Hello Bob (and everyone else),
I've read all the transcripts and I would say that there are good
conservation reasons for releasing the call publicly. As long as the
location of these particular parrots at the moment is kept under wraps, the
calls being played elsewhere won't harm them, especially given a low
likelihood of actual success. Maybe other locations can be located. So
little is known about Night Parrots that the more locations they can be
found at the better.
Of course those calls have a high commercial value as well and as a
consultant, John may want to hold out to see what government is willing to
pay. I assume no one was paying for John's fuel costs while travelling all
those thousands of kilometres.
It sounds as though they respond well to the calls so this would make it an
effective technique. One of the problems from a conservation perspective is
that we don't know how long the parrots will stay in this area. If they are
nomadic they could eventually leave- maybe never to return, when
environmental conditions change. It is essential that the biologists
involved (the Night Parrot network people I assume) collect as much
information as possible while they can. Others excited about Night Parrots
could look elsewhere armed with the call, and hopefully some basic habitat
information so that they know where to look. Australia is a big place-
there are plenty of places that could be searched.
I'm looking forward to hearing and seeing more about the night parrot in
the future, like everyone else.
Cheers
Mick
--
Michael Todd, PhD
Molesworth, Tasmania
http://wildlifing.smugmug.com/
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-todd/2b/425/605
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