The Orange-bellied Parrot Year: February - On The Move

The Orange-bellied Parrot Year: February - On The Move

It's toward the end of summer but volunteers at Melaleuca continue giving OBPs supplemental food twice a day. 

They carefully measure OBP supplemental food each day throughout the summer monitoring period

Supplementary feeding assists with monitoring, promotes female breeding participation, and helps newly released captive-bred OBPs acclimatise to their new environment.

The amount of food provided at the feed tables varies depending on consumption rates, stage of the breeding cycle, when captive-bred birds are released, and when fledging occurs.

Orange-bellied Parrots, R. Bruce Richardson

This month and in March, adults move away from the breeding area in and around Melaleuca, 

beginning their migration to Victoria and South Australia.

Juveniles form small foraging flocks. They continue to explore their habitat and forage on the seeds and flowers of low vegetation in moorland and sedgeland plains. Important plants at this time of year are Lemon-scented Boronia and Tiny Flannel Flower.

The yellow-orange bill of the juveniles changes colour to dark grey by the time they are eight weeks old.

By late March the first adult OBPs have started to arrive on King Island and juveniles have started on their migration.

Volunteer Renee measuring OBP food. Photo: Sandra Henderson