Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo

Continuing clearing of south-eastern Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo critical habitat

The South-eastern Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo occurs in south-western Victoria and adjoining far south eastern South Australia. Only 785 individuals were recorded during the April 2003 count of the population. The cockatoo is listed as a threatened taxon under Schedule 1 of the Flora and Fauna Guarantee (FFG) Act (1988) and the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act (1999). The South-eastern Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo is a specialised arboreal feeder and consumes only the seeds of three tree species: Brown Stringybark, Desert Stringybark, and Buloke. A Recovery Team was formed in 1995 with the aim of producing a recovery plan for the taxon and identifying areas of critical habitat that require protection.

Clearing for agriculture has caused the loss of more than half of the cockatoos' feeding and nesting habitat, and removal of critical habitat continues. Ongoing loss of feeding habitat is the main threat to the South-eastern Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo, and loss of Buloke feeding habitat is of particular concern. Less than 3% of original Buloke woodland remains within the Wimmera region in which the cockatoo occurs (DNRE 1997). The vast majority of remnant Buloke trees occur on private land and no significant area of Buloke woodland is reserved within the range of the South-eastern Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo.

Despite this, there have been numerous recent approvals of applications to clear Red-tail Buloke feeding habitat. Most permits have been applied for to clear scattered Buloke trees in paddocks to facilitate the installation of large centre pivot irrigation systems. These mature scattered paddock trees are of particular importance to the RTBC, as female (fruit-bearing) trees provide a high-quality food source for the cockatoo in the summer and early autumn (Maron 2000). These trees are typically 30-70cm diameter, and Buloke trees of this size are very conservatively estimated to be between 200-400 years old.

Both the Victorian Department of Sustainability and Environment and the federal Environment Australia are consulted during the application process when a proponent applies to clear Bulokes. Both departments have been approving applications to clear up to 127 trees, comprising critical Red-tail habitat, at a time, as long as 'offsets' are stipulated in the permit. These offsets are such actions as fencing existing Buloke woodland and planting new Bulokes.

It is difficult to see how not cutting down some existing trees compensates for the loss of the trees that are cut down. This obviously still involves a net loss of habitat. However, the stipulation of revegetation is also inadequate. Recent research has demonstrated that young Buloke trees may take approximately 100 years before attaining a trunk diameter of 19 cm, which is the size of the smallest Buloke in which a cockatoo has been observed feeding (Morcom, in prep.). In addition, Red-tails display a significant preference for feeding in larger trees. Therefore, the planting of Buloke seedlings as an offset would not alleviate the impact of this action on the Red-tail, because by definition, an 'endangered' taxon faces a "very high risk of extinction in the wild in the near future"(Environment Australia 2003).

Many people, including local residents, who have been working to enhance and protect the habitat of the Red-tail are frustrated by the lack of support from local, state and federal governments on this issue, despite the clear scientific arguments against removal of critical habitat. A further frustration is that the centre pivot developments that require the clearing of critical habitat are unlikely to be sustainable. The pivots are being installed to grow clover for seed, but for certification reasons the seed can only be produced in the one place for a few years. After this, the pivot must be moved on. It is uncertain whether these cleared sites will be able to be used again for pivot irrigated clover.