National Forum: Glossy Black-Cockatoo Conservation

This session, which includes a keynote presentation from Professor Dominique G Homberger will focus on feeding habits, adaptations and diets of Glossy Black-Cockatoos including insights into the foraging habitat used by the South Australian sub-species after the catastrophic Black Summer bushfires of 2019-2020. 

• KEYNOTE: Professor Dominique G. Homberger (Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, USA) | Feeding adaptations and diets of Glossies 
• Janet Carew | feeding habits of Glossy Black-Cockatoos utilising Allocasuarina torulosa as a food source
• Trish Mooney (PhD student, Charles Darwin University) | foraging habitat used by South Australian Glossies after Black Summer bushfires (2019-20)
• Followed by Q+A with panellists

What do we know about the success of artificial nesting and what considerations should be made before embarking on the installation of such infrastructure? Our speakers – including Karleah Berris (SA), David Brook (NSW) and Catherine Madden (QLD) will explore what we know about artificial hollows and nests and how we can maximise our chances of success. 

• Kangaroo Island Nest Boxes – Karleah Berris, Glossy Black-Cockatoo Recovery Program, Kangaroo Island Landscape Board
• David Brook – WildBNB
• Catherine Madden, Scenic Rim Regional Council

Agricultural lands are a rich and valuable resource for Glossy Black-Cockatoos, often providing drinking sites and feeding and roosting habitat through large tracts of intact vegetation interspersed with primary production. In this session we’ll not only hear about tactics for landscape planning but also for engaging land managers in biodiversity conservation and monitoring outcomes. 

• Brian Hawkins and Lauren Hook, Senior Threatened Species Officers, NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water – Local Area Management Planning 
• Diane Guthrie – Lockyer Uplands Catchment.
• Kim and Joel Morris – Bushland Conservation Management

What makes a great citizen science project and what impact does citizen-collected data have on our knowledge about threatened species like the Glossy Black-Cockatoo? In this session we’ll hear about the work of 5 citizen science projects as well as the new knowledge being garnered through their work. 

• Brian Hawkin | Glossy Squad, Mid North Coast 
• Adam Fawcett | Making the Inland Glossy Great Again
• Harry, Glossy Squad | Northern Rivers
• Larissa Dann | citizen scientist
• Victor Ostrowsky – Glossy Squad Clarence Valley

Citizen science data helps to inform habitat mapping, which in turn informs policy, planning and assessment processes. In this session we’ll hear from people involved in habitat mapping in NSW, Queensland and Victoria about the strategies they used to compile data and prepare maps to drive conservation outcomes. 

• Margaret Hall and Sarah Legge, GBC Food for the Future, Priority Habitat – Northern NSW
• Liz Gould – Glossy Black Conservancy habitat mapping for SEQ
• Belinda Rossack, Sheoak Habitat and Recovery Mapping (East Gippsland)
• Facilitated by: Dr Elizabeth Williams, Principle Ecologist, Biological Assessment and Management Pty Ltd

New technologies are paving the way for large-scale wildlife monitoring. Acoustic monitoring, remote camera monitoring and other tools are more efficient than human observers but often limited by cost, technical requirements and computing power. In this session we’ll hear from ecologists using technology – both in the field and in the lab – to better understand how Glossy Black-Cockatoos are faring.  

• Dr Daniella Teixeira | Tools and methods for acoustic monitoring of Glossy Black-Cockatoos
• Mike Barth | nest monitoring using 4G cameras
• Facilitated by: Jedd Appleton, Director, Biological Assessment and Management Pty Ltd

In this session we’ll hear from the Australian Government on recovery planning for threatened species as well as where environmental law reforms are at. The Glossy Black Conservancy will share its Conservation Guidelines and discuss how they can inform future recovery planning processes and a panel of experts will explore how we can ensure that planning and policy development ensure Glossy Black-Cockatoos are protected into the future. 

A panel of experts will share their reflections on the past 2 days as well as their vision for the future of Glossy Black-Cockatoos. Participants will have a final chance to ask any questions before we formally close the Forum.