John Martin and Sydney’s Cockatoos
Released: A tagged cockatoo is set free at the Botanic Gardens. Photo: Wolter Peeters
Columbus is a real city slicker. Over six weeks, the sulphur-crested cockatoo has foraged in his regular stomping grounds of Woolloomooloo, Centennial Park and Cremorne. After dark, he prefers to roost in the Botanic Gardens, Potts Point or Rushcutters Bay Park – except for a one-night stand on the beach in Mosman.
We know this because Columbus is the first cockatoo to be fitted with a solar-powered GPS tracking device as part of ongoing research by the University of Sydney, the Royal Botanic
Columbus the cockatoo: Enjoying all the big city has to offer.
Gardens and the Australian Museum. Since 2011, 100 sulphur-crested cockatoos have been fitted with wing-tags and have now been spotted more than 10,000 times by the public.
Although the data is still being analysed, project co-ordinator John Martin says the birds have shown immense loyalty to Sydney Harbour and surrounds. About 35 per cent are regularly seen at the Botanic Gardens, attracted by its large eucalyptus hollows and abundant food, while the remainder have dispersed to neighbouring areas. Tagged cockatoos have been sighted at Engadine, Allambie Heights and as far west as Glenhaven, but for the most part, they have remained within five kilometres of the inner city.
Clive the cockatoo in Neutral Bay
That took researchers by surprise. “Do they like the city life? Is it the fine dining or is it the lattes? Do they like the opera, is it the culture that they’re after?” Dr Martin jokes.
Dr Martin says the cockatoos appear to be out-competing possums and owls for the limited number of large tree hollows around the city. “We don’t really have a good understanding of what that means ecologically,” he says.
Laurence the cockatoo is a creature of the urban jungle.
Bird watchers and members of the public are encouraged to report any sighting of the birds, which have yellow or green numbered tags, using the iPhone app Wingtags or online.
Nurse Fiona Baker spotted Tristan, cockatoo number 85, eating pine kernels in Manly Park. As a “farm girl” who grew up in Come By Chance, near Coonamble, she is interested in how animals are adapting to the changing environment.
“Some birds that compete quite actively and successfully do well, while others become extinct,” Ms Baker says. Her northern beaches balcony attracts many sulphur-crested visitors, who “bite off the wood on the balcony railing” if she doesn’t feed them.
