Jocelyn Hockley works for Tasmania's Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment (DPIPWE) and oversees the captive Orange-bellied Parrot program.
As the Studbook Keeper and Species Coordinator for the entire captive population - at six separate institutions - her responsibilities are heavy. She recently sent us the following interim report on breeding at Taroona, which includes a charming story of struggle and survival.
'We have had a very good year at Taroona with
most of the 26 females attempting to breed.
'Most of the chicks have now fledged, with just two late nests still having chicks, which are about two weeks old at the
moment.'
For various reasons, Jocelyn had to hand-raise some chicks. The photos show one of them.
She's not sure of its sex yet but for the sake of the story, it's a 'he'.
'His two siblings were much bigger than him and he was not
being fed so at a few days old and weighing 6 grams, I made the decision to take
him from the nest.
'Three weeks later he now weighs 46 grams and will fledge [leave the nest and fly] next week and start spending time in one of the aviaries to
start interacting with other birds. A real little fighter this one.'
