Katie Bertsche inquires about Orange-bellied Parrot
volunteer opportunities for the coming field season
in far SW Tasmania. For the benefit of readers I
thought the following of interest.
As a volunteer on the OBP summer wardening work in SW
Tasmania for the last 3 seasons I can heartily recommend
the area and its flora and fauna as a top spot to visit
while contributing to the recovery effort for this rare
Neophema parrot. My experience is from the early part of
the season in late October - early November.
Rather than take up space here can I recommend
interested persons read the next edition of Birds
Australia's WINGSPAN magazine (due out shortly) which
will have a number of articles on recovery work and
volunteer opportunities for birdos around the country.
Volunteers should note that the usual minimum time
spent in this wilderness area is two weeks and they are
expected to work with another person for safety and
'ease of data recording' reasons. You are however
flown down to Melaleuca and accomodation is supplied
(rangers hut).
The co-ordinator in Tasmania for the OBP 'work' is Mark
Holdsworth who is at the Parks and Wildlife Service in
Hobart (tel. 0362 336033). I noticed Mark
unsubscribed recently so may not be around at the
moment. Alternatively Peter Brown at the same office
may be able to help.
On March 25, Roger Hicks posted a great report on his
experiences down at Melaleuca (in 'high summer') after
his volunteer stint there. Check the archives or
contact me for a facsimile of his report. You can
expect considerable interest in these opportunities
after Wingspan comes out - get in early for an
experience of a lifetime.
Cheers Martin
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Martin O'Brien
Scientific Officer - Flora and Fauna Guarantee
Flora and Fauna Program
Department of Natural Resources and Environment
4/250 Victoria Pde.,
East Melbourne 3002
Victoria AUSTRALIA
tel: + 61 3 9412 4567
fax: + 61 3 9412 4586
e-mail:
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