AN ENDANGERED bird species that resides in the Peel region could be extinct in the next 15 years, a new report has revealed.
The 2014 Great Cocky Count revealed numbers of the Carnaby’s black cockatoos had dropped at a rate of 15 per cent a year over the past six years.
The report, which is a joint venture between BirdLife Australia and the Department of Parks and Wildlife (DPAW), surveyed 290 sites across the south west including the Perth-Peel Coastal Plain.
Results showed that if trends continued the species could be extinct by 2029.
Mandurah Wildlife Rescue co-founder Reini Bos said the centre saw between four and five of the birds a year.
“We had one in a couple of weeks ago,” he said.
“We get about four or five a year and we pass them on to the Department of Environment and Conservation.
"Their numbers are getting smaller.”
Shadow Environment Minister Chris Tallentire said the report meant urgent Government action was required to protect the cockatoos.
“Carnaby’s have always relied on coming to the Perth-Peel area to feed after their breeding season in the Wheatbelt,” he said.
“The decline of black cockatoos is directly linked to the destruction of their habitat and we’ve seen far too much land clearing in the Peel region.
“That’s because of a mix of urbanisation and expansion of agricultural activities, both of which are destroying their habitat.”
But a DPAW spokesperson said the count only covered about a quarter of the overall population of the cockatoos.
“The 2014 report urges further survey work is carried out as well as the protection of roost sites and the associated feeding habitat, to ensure the persistence of Carnaby’s cockatoos in this region,” the spokesperson said.
Environment Minister Albert Jacob said the decline in the cockatoos was a cause for concern, but could be driven by a variety of factors including drought and the clearing of feeding habitat such as pines.
“A recovery plan for thecockatoos is well established and brings together organisations to address key issues such as feeding and breeding requirements, population viability and the health and disease status of the species,” he said.
Mr Jacob said since 2008-09, more than $20million had been invested by industry bodies to protect Western Australia’s three species of black cockatoos.
