The Orange-bellied Parrot Year: July

Hanging out on the mainland

Socialising, preening, foraging and roosting

Photos: Chris Tzaros

On the mainland, OBPs go about daily activities socialising, preening, foraging and roosting. 

For long periods in the morning and afternoon, OBPs feed on the ground or low in vegetation, occasionally calling softly to each other. 

OBP contact calls uttered in flight are sharp "tzit" sounds repeated every few seconds for stop most distinctive is the alarm call, a rapid buzzing "zizizizi" emitted when flushed or disturbed by a predator.

OBPs are usually quiet in the middle of the day when they hang out in vegetation cover close to their foraging patches.

Photo: Gilvertt Conception, 2016

Volunteers in winter surveys

During winter surveys, volunteers search for OBPs from sunrise to about 11 AM and from about 3 PM to sunset. These times are when OBPs are most likely to be actively foraging.

OBPs camouflage very well when feeding and usually won't be seen or flushed until the person is very close.

Searching for OBPs requires a lot of walking back and forth through areas of suitable habitat, which usually includes shallow pools and channels.

Where most of them go in winter is still a puzzle. More people are always welcome to join the search for them in suitable habitat, either independently or in organised surveys.

Official surveys take place each year in May, July and September. You can find contact details for all the survey coordinators by visiting this link.

If you think you have seen an OBP, please report the sighting to OBP@birdlife.org.au as soon as possible. 

Attempts can be made to find the OBP, confirm your sighting and identify the bands.

Photo: John Barkla, 2016

This blog is based on the text for "The Orange-bellied Parrot Calendar 2022", produced by Friends of the Orange-bellied Parrot

The Orange-bellied Parrot Year: June

Over-wintering

In winter, OBPs are semi-nomadic and feed on the seeds and flowers of low shrubs or prostrate vegetation within 10 km of the coast.

Photo: Chris Tzaros

They roost in dense shrubs usually within a few kilometres of foraging sites - sometimes in introduced species such as African Boxthorn -
where native vegetation has been cleared for agiculture.

The Western Treatment Plant and The Spit Nature Reserve near Werribee and Lake Connewarre on the Bellarine Peninsula (all Victoria) are regular sites for OBPs and a focus for surveys.

In recent years, OBPs have been establishing flocks in coastal habitats with help from the Mainland Release Trial, run by a partnership of DEECA, Zoos Victoria, Moonlit Sanctuary, BirdLife Australia, Melbourne Water, Parks Victoria, Corangamite CMA and the Tasmanian Government.

From 2017 to 2021, 119 captive-bred OBPs were released at six locations. They usually formed flocks that were later joined by naturally migrating birds, creating some of the latest flocks of OBPs seen on the mainland for over a decade.

It's likely that important winter habitats are unknown.

Surveyors at Western Treatment Plant, Victoria
Photo: Debbie Lustig

Volunteer participation in winter searches makes a significant contribution to research and conservation efforts for OBPs.

BirdLife Australia has coordinated mainland winter surveys since 1978. These are done in Victoria and South Australia in May, July and September. 

Selected sites in Tasmania and King Island are also surveyed in March/April and September/October, just before and after the breeding season.

All birdwatchers and citizens scientists are welcome to participate in surveys. Details here.

Knowing where OBPs are foraging and roosting informs decisions about revegetation and preservation work.

Due to the difficulties of finding OBPs on the mainland, many birds remain undetected. There are likely important winter habitat sites that are unknown.

Information first published in "The Orange-bellied Parrot Calendar 2022" produced by Friends of the Orange-bellied Parrot

The Orange-bellied Parrot Year: May

Arriving on the mainland

OBP at Western Treatment Plant, 2024

On the mainland, OBPs are found from south eastern Victoria to south eastern South Australia in coastal saltmarshes and wetlands, coastal dune scrub, beach fronts and nearby weedy pastures, tracks and cropping areas.

Winter food sources include Austral Seablite, Beaded Glasswort and introduced weeds such as Wireweed, Fat Hen and Plantain.

On the mainland, OBPs are difficult to find because of their low numbers, small size, green plumage and large area of potential habitat. OBPs sometimes forage and fly with similar-looking parrots such as Blue-winged Parrots.

In May, 2021, two OBPs - including one juvenile - were sighted and identified at the Coorong in South Australia. This was the first sighting of an OBP in SA since 2013.

Volunteers play a key role finding OBPs during winter. 

To prepare for mainland winter surveys, volunteers learn to identify OBPs by their appearance, habits and calls. 

They also learn how to differentiate them from other Neophema parrots like the Blue-winged, Elegant and Rock Parrots.

This knowledge is often gained through research, speaking with experienced volunteers or by attending workshops.

In 2021, a sighting of OBPs in South Australia occurred during a parrot identification workshop at the Coorong.

Imagine how excited and surprised the workshop participants were to see OBPs when it had been eight years since the last confirmed sighting in SA!

March - the Orange-bellied Parrot Year

Migrating north

Each year, OBPs fly at least 640 kilometres across land and sea

Photo: Dean Ingwersen

After the breeding season at Melaleuca ends, Orange-bellied Parrots migrate to the southeast coast of Australia - to Victoria and South Australia. 

Their initial route is flying and landing to rest and feed via western Tasmania, then to the Fleurieu Group of islands and King Island, and across Bass Strait. 

During migration, OBPs can be found in  saltmarshes, coastal dunes, grasslands and heathland, usually within five kilometres of the west and northwest coasts of Tasmania and the offshore islands.

Juveniles leave after the adults. In March, most have now started their migrations.

Since the 1950s, enthusiastic volunteers have been recording sightings of OBPs on King Island and the west coast of Tasmania during migrations.

More recently on King Island, they have been working to improve OBP habitat and eliminate predators.

In April 2021, Friends of the Orange-bellied Parrot held their first autumn survey, focussing on the area around Strahan on Tasmania's west coast. 

These autumn surveys have expanded. In 2025, they will take place around Strahan and Arthur River as well as King Island, with birdwatchers hoping to glimpse OBPs on their northerly passage, adding to our knowledge of the species.

In April/May 2021, BirdLife Australia held the King Island OBP Blitz, which aimed to reveal more about OBP movements and habitats during their stop-over on the island.

Orange-bellied Parrots use King Island as an important stopover in their journey northwards. Although there is little data about how long OBPs stay on King Island, anecdotal information suggests they spend up to four weeks on the island during their northward migration.

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

 January - hatching

Volunteers are working on the summer monitoring program

The summer monitoring program at Melaleuca conducted by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Tasmania is in full swing.

Volunteers monitor supplementary feed tables for two hours in the morning and two hours in the late afternoon. They use spotting scopes to identify individual adult OBPs by their leg bands.

They also keep an eye on the health of OBPs by observing their feathers, behaviour and movement.

OBP eggs begin to hatch 21-24 days after laying

OBPs are breeding - mostly in nestboxes - in buttongrass plains around Melaleuca in South West Tasmania.

Newly hatched young have sparse off-white down and are blind for the first week.

Female OBPs continue to incubate for up to 10 days after hatching while the male feeds the female.

After this time, both parents feed their brood. Nestlings are banded by professionals in the OBP Recovery Program before they leave the nest. These bands are unique identifiers for each bird [which stay on their legs for life].