“It’s all defined in legislation in terms of during how many generations there has been a decline and how many generations can we expect before it will disappear,” says Ian. ‘Threatened’ is a general term comprising categories ‘endangered’, being the second-highest one, and below it, ‘critically endangered’. Photo: ACT Parks and Conservation Service. The Orroral Valley in December 2020, almost 12 months on from the devastating Black Summer bushfire. This typically requires 200-year-old eucalypts, which are most often the very ones that are coming down.” “Cockatoos, in particular, need hollows in tree trunks to make their nests. “Fires will have exacerbated that, but the real problem has been the logging of forests over many, many decades. “My feeling is that, as with other cockatoos, the real trouble is the progressive loss of breeding trees,” says Ian. Ian says it’s hard to put a finger on why certain species decline in numbers, but for cockatoos, logging certainly shares part of the blame. “But the fact they’re in trouble is not just to do with that.” “The 2019 bushfires definitely would have affected a lot of their breeding habitats in the mountains,” he says. Their call is a distinctive sound resembling a squeaking gate.Ĭanberra naturalist Ian Fraser says the gang-gang cockatoo has been categorised as vulnerable in NSW for some time, although its situation is considered less dire here in the ACT. In summer, most of the flocks return to the mountain forests to breed in tree hollows. They are often so busy feeding that observers can get close enough to admire their beautiful plumage. Photo: Geoffrey Dabb.ĭuring winter, small flocks of the birds are common in gardens around Canberra where they feed on pine cones, firethorn and hawthorn berries. Gang-gangs cockatoos feed on native berries and pine cones. The gang-gang cockatoo was adopted as the ACT’s fauna emblem on 27 February, 1997, and also features on the logo of the ACT Parks and Conservation Service. The surveys will cover the last two weekends of September and first weekend of October, 2021, and aim to identify areas of high gang-gang cockatoo occupancy and gain a better understanding of their breeding locations and habitat needs.Ĭommunity members can register to participate here. The directorate says the Black Summer bushfires had a severe impact on gang-gang cockatoo habitat across the region.

The gang-gang cockatoo ( Callocephalon fimbriatum) has been listed as endangered under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act, and the ACT Government’s Environment Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate will be running a citizen survey to record its whereabouts.

The population of the native bird has been relatively stable in the ACT region for the past 30 years, but the rest of southeast Australia has seen a 69 per cent decline in its reporting rate, according to the Canberra Nature Map.

But there are concerns its numbers elsewhere are dwindling. With it’s slate-grey body and bright red head, Canberra is the only city in Australia the gang-gang cockatoo chooses to call home. The gang-gang cockatoo is an occasional visitor to Canberra backyards.

Brown headed gang gang cockatoo