The Task Force on Land Resource Management in South Western Australia gathered all relevant data and presented a report with recommendations to the Premier and Cabinet. The findings were used to make the final decision about the fate of the land north of the existing Fitzgerald River National Park, which was, among other things, ground parrot habitat.
Photo shows the RAOU campsite in the north Fitzgerald where the land-use was soon to be changed.. The goal was to survey for ground parrots Listening took place on 30 September and 1 October 1983.
This event is described with additional detail in a previous posting dated 7 February 2014, entitled "Ground Parrot survey gets underway in the Fitzgerald". This current posting adds documents that were designed for the survey plus the photo and some results from surveying in that location.
Below is the information sheet prepared for the participants. The map shows the areas designated to be released for farming as well as sites where ground parrots had been recorded before. Only in 1983 had there been enough records to indicate that the birds were resident, and this was the area to be surveyed. Method of survey and how to distinguish a ground parrot are described.
The rope idea was tried but failed dismally due to the emergent mallees in the habitat here.
First data sheet.
The site numbers are those shown on the data sheet above. We learnt how to survey using calls in 1983 thanks to Richard Jordan.
We made an effort to explain the ground parrot situation to our local State Member of Parliament resulting in him communicating formally with the Minister for Fisheries and Wildlife.
Richard Jordan was our best source of information about ground parrot survey thanks to his experience at Barren Grounds in New South Wales.
The rope method of flushing was tried in the north Fitzgerald but proved impractical due to the emergent mallee. See an earlier posting (Friday 7 February, 2014, query 'rope'.)
