Beta
Saving the forty-spotted pardalote
Bruny Island
We're currently doing another population assessment. We've just finished a survey on Flinders Island and we were hard-pressed to detect the species there at all. We did pick up four or five birds in total, which indicates the perilous nature of their survival on Flinders Island.
We've done a population estimate for Maria Island, which really holds over half the entire global population. We think there could be somewhere between four to six hundred birds on Maria.
So, if we're looking at a population of maybe less than a thousand birds in total, it demonstrates how urgent it is to get on top of the decline, to start clawing back an increase in a population size and to do it now, not wait 30 years.
When I first started when we had the luxury of time. but we can't wait any longer. We need to actively and urgently move forward on this species recovery because we're at a stage where we can avoid crisis management.
We don't want to breed this bird in captivity. We want to have it where it belongs. We don't want to throw our arms up and say "oh it's all too hard, it's all too late and it's going to cost millions." We can do it now if we choose to.
The urgency is so obvious for this little bird and with collective momentum I think we've got a real chance of securing its survival.
As I've got older, I've seen conservation slipping away from so many of our wonderful natural plants and animals. I can't let this species go. I can't not do everything within my capacity to add to its survival, to offer help.
I just feel deeply connected to this little bird. I suppose I feel so deeply connected to Tasmania. It's in the very DNA and marrow of my bones. There are a lot of fabulous things in Tasmania and I've chosen one out of many to focus my time and effort on. If I can do something, then that's my legacy.
Dr Sally Bryant
We're currently doing another population assessment. We've just finished a survey on Flinders Island and we were hard-pressed to detect the species there at all. We did pick up four or five birds in total, which indicates the perilous nature of their survival on Flinders Island.
We've done a population estimate for Maria Island, which really holds over half the entire global population. We think there could be somewhere between four to six hundred birds on Maria.
So, if we're looking at a population of maybe less than a thousand birds in total, it demonstrates how urgent it is to get on top of the decline, to start clawing back an increase in a population size and to do it now, not wait 30 years.
When I first started when we had the luxury of time. but we can't wait any longer. We need to actively and urgently move forward on this species recovery because we're at a stage where we can avoid crisis management.
We don't want to breed this bird in captivity. We want to have it where it belongs. We don't want to throw our arms up and say "oh it's all too hard, it's all too late and it's going to cost millions." We can do it now if we choose to.
The urgency is so obvious for this little bird and with collective momentum I think we've got a real chance of securing its survival.
As I've got older, I've seen conservation slipping away from so many of our wonderful natural plants and animals. I can't let this species go. I can't not do everything within my capacity to add to its survival, to offer help.
I just feel deeply connected to this little bird. I suppose I feel so deeply connected to Tasmania. It's in the very DNA and marrow of my bones. There are a lot of fabulous things in Tasmania and I've chosen one out of many to focus my time and effort on. If I can do something, then that's my legacy.
You might like...
Dr Sally Bryant: a lifetime in the field
Ecology of the Forty-Spotted Pardalote
Bruny Island launch: Cat Davidson on falling in love with Nature
Improving reproductive success of forty spotted pardalotes
Newsletter
Sign up to keep in touch with articles, updates, events or news from Kuno, your platform for nature