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Ground Parrot (Pezoporus wallicus)

The Ground Parrot is a cryptic, ground dwelling parrot of dense coastal and near coastal heathlands and sedgelands. It is difficult to detect by sight, but its distinctive twilight calls make acoustic surveys effective. Clearing, fire, habitat fragmentation and post fire predation are the main development related concerns, with the western form restricted to a very small number of south coast Western Australian populations.

Conservation status

Queensland, Nature Conservation Act 1992: Vulnerable.

New South Wales, Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016: Vulnerable.

Victoria, Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988: Endangered.

South Australia, National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972: Endangered.

Breeding season

Ground Parrots are present year round where populations persist. Breeding timing varies between regions, so projects should use local records and habitat condition to refine the work window.

Surveys can be undertaken year round, but acoustic detection is best around dawn and dusk and may be higher during the breeding period. Avoid relying on a single visit or a visual search through dense heath.

  • Breeding: Breeding generally begins from July. Queensland breeding is July to November, with most egg laying in August and September. NSW records indicate September to December. Western Australian breeding is poorly known but historical records include July to November.
  • Young: Incubation lasts about 21 to 24 days and young are fledged during the breeding period. A pair fledges an average of about two young per season. Dependent young may remain associated with dense heath after fledging.
  • Juvenile dispersal: Queensland guidance identifies dispersal of young in April and May. The species is otherwise mainly sedentary, with local changes in density and movement between suitable habitat patches.
  • Fire and predator exposure: Risk increases whenever fire removes dense cover, and predator exposure is of particular concern after fire. The timing is site specific rather than confined to particular months.
  • Highest clearing risk: Clearing and disturbance are most likely to harm birds from July to October, when breeding, eggs and dependent young may be present. Risk can extend through December in NSW and during any period when active nests or dependent young are detected.

Identification

Ground Parrots are rarely seen in dense heath. Surveys and site inspections should rely on the combination of plumage, habitat and the distinctive rising whistle series given around dawn and dusk.

Adults are bright grass green, with black streaking on the head and hindneck, pale yellow wing bars, black and yellow barring on the back, abdomen, thighs and undertail, and a yellow to greenish yellow underbody. A bright red to orange red band above the cere is present in birds older than about three to four months. The iris is pale yellow and the bill is dark grey.

The western form is about 30 cm long and weighs 84 to 110 g. The eastern form is generally 30 to 33 cm long, with a tail of about 18 cm. Males and females appear alike.

Adult plumage: Bright green with black, yellow and red or orange red markings.

Juveniles: Duller yellow olive, with bolder black markings and no red forehead band. Newly fledged birds have dark grey brown irises.

Identification: Calls and behaviour

The call is a series of piercing, resonating whistles arranged in rising steps or ascending scales. Calls are most often given around nautical and civil twilight, with peak detection commonly before sunrise and after sunset. Birds may fly low over heath when flushed, usually at about a metre or less above the ground, and may travel several hundred metres.

The species is cryptic, shy and usually detected by sound rather than sight. It is generally seen singly, in pairs or small groups.

Call frequency range: Approximately 2 to 6 kHz in Queensland records.

Typical flight height: About 1 m or less above the heath when flushed.

Detection timing: Most useful periods are around dawn and dusk, including approximately 30 to 45 minutes after sunset for the western form.

Identification: Similar species and field signs

The Night Parrot is the main potentially confusing species. It is associated with arid and semi arid inland habitats, whereas Ground Parrots are associated mainly with coastal and near coastal heathlands and sedgelands. Rock Parrots and Elegant Parrots may occur in similar Western Australian habitats and can superficially resemble the western form, but experienced observers should distinguish them by plumage, behaviour and call.

No reliable tracks, scats, sloughs, eyeshine or other routine non vocal field signs are provided in the supplied sources. Nests are concealed on the ground beneath dense vegetation, so repeated access through suitable heath should be avoided.

  • Treat an unconfirmed visual record as provisional unless the habitat, plumage or call supports the identification.
  • Use fixed point listening or automated acoustic recording rather than relying on walking transects through dense heath.
  • Do not flush birds or inspect suspected nests closely during breeding and feeding periods.

Distribution: National range

The Ground Parrot occurs as geographically separated forms in eastern and south eastern Australia, Tasmania and south western Western Australia. The western form is treated in conservation planning as a critically endangered taxon and may warrant separate species status, while the supplied state listings also identify vulnerable or endangered populations in eastern states.

The eastern form occurs in coastal and subcoastal heathlands from southern Queensland through New South Wales to western Victoria. It formerly occurred in South Australia, but was last recorded there in 1945. Tasmania supports the Tasmanian form, Pezoporus wallicus leachii.

The western form is confined to near coastal south western Western Australia. The 2013 conservation advice recorded populations in Fitzgerald River National Park and the Cape Arid National Park to Nuytsland Nature Reserve area.

  • Relevant eastern Australian IBRA areas include the NSW North Coast, South East Corner, Sydney Basin, South Eastern Queensland and adjacent coastal shelf regions.
  • The western form occurs in the Esperance Plains Bioregion.

Distribution: Strongholds and population trend

In New South Wales, larger populations occur in Broadwater, Bundjalung, Yuraygir, Limeburners Creek, Barren Grounds, Budderoo, the Jervis Bay area and Nadgee Nature Reserve. Smaller populations occur at Myall Lakes, Morton and Ben Boyd national parks and other south coast sites.

The western form formerly occurred more widely from Dongara to Cape Arid. A population at Mount Manypeaks to Waychinicup declined from at least 29 birds in 1998 to four birds in 2003, with no birds recorded in surveys from 2004 to 2006. The 2013 advice identified a continuing decline and a very restricted distribution.

Estimated eastern population: About 2,000 birds in New South Wales and the eastern range, according to the NSW profile.

Western Fitzgerald River population: 303 birds estimated in 1990, declining to fewer than 85 in 2006.

Western Cape Arid and Nuytsland population: 75 birds estimated in 1990 and 90 in 2006.

Western area of occupancy: Estimated at 12 km2 in 2000.

Western extent of occurrence: Estimated at 1,000 km2 in 2000.

Distribution: State conservation context

The supplied listing information identifies Queensland and New South Wales populations as vulnerable, and Victorian and South Australian populations as endangered. The eastern form is not listed under the EPBC Act in the supplied state profile. The western form was managed as critically endangered in Western Australia in the 2013 conservation advice, while a separate government action profile identifies it as critically endangered.

Habitat: Habitat types

Ground Parrots require dense, low heath or sedgeland that provides abundant seed, concealment, nesting cover and roosting sites. Habitat suitability changes with time since fire and differs between regions.

The species occurs mainly in high rainfall coastal and near coastal low heathlands, sedgelands and swampy heath. Vegetation is generally less than 1 m high and very dense, with projected foliage cover reported at up to 90 percent.

Queensland habitat includes dry or moist graminoid heathland and sedgeland, including Caustis to Empodisma heath, Ptilothrix heath and Baumea sedgeland. Western Australian habitat includes dry stunted Banksia, Hakea, Allocasuarina or mallee heath, often with sedges on sandplains and scattered stunted mallees.

  • Look for dense ground vegetation with sedges, rushes, low shrubs, grass trees or heath species.
  • Assess both recently regenerated heath and older unburnt patches, because occupancy changes with vegetation recovery and seed production.
  • Treat coastal heath, sedgeland and swamp heath as potential habitat even where birds have not been recorded.

Habitat: Structure, climate and fire age

Dense vegetation provides cover, food and nesting opportunities. In south east Queensland, birds can recolonise burnt habitat after one to two years and may reach maximum densities about five to eight years after fire. The NSW profile reports maximum densities after 15 to 20 years without fire, showing that the suitable fire interval varies between regions and sites.

The species is associated mainly with coastal and near coastal environments. The supplied sources do not provide a reliable national elevation limit.

Typical vegetation height: Generally less than 1 m in eastern coastal and subcoastal heathland.

Dense cover: Up to 90 percent projected foliage cover reported for suitable eastern habitat.

Fire response: Recolonisation may occur after 1 to 2 years in eastern habitat; densities may peak at 5 to 8 years in Queensland and 15 to 20 years in some NSW sites.

  • Map vegetation height, density, sedgeland or heath structure and time since fire during project assessments.
  • Retain unburnt and regenerating heath links between occupied patches where practicable.
  • Avoid assuming that recently burnt vegetation is unsuitable, because recolonisation can occur within months to a few years under favourable conditions.

Foraging habitat: Diet and food plants

Ground Parrots feed mainly on the ground within dense heath and sedgeland. They move between small daily feeding areas within a larger home range and use a wide range of seasonal seed resources.

The diet is mainly seeds from a broad range of heath and sedgeland plants. Queensland records identify at least 40 food plant species, with individual birds reported to consume seeds from as many as 60 species. Other plant material and invertebrates may also be eaten.

Important Queensland food plants include curly sedge, Caustis recurvata, devil’s rice, Conospermum taxifolium, wallum grevillea, Grevillea leiophylla, Pseudanthus orientalis and Sprengelia sprengelioides. Seasonal food plants include Eurychorda complanata, Anthelepis paludosa, Lepyrodia scariosa and Epacris species.

Daily food intake: One eastern Ground Parrot may consume about 8,000 seeds per day.

Seed size: Seeds taken in Queensland range from about 0.6 to 7.0 mm.

  • Retain seed producing heath, sedgeland, rush and grass tree vegetation within and beside the project footprint.
  • Inspect proposed access tracks, compounds and firebreaks for dense habitat and seed producing plants, not only open areas.
  • Control weeds and avoid changes to drainage that could alter the plant communities supporting seed production.

Foraging habitat: Foraging area and method

Birds forage singly, in pairs or small groups, mainly on the ground among dense vegetation. They may also use clearings, mown airstrips, tracks and recently burnt areas, but open habitat can increase exposure to predators.

In south east Queensland, daily foraging areas are usually about 10 to 20 percent of the home range. Birds move between feeding locations every few days and may retain the same home range for several years if habitat remains suitable.

Typical home range: About 8 to 20 ha for pairs, with an average individual range of 9.2 ha recorded in Queensland.

Daily foraging area: Usually about 10 to 20 percent of the home range in Queensland.

  • Keep clearing edges compact and avoid creating repeated pedestrian routes through occupied heath, as these routes may increase access for foxes and cats.
  • Maintain connected foraging patches rather than retaining isolated strips that lack dense cover.
  • Schedule vegetation inspections and clearing outside peak breeding and dependent young periods where practicable.

Breeding habitat: Breeding biology

Ground Parrots nest on the ground in dense, older heath or sedgeland. Nests are difficult to find and may be occupied even when the female does not flush readily.

Breeding timing varies across the range. Queensland records indicate breeding from July to November, with most egg laying in August and September. The NSW profile gives September to December. Western Australian breeding is poorly known, with historical records suggesting breeding from about July to November in some areas.

The nest is a shallow bowl of fine sticks and grass, concealed beneath overhanging coarse grass, sedge or low heath shrubs. It may be screened from above and the sides and may have a tunnel through surrounding vegetation. Nesting pairs do not maintain territories but may defend the nest site.

Breeding season: Usually July to December across the supplied sources, with regional variation.

Clutch size: About 2 to 7 eggs.

Incubation: About 21 to 24 days.

Fledging outcome: A pair successfully fledges an average of about two young per season.

Age at maturity: Approximately 1.7 years in the supplied species data.

Lifespan: Average age approximately 4.1 years, with a maximum reported age of about 14.3 years in the supplied species data.

  • Treat dense heath that has remained unburnt for at least three to four years as potential nesting habitat in Queensland.
  • Before clearing, inspect suitable habitat using low disturbance methods and avoid close approach to suspected nest sites.
  • If a nest or dependent young is found, stop work in the immediate area and obtain fauna management advice before proceeding.

Breeding habitat: Breeding habitat features

Breeding habitat has dense, low vegetation that conceals the nest from above and the sides. Queensland nests are reported in dry heathland that has not been burnt for at least three to four years, beneath sedges, rushes, ferns, Xanthorrhoea, Banksia, Empodisma and Leptospermum.

The supplied sources do not provide a standard nest setback distance. Setbacks should therefore be determined by the fauna spotter catcher or project ecologist based on nest location, vegetation density, likely parental movements and the proposed activity.

  • Retain dense ground cover around known or suspected nests.
  • Do not mow, burn, slash or repeatedly walk through potential nesting habitat during the breeding season without a site specific assessment.
  • Keep machinery, lighting and noise away from active nests where practicable.

Sheltering habitat: Roosting and refuge cover

The species shelters and roosts within dense ground vegetation rather than in tree hollows or burrows. Cover is particularly important after fire, when birds are more exposed to predators.

Ground Parrots roost in dense heath and sedgeland, including sedges, rushes, ferns, grass trees and low shrubs. Queensland roosting habitat is commonly dry heath that has not been burnt for at least three to four years.

The species spends most of its time on or near the ground. It can walk through dense vegetation and may use small clearings or recently burnt areas for movement or feeding, but open habitat offers less concealment.

Roost location: On or near the ground within dense heath, sedgeland, rushes, ferns and low shrubs.

Typical unburnt period for Queensland roosting habitat: At least 3 to 4 years since fire.

  • Retain continuous dense ground cover around occupied habitat and along movement routes.
  • Avoid creating wide cleared corridors, temporary laydown areas or regularly mown tracks through heath.
  • Limit repeated access through retained heath because access routes may facilitate fox and cat movement.

Sheltering habitat: Movement and refuge use

Adults are generally sedentary, but juveniles disperse and local densities can change seasonally. Eastern birds may recolonise burnt habitat as vegetation regenerates. The western form can move between suitable patches separated by woodland.

No use of tree hollows, dens or burrows is reported for this species. The main refuge resource is dense ground vegetation.

  • Retain links between heath patches where possible, especially where woodland or other vegetation separates suitable areas.
  • Record fire history and the condition of retained cover before and after works.
  • Use acoustic monitoring to identify occupied refuges when visual searches are unlikely to detect birds.

Threats: Clearing, fragmentation and disturbance

Ground Parrots are sensitive to the loss of dense heath and sedgeland, changes in fire regime and increased predator access. Risks are highest where clearing removes occupied habitat or leaves small isolated patches exposed to fire, cats and foxes.

Historical clearing for agriculture and residential development has removed and fragmented habitat. Current projects can reduce habitat directly through clearing, roads, compounds, drainage works, utilities and repeated access through retained heath.

Fragmentation can separate small populations and reduce the amount of dense cover available for feeding, nesting and roosting. The western form is especially vulnerable because its remaining range and population are very small.

  • Avoid clearing coastal heathland and sedgeland where feasible, including apparently vacant areas beside known records.
  • Map suitable habitat, recent fire history and known records before finalising the construction footprint.
  • Keep temporary disturbance within the approved footprint and rehabilitate temporary work areas with appropriate local heath and sedgeland species.
  • Control domestic dogs and cats around coastal subdivisions and construction accommodation.

Threats: Fire

Large, intense or frequent fires can remove cover, food resources and nesting habitat. The eastern form can recolonise after fire, but the time required and density response vary between regions. Fire intervals shorter than two years may be harmful, while intervals longer than 30 years can also make some NSW habitat unsuitable.

The western form is particularly vulnerable to large fires because a large proportion of the remaining population may be exposed at the same time.

  • Do not use broad hazard reduction burning in occupied or potential habitat without species specific fire planning.
  • Protect retained heath from construction ignition, hot works, uncontrolled burns and firebreak expansion.
  • Increase predator control and monitoring after fire, when ground cover is scarce.

Threats: Predators, disease and habitat condition

Foxes and feral cats prey on Ground Parrots, especially in open areas and after fire when cover is reduced. Predation is a major concern for the western form. Phytophthora cinnamomi can cause dieback of heath habitat, while weeds, hard hoofed animals and altered hydrology can change vegetation structure and seed production.

Psittacine beak and feather disease is a potential or insufficiently assessed threat. The supplied sources do not establish its effect on wild Ground Parrot populations, but disease risk is relevant to captive management and contact with other parrots.

  • Use fox and feral cat control around occupied habitat, with increased attention after fire and during construction disturbance.
  • Clean vehicles, footwear and equipment before entering susceptible heath to reduce the risk of spreading Phytophthora cinnamomi.
  • Prevent weed spread and manage drainage so that water tables, salinity and seasonal wetting patterns are not materially altered.
  • Apply biosecurity controls if birds are captured, held, translocated or brought near captive or other free ranging parrots.

Survey methodology: 1. Desktop and habitat assessment

Ground Parrots are cryptic, ground dwelling parrots of dense coastal and near coastal heathland, sedgeland and swampy heath. Surveys must focus on their distinctive calls during twilight, because visual searches and moving transects have low detection value in dense vegetation.

Typical home range: About 8 to 20 hectares in eastern populations; an average individual home range of 9.2 hectares was recorded in south eastern Queensland.

Habitat use after fire: Eastern birds may recolonise burnt habitat after 1 to 2 years and can reach peak densities 5 to 8 years after fire. Western birds are generally associated with heath unburnt for at least 5 years.

  • Check current state records, threatened species databases and local recovery or fire management plans before fieldwork.
  • Map dry or moist graminoid heathland, sedgeland, swampy heath, low Banksia, Hakea, Allocasuarina and mallee heath, including habitat that is regenerating after fire.
  • Treat dense vegetation below about one metre high as potential habitat where food plants, cover and roosting or nesting sites are present.
  • Record fire history because habitat suitability changes with time since fire, and extensive fire can temporarily remove habitat.
  • Assess connected heath patches, firebreaks, tracks and roadsides because birds can move between suitable patches and may use recently burnt or disturbed areas.

Survey methodology: 2. Fixed point and aural surveys

Eastern south east Queensland minimum aural effort: Five hours over three days for each 50 hectares of suitable habitat, using morning and evening sessions.

Western ground parrot point survey effort: Twelve hours over four days for areas under 50 hectares, with surveys before dawn or after dusk.

Main detection cue: Distinctive rising and ascending whistles, most detectable around dawn and dusk.

  • Use fixed listening points in suitable habitat rather than relying on walking transects through dense heath.
  • For the eastern subspecies in south east Queensland, conduct morning and evening sessions of at least 30 minutes that include 20 minutes before to 10 minutes after civil dawn and 10 minutes before to 20 minutes after civil dusk.
  • For the western subspecies, use multiple fixed observers about 400 metres apart where practicable, or use transect point surveys from fixed listening locations before sunrise and after sunset.
  • Complete repeated sessions over more than one day because calling varies between days and birds may call less frequently at very low density.
  • Give preference to the breeding period when calling and detectability may increase. Eastern birds breed mainly from July to November, with most south east Queensland egg laying in August and September. Western breeding records indicate activity from about July to November.

Survey methodology: 3. Automated acoustic recording

Eastern detection probability: An estimated 0.47 for a one hour recording at occupied sites during the breeding season under low ambient noise conditions, with 0.38 in the morning and 0.55 in the evening.

Eastern minimum automated effort: Five one hour recordings over three days using morning and evening sessions, or four one hour evening recordings over four days, for each 50 hectares of suitable habitat.

Eastern confidence guide: Five one hour recordings over three days with morning and evening sessions, six one hour recordings over six days using mornings only, or four one hour recordings over four days using evenings only, were estimated to provide 95 percent confidence that a site was unoccupied under the stated conditions.

  • Deploy acoustic recorders just above the heath, rather than high in the wind or down within vegetation.
  • For eastern birds in south east Queensland, schedule recordings around civil dawn and civil dusk, with evening recording generally more effective than morning recording.
  • Avoid relying on recordings made during strong wind, rain or strong surf noise, and document weather, recorder model, gain and sampling rate.
  • Review recordings for the distinctive calls and account for interference from white cheeked honeyeaters, wallum froglets and other background species.
  • Use longer deployments where possible so that the required number of recordings occurs during suitable weather.

Survey methodology: 4. Playback and visual methods

  • Use playback only as a supplementary method and follow the relevant state permit and animal ethics requirements.
  • Do not assume that a failure to respond to playback means the species is absent, because response to playback is unpredictable.
  • If playback is used for western birds, undertake it before and during the breeding period and preferably under overcast conditions, while recording the time, volume, sequence and response.
  • Do not rely on flushing birds, spotlighting or walking transects as the primary detection method because birds are cryptic and moving observers hear calls poorly in dense heath.
  • Use visual searches to identify habitat, nests and birds flushed by unavoidable activity, not as the sole presence or absence survey.

Survey methodology: Minimum effort and reporting

  • Survey all mapped suitable habitat within and beside the disturbance footprint, including connected retained patches that may be used during clearing.
  • Use the eastern Queensland effort guide where the project is in south east Queensland and the western point survey guide where the project is in the south west of Western Australia; otherwise justify the selected state or project method using local habitat, fire history and taxon records.
  • Record survey dates, start and finish times, coordinates, habitat, fire age, weather, wind, rain, recorder settings, observer locations, call detections and negative survey results.
  • Treat a negative result as unconfirmed absence unless the survey had suitable habitat coverage, suitable weather and adequate twilight effort.
  • Submit confirmed records, call recordings where available and survey metadata to the relevant state wildlife database and notify the relevant land manager or threatened species authority.
  • Retain raw recordings, spectrograms, photographs, GPS tracks and field sheets with the project environmental records.

Before habitat disturbance: Avoid and minimise

Plan the project around the species' dependence on dense heath and sedgeland, its low detectability and its sensitivity to fire, predators and habitat fragmentation. The western subspecies has a very small remaining range and the eastern subspecies occurs in fragmented coastal populations, so avoid clearing suitable habitat wherever practicable.

Eastern habitat response to fire: Habitat can be recolonised after 1 to 2 years, but densities may peak 5 to 8 years after fire; fire intervals of less than 2 years or greater than 30 years may reduce suitability in some eastern areas.

Western occupied locations in the 2013 advice: Fitzgerald River National Park and Cape Arid National Park to Nuytsland Nature Reserve in south west Western Australia.

  • Redesign the footprint to retain dense heathland, sedgeland, swampy heath and connected habitat patches.
  • Retain unburnt or mature heath with dense ground cover, seed producing plants and concealed roosting or nesting sites.
  • Avoid creating narrow isolated remnants, dead ends and new access routes through retained heath.
  • Keep machinery, stockpiles, spoil, lighting and drainage works out of retained habitat and avoid repeated vehicle access through heath.
  • Avoid extensive or intense fire in occupied or potential habitat, and do not use fire as a routine clearing method without an approved species specific fire plan.
  • Control domestic dogs and cats around the work area and include fox and feral cat controls, particularly where fire or clearing reduces ground cover.

Before habitat disturbance: Approvals and work planning

  • Confirm the taxon and subspecies before works because state listings and national protection differ between the eastern and western forms.
  • Check the current EPBC Act status, noting that the project brief identifies Pezoporus wallicus as not EPBC listed, while the western subspecies is identified in the supplied Australian Government documents as nationally threatened; obtain current departmental advice before relying on the listing result.
  • Obtain all required state wildlife permits, clearing approvals, threatened species authorisations, animal ethics approvals and fauna handling licences before works start.
  • Schedule clearing outside the local breeding period where practicable, with particular care from July to November for eastern birds and during the locally documented breeding period for western birds.
  • Stage clearing so that retained habitat remains connected and undisturbed habitat is available before each work area is opened.
  • Prepare a fauna management plan that identifies survey effort, qualified fauna spotter catcher duties, stop work triggers, handling arrangements, veterinary contacts, predator controls and reporting.

Before habitat disturbance: Pre-clearance preparation

  • Complete a targeted pre-clearance survey using fixed point or acoustic methods, with effort matched to the subspecies, habitat and state guideline.
  • Mark all retained heath, sedgeland, drainage lines, wet areas, habitat links and no-go areas before machinery enters the site.
  • Install exclusion fencing where it can prevent machinery, workers, vehicles and domestic animals entering retained habitat without blocking required movement between habitat patches.
  • Brief all machinery operators and workers on the species, its calls, the no-go areas, the stop work procedure and the location of the fauna spotter catcher.
  • Inspect the work area immediately before clearing for birds, nests, injured fauna and recently used habitat, and repeat the inspection after overnight shutdowns when works are staged.
  • Keep access routes to the minimum needed and do not create repeated paths through retained heath that could increase fox or cat access.

During habitat disturbance: Daily controls and machinery interface

Ground Parrots spend most of their time on or near the ground in dense vegetation. Clearing must therefore be slow, supervised and staged. A fauna spotter catcher must have authority to pause machinery whenever a bird or unexpected habitat risk is identified.

  • Inspect the active work area each day before machinery starts, including the clearing edge, access tracks and retained habitat.
  • Use a qualified and authorised fauna spotter catcher who remains in a position to see the clearing face and communicate directly with each machine operator.
  • Clear in one direction towards retained habitat only where the fauna management plan confirms that this will not push birds into roads, open ground, predators or further machinery.
  • Use low ground speed, short clearing lifts and staged vegetation removal so the spotter catcher can inspect exposed ground and dense vegetation between machine movements.
  • Stop machinery immediately when the spotter catcher gives the agreed stop signal, loses sight of the clearing face, detects a bird or nest, or identifies an unsafe condition.
  • Do not allow workers to chase, flush, corner or surround a Ground Parrot.

During habitat disturbance: Habitat feature handling

  • Treat dense heath, sedgeland, low shrubs, grass tussocks and ground nests as habitat features even where no tree hollows are present.
  • Do not disturb wet heath, swampy heath, drainage lines or seed producing vegetation unless it is within the approved footprint.
  • Avoid unnecessary removal of logs, coarse woody debris, rocks and low shelter because these features can provide cover and should be retained where safe.
  • Do not create new firebreaks or burn piles in retained habitat without approval under the fire management plan.
  • Inspect any nest, roost site or concealed ground shelter found during clearing and establish a temporary exclusion area directed by the fauna spotter catcher or project ecologist.
  • Treat tree hollows as general fauna habitat where trees occur, but do not assume that hollow relocation or nest boxes replaces the dense ground habitat required by this species.

During habitat disturbance: Animal encounters and stop work

  • Stop work and keep people and machinery back if a Ground Parrot is seen, heard at close range, flushed, trapped or found injured.
  • Allow an apparently healthy bird to move into nearby retained habitat without pursuit where it can do so safely.
  • Only an appropriately licensed and authorised person may capture or handle the bird, and handling must be limited to what is required for immediate safety, assessment or approved relocation.
  • Do not relocate a healthy bird outside the local occupied or suitable habitat area; use nearby retained habitat identified in the fauna management plan and follow state permit conditions.
  • Place an injured or sick bird in a suitable ventilated container, keep it dark and quiet, and transfer it promptly to an approved wildlife carer or veterinarian under the direction of the project ecologist.
  • Stop work if a nest, dependent young, repeated bird detections, newly identified occupied habitat, fire, predator concentration or unsafe fauna escape route is found.
  • Resume work only after the fauna spotter catcher and project ecologist have assessed the risk, recorded the decision and confirmed that approvals and controls remain adequate.

During habitat disturbance: Records and incident reporting

  • Record every sighting, call detection, flushed bird, nest, handling event, injury, relocation and stop work event with time, coordinates, habitat and work activity.
  • Record the bird's condition, photographs where safe, direction of movement, release location and the names and licence details of people involved in handling.
  • Report injured, dead or handled threatened fauna to the relevant state authority where required by the permit or approval.
  • Report any clearing outside the approved footprint, fire, predator attack, unauthorised handling or failure of exclusion fencing as an environmental incident.
  • Update the daily fauna log and map all retained and disturbed habitat before the next work stage begins.

After habitat disturbance: Completion checks

Completion of clearing does not remove the need for fauna controls. Check the disturbed edge, retained habitat and access routes, then monitor whether the remaining habitat continues to provide dense cover and calling locations.

  • Inspect the cleared footprint, retained habitat edge, stockpile areas, drains and access tracks for birds, nests, injured fauna and animals trapped in excavations.
  • Remove or cover pits, trenches and other hazards at the end of each shift, or install fauna escape ramps where the approved fauna plan requires them.
  • Confirm that exclusion fencing, gates, predator controls and no-go markers remain intact before demobilisation.
  • Check that no spoil, mulch, sediment, weeds, chemicals or construction materials have entered retained heath, sedgeland or wet areas.
  • Undertake a final habitat and fauna inspection after the last clearing stage and document any residual risks.

After habitat disturbance: Monitoring and reporting

  • Monitor retained habitat with fixed point listening or automated acoustic recording at the times and effort appropriate to the local subspecies.
  • Use repeat monitoring to compare call detections, occupied habitat, fire age, vegetation cover and connectivity before and after the project.
  • Inspect the site after fire, major vegetation removal, predator control failures or changes to drainage because these events can alter cover and food availability.
  • Submit required records and monitoring results to the relevant state wildlife database, approval agency and land manager.
  • Report non compliance, unexpected mortality, new occupied habitat and any failure to meet rehabilitation or offset conditions through the project's environmental incident system.

After habitat disturbance: Ongoing controls and offsets

  • Maintain predator, weed, erosion, drainage and access controls for the period specified in the approval or fauna management plan.
  • Keep retained habitat connected and prevent new informal tracks through heath and sedgeland.
  • Apply approved offsets or restoration measures where residual impacts cannot be avoided, and ensure the offset supports the same Ground Parrot taxon and habitat type affected by the project.
  • Review fire management after each fire and adjust the program using monitoring results rather than applying a uniform interval across all sites.

Rehabilitation actions: Restore habitat structure and food plants

Rehabilitation should recreate dense, low coastal heath or sedgeland with year round seed resources, ground cover and safe movement routes. Planting alone is not enough if fire, weeds, disease, predators or altered drainage continue to reduce habitat quality.

Eastern food use: Eastern birds feed mainly on seeds from at least 40 plant species, with one Queensland account recording use of up to about 60 plant species.

Ground nesting cover: Nests are concealed on the ground beneath dense sedges, rushes, ferns or low shrubs, including Xanthorrhoea, Banksia, Empodisma and Leptospermum.

  • Use local provenance plants from the appropriate heath or sedgeland community and match the pre disturbance vegetation structure.
  • Recreate dense ground cover with sedges, rushes, low shrubs and heath plants rather than establishing open grass or tall woodland.
  • Where local information supports it, include food plants such as Caustis recurvata, Conospermum taxifolium, Grevillea leiophylla, Pseudanthus orientalis, Sprengelia sprengelioides, Eurychorda complanata, Anthelepis paludosa, Lepyrodia scariosa and Epacris species in eastern habitat.
  • Retain or reinstate logs, coarse woody debris and low shelter where they do not create a fire or safety hazard.
  • Reinstate natural drainage and wetting patterns in swampy heath and sedgeland, and prevent sediment, altered water tables and concentrated runoff from entering retained habitat.
  • Do not plant trees or install nest boxes as a substitute for the low dense heath habitat used by Ground Parrots.

Rehabilitation actions: Fire, weeds, disease and predators

Fire related eastern guidance: Eastern habitat may be recolonised after 1 to 2 years, with densities reported to peak 5 to 8 years after fire; fire less than every 2 years or more than 30 years apart may reduce suitability in some areas.

Key western threats: Large or frequent fires, feral cat and fox predation, habitat degradation, Phytophthora dieback and climate related changes to fire and rainfall are identified threats.

  • Prepare a site specific fire plan that protects recently restored and occupied habitat from extensive or intense fire.
  • Avoid burns at intervals that repeatedly remove cover before plants and seed resources recover, and avoid allowing long unburnt vegetation to become unsuitable where local evidence identifies that risk.
  • Control weeds and prevent machinery movement from spreading Phytophthora cinnamomi into susceptible heath.
  • Clean machinery, footwear and equipment before entering restoration areas and follow the approved dieback hygiene protocol.
  • Control foxes and feral cats, with increased attention after fire or clearing when ground cover is sparse.
  • Keep domestic cats and dogs out of restored and retained habitat.

Rehabilitation actions: Monitoring and success measures

Eastern monitoring timing: Eastern birds are present year round where they occur, but detectability may be greater during the winter breeding period and calling is concentrated around civil dawn and dusk.

Western habitat timing: Western birds are generally sedentary, but may appear in regenerating areas about 5 years after fire; habitat recovery varies with region and heath type.

  • Set measurable rehabilitation targets for native plant cover, dense ground vegetation, weed cover, drainage condition, fire age, predator activity and connectivity to retained habitat.
  • Use fixed point listening or automated acoustic recording during dawn and dusk to test whether Ground Parrots use the restored area.
  • For eastern sites in south east Queensland, use the acoustic effort guide of at least five one hour recordings over three days with morning and evening sessions, or four evening recordings over four days, for each 50 hectares of suitable habitat.
  • For western sites, use fixed point surveys before dawn and after dusk and repeat the western guideline effort where the area is under 50 hectares, unless the approving authority sets a different requirement.
  • Monitor at least through the local breeding period and continue long term monitoring because birds may not occupy restored habitat until dense cover and seed resources develop.
  • Define success as establishment of connected, weed controlled, dense heath or sedgeland with suitable drainage and repeat Ground Parrot detections, not simply completion of planting.
  • Submit rehabilitation monitoring results and confirmed records to the relevant state wildlife database and the approval agency.

Sources