Lachlan Manley asked some questions about management of OBPs.
Firstly, how does the recovery team expect to achieve the recommended
minimum number of 25-30 founder individuals for the captive colony when
there may be only a few pairs actually breeding?
The target of 25 founders is just that, a target - there are no guarantees
that it will be achieved, but the closer we get to it the better. We have
already added 2 potential new founders by trapping 2 juveniles at Melaleuca
in March (a bird does not become a true founder individual until it
contributes to subsequent generations so we will not know for a year or two
whether these birds can be counted as founders). The recovery team and our
volunteers are monitoring birds on the wintering grounds right now to see if
any opportunities to capture target individuals present themselves - so far
we have not had much luck and no attempts to capture birds have been made.
As stated in an earlier email to this group, we aim to remove one nestling
from each accessible nest, and continue to look for opportunities to capture
unbanded juvs away from Melaleuca, and review our progress semi-annually.
And yes, it is quite likely that we won't achieve the target.
The second question relates to making a release prior to the coming breeding
season in the hope that the released birds would help wild-born young to
survive. I'm not sure what assistance Lachlan had in mind, I suggest that
they would be more likely to compete for limited resources with the wild
birds, and there is the risk of introducing genetically inferior birds to
breed with the wild population. The recovery team feels that the best
strategy is to develop a sound captive population first, then look to
release captive-bred birds into rehabilitated habitat at a suitable time. We
have recently had constructive dialogue with Tasmanian fire managers
regarding the re-institution of a more favourable burning regime in selected
parts of the South-west World Heritage Area, but there are many logistical
difficulties to be overcome.
Hope this helps. Further information can be found in the latest issue of
'Trumped-up Corella' on the Birds Australia website.
Peter Menkhorst
Chair, OBP recovery team
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