Previously paralysed cockatoo finds its way back home to Mandurah

A Carnaby's Black Cockatoo which was found injured in Mandurah five years ago and released in Perth has found its way back.

Avid bird photographer Cherilyn Corker made the discovery when she heard the calls of a flock a couple of weeks ago.

"They were foraging for grubs in a tree across the road in central Mandurah, but were being harassed by ravens and flew off," Ms Corker said.

Later she spotted them in a nearby street, where some were queued waiting for a drink from a bird bath, and she took some photos.

To her surprise, when she looked at the pictures on the computer, one of the birds had blue and yellow bands on one leg and a metal band on the other.

After contacting a friend at Murdoch University, she was put in touch with Peter Mawson, who heads up research at Perth Zoo.

The tracking number identified the female bird as having been rescued, treated and released in February 2016.

A Dawesville resident had brought the bird - paralysed - to a vet in Mandurah where it was sent to the zoo vet department a few days later.

It was diagnosed with a condition call Cockatoo Hindlimb Paralysis Syndrome, which experts believe was caused by ingesting a pesticide.

After being treated at the zoo the bird was rehabilitated at Kaarakin Black Cockatoo Conservation Centre before being released with others at Perry Lakes later in the year, wearing bands for identification and a satellite tracker.

"When I photographed her back in Mandurah it was the first time she had been seen since the tracker ran out of battery power," Ms Corker said.

"The researchers were really interested to hear of the discovery, especially the fact that she had made her way back home, so to speak."

The flock of Carnaby's Cockatoos are still in the area, searching for food.

"It is a sign of the times that they are forced to come into the city to seek nuts, seeds, fruit and other types of food, because so much of their bushland habitat has been cleared," Ms Corker said.

"I hope the kind person who originally rescued this lovely bird will read this and know that their actions put her on the path to recovery, with the aid of many caring and experienced professionals."

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