‘The Rediscovery of the Night Parrot’ was the title of John Young’s
presentation to a BirdLife Townsville meeting last Saturday. John captivated
the 160 or so attendees with an informative account of his 15 year search for
one of the worlds most elusive birds. His PowerPoint presentation contained
many photos to illustrate his search throughout far western Queensland. Twenty
four of the first ever photos of the Night Parrot together with a short video
amazed the audience.
Throughout his presentation John’s tenacity and superior bush skills were
evident. Details of fruitless searches in varying inhospitable places to the
searching of countless numbers of old bird nests for evidence of Night Parrot
feathers showed how he built up a theory of where the parrot might be found.
The high personal financial cost and the never ending dead ends did not
dissuade him for he was certain the bird was out there. His excitement of
finally finding the bird was infectious in the audience who were by this time
hanging onto his every word.
John finished off by saying that the finding of the Night Parrot was only the
beginning. Many more questions need to answered. He explained and illustrated
that he is conducting detailed field work with Dr Steve Murphy (an ecologist
with expertise on parrots) to gain information on the birds life style, numbers
and habitat preference.
John answered a number of questions from the audience. When queried about the
call his answer was that the Pizzey and Night field guide gives the best clue;
in particular the part about the two note whistle.
All in all, John’s presentation in the rediscovery of a bird, that some thought
was extinct and one that had not seen for around 100 years, thrilled the
audience that showed their appreciation with an ovation likened to that usually
seen at the end of a successful stage show.
At the end of the day it was quite clear that John’s concerns are for the
welfare of the bird above anything else. He is also mindful of the privacy of
the property owners in the vicinity of where the parrot was found and, with
that in mind, was not at all concerned about negative comments on his stand on
the secrecy he has put on the discovery location.
It was interesting to note that some in the audience travelled from interstate
to Townsville just for the presentation. Such is the interest in John’s
discovery.
Ian Boyd
BirdLife Townsville
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