’s office and is being distributed around the country by AvantCard (the free postcard people). Grab one and send it off to the Prime Minister Kevin Rudd asap!

Sharon East
For Wild Wielangta
wildwielangta at gmail dot com

Swift Parrot “Reprieve” Not Enough to Halt Extinction Threat

Local residents welcome yesterday’s announcement by David Llewellyn, Minister for Energy and Resources, Primary Industries and Water, that logging and woodchipping will be postponed in Wielangta Forest where endangered Swift Parrots are currently breeding.

“The Minister’s announcement will allow the Swift Parrots to breed in safety in Wielangta for this year, but still leaves the way open for Forestry Tasmania to log this all important breeding habitat as soon as the parrots migrate back to the mainland” said Sharon East, spokesperson, Wild Wielangta, South East Tas Forest Protection Group.

“If it had not been for the threatened species surveys conducted by local volunteers in recent weeks, Forestry Tasmania would still be unaware of this significant breeding event of a federally-listed endangered species in Wielangta Forest.  The very trees where the birds are now nesting could have been chipped and on their way to Japan by now if it had been left to Forestry Tasmania staff to conduct appropriate surveys” said Ms East.

“Minister Llewellyn’s reassurance that the State Government is committed to the conservation of the Swift Parrot is completely at odds with warnings from the National Swift Parrot Recovery Team and Birds Australia that the woodchipping of Swift Parrot breeding habitat in Tasmania is the key threat to its survival” said Ms East.

“Swift Parrots are on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species which gives global recognition to their endangered status.  With less than 1,000 breeding pairs, they are rarer than China’s Giant Pandas and Africa’s Mountain Gorillas.   The Tasmanian and Federal Governments must act to protect this jewel of a bird.  This is a conservation emergency” said Ms East.

“On the mainland there are hundreds of volunteers re-afforesting areas specifically as Swift Parrot winter feeding habitat and yet here in Tasmania, the only place in the world that they breed, the State Government allows the destruction of their nesting and feeding habitat.

“Wild Wielangta has launched a ‘Save the Swift Parrot’ postcard campaign and 3,000 cards are currently winging their way to the Tasmanian Premier from across our state and the mainland.  We are calling on Premier Bartlett to protect the Swift Parrots’ critical breeding habitat in areas such as Wielangta, the Southern Forests and Bruny Island.  Surely David Bartlett doesn’t want to become known as the Premier of Extinction!” concluded Ms East.

For more information contact:
Sharon East 6253 5348
Lisa Cuatt 6253 5493  0428 399103
http://wildwielangta.edublogs.org
wildwielangta@gmail.com

Rosslyn Beeby’s gutsy critique ‘Pondering Garrett’s Future’ in the Canberra Times, focuses on the Swift Parrot’s protection and survival as an indicator of Garrett’s success in his portfolio, given he’s responsible for the overhaul of the Federal Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Act.

Bob Brown calls for an immediate ban on logging in Wielangta and changes to the Tasmanian Regional Forest Agreement to provide protection to the Swift Parrots.

Graeme Hamilton, CEO of Birds Australia, is also on the Federal Minister’s case.

Forestry Tasmania’s usual response states it will move to protect endangered swift parrots if they’re found to be in a coupe that’s earmarked for logging.

Peter Garrett, Tony Burke and David Bartlett and David Llewellyn need to act before they become the Ministers/Premier of Extinction!

Keep an eye on the 7.30 report next week.

For the past 13 years, a national recovery program involving all the eastern States and costing hundreds of thousands of dollars has been implemented in an effort to better understand the Swift Parrot species and work towards its conservation.  However, it seems that recent expert advice on nest site conservation is falling on deaf ears.

“If uncontrolled logging of Swift Parrot nesting habitat continues then this national recovery effort will have effectively been for nothing”, said Mr Tzaros. The Swift Parrot needs to have successful breeding events that allow the species to continue to exist and thrive in the wild.

Select to read the full media release from Birds Australia.
Select to listen to, or right select and Save Target As… to download the interview. (2.5mb)

Vehicles gathered at the locked gate in glorious sunshine and after introductions proceeded though the gate in convoy to the coupe, a drive of 5km or so. The two lucky last vehicles got waylaid by a small flock of Swift Parrots foraging in flowering Blue Gums just off to the side of the access road. The Swift Parrots are back in Wielangta!

We then spent several fascinating hours, under the expert guidance of biologist Andy North, scanning the rock-strewn ground for orchids and other plants of interest. Many orchid species were discovered, either in flower or sending up leaves. Both of the threatened and endangered species of orchids that had been discovered in the coupe at the Picnic Day were found again.

On the way back down the access road, we all stopped at the spot where the Swift Parrots had been seen earlier in the day. After a fair while spent scanning the Blue Gums that were in flower, that unmistakeable call was heard approaching. Two Swift Parrots flashed overhead, heading straight for the Blue Gums!

Another Survey Day is planned for Sunday 28th September. If you’d like to join us and come and experience Wielangta and its wildlife for yourself, then contact us through the email: wildwielangta at gmail dot com
* The Exclusion Zone covers a large area including the access road and coupe 19D itself (the forest at the centre of Bob Brown’s court case, which is now scheduled for logging this year). It is illegal to enter the Zone without a permit. Forestry had issued us with a permit and key to the locked gate across the access road, to enable us to conduct the survey.