More than 100 orange-bellied parrots have flown North after a successful first season of breeding at a purpose-built facility in the state's South-West.
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Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment wildlife biologist Dr Shannon Troy said it was the highest number of birds which migrated North in more than a decade.
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"We had 118 birds leave Melaleuca to fly North," she said.
"We had a really good breeding season in the wild with 37 fledglings produced, we had 23 birds return from migration and we were also able to release a large number of captive bred juveniles."
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Dr Troy said the breeding facility at Five Mile Beach had produced 105 fledglings from 45 breeding pairs this season.
She said those numbers supplemented the fledglings produced in the wild.
"It was very encouraging for the first year," Dr Troy said.
"The species is obviously at very low numbers in the wild ... in Spring we release birds and that increases the number of breeding pairs in the wild.
"We really rely on that extra boost to the wild population to make sure we have a lot of breeding."
Dr Troy said it was important to recognise the program worked in conjunction with other conservation efforts.
"The work is being done as part of a large recovery program," she said.
"That includes captive breeding institutions from 6 places on the mainland as well as DPIPWE."
Dr Dejan Stojanovic is a post doctoral fellow at the Australia National University and part of their Difficult Bird Research Group.
He said the Orange-bellied parrot is possibly the most endangered parrot species in the world.
"Their wild population size is tiny, it fluctuates each year depending on the breeding season but, it is undoubtedly the smallest wild breeding population of any parrot in the world" Dr Stojanovic said.
He said breeding programs like the one carried out at Five Mile Beach were probably the reason the Orange-bellied parrot wasn't extinct.
"The orange-bellied parrot has been bred by the Tasmanian government and other institutions for several decades now," he said.
"It is really important to acknowledge conservation efforts to do with the Orange-bellied parrot are probably the only reason they are still around."
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Jackson Worthington
General news reporter with a special interest in social justice, the economy and family violence. Jackson.Worthington@austcommunitymedia.com.au
General news reporter with a special interest in social justice, the economy and family violence. Jackson.Worthington@austcommunitymedia.com.au
