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Swift Parrot (Lathamus discolor)

The Swift Parrot is a small, fast-flying migratory parrot that breeds in Tasmania and moves to mainland south-eastern Australia from autumn to winter. It is listed as Critically Endangered under the EPBC Act, and suitable flowering eucalypts, mature hollow-bearing trees and communal roosts must be considered during clearing, construction and infrastructure works.

Conservation status

Commonwealth, EPBC Act 1999: Critically endangered.

Queensland, Nature Conservation Act 1992: Endangered.

New South Wales, Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016: Endangered.

Victoria, Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988: Critically endangered.

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

Tasmania, Threatened Species Protection Act 1995: Endangered.

Australian Capital Territory, Nature Conservation Act 2014: Critically endangered.

Breeding season

The species is present in Tasmania during the breeding period and on mainland Australia for most of the cooler months. Exact arrival, departure and site-use dates vary with flowering, lerp supply, drought and breeding conditions.

Survey timing should be matched to the location. The national survey guideline recommends mainland surveys from March to July and Tasmanian surveys from August to February. It recommends 20 hours over 8 days for area searches or transects and the same effort for targeted surveys of heavily flowering eucalypts in areas under 50 hectares.

  • Breeding: Birds return to Tasmania from early August. Active breeding usually occurs from September to January and may extend into February.
  • Young: Eggs and dependent young occur in Tasmanian tree hollows during the breeding season. The supplied documents do not give a separate incubation or nestling period.
  • Mainland presence: The population generally moves north in February and March and occupies mainland Australia from about February to October, with most birds recorded in Victoria and New South Wales.
  • Return and dispersal: Birds return to Tasmania from August to October. After breeding, they move through Tasmania in February and March before crossing to the mainland.
  • Highest clearing risk: The highest risk is September to January in Tasmania because eggs, nestlings and incubating females may be present in hollows. Clearing of mainland feeding, roosting or movement habitat can also harm birds from February to October.

Identification

The Swift Parrot is a slim, streamlined parrot with a bright green body, pointed wings and a long pointed tail. It is active, conspicuous and usually detected by its fast flight or distinctive calls.

Adults are mostly bright green, with red on the face, throat, shoulders and underwing coverts. The red throat and chin markings are narrowly bordered with yellow, and the crown has a blue to violet patch.

The wings are angular and pointed. The long tail is dusky red to purple-red and gives the bird a distinctive streamlined silhouette in flight.

Length: Approximately 25 cm.

Wingspan: Approximately 32 to 36 cm.

Weight: Approximately 60 to 80 g.

Identification: Calls and behaviour

The contact call is a loud, distinctive series described as ‘pip-pip-pip’ or a metallic ‘kik-kik-kik’. Soft chattering may be heard while birds are feeding or flying.

Swift Parrots often burst from the canopy at speed and may occur in small parties of up to 30 birds. Large flocks can form where nectar or lerp is abundant.

  • Search flowering or lerp-infested eucalypt canopies during the early morning and late afternoon, when birds are more active and vocal.
  • Listen for contact calls from flying birds, especially where other nectar-feeding birds are concentrated.

Identification: Similar parrots and field signs

The bright green body, red face and underwing, blue crown, pointed wings and long dusky-red tail help separate the Swift Parrot from musk lorikeets and other lorikeets. The long tail and streamlined flight profile are particularly useful at a distance.

Females are slightly duller than males and may show a subtle creamy underwing bar and duller red undertail coverts.

Nests are in tree hollows rather than open nests. Active nesting areas may contain several pairs in the same or neighbouring trees, with nest hollows in living or dead eucalypts. There are no species-specific tracks, scats, sloughs or eyeshine signs useful for routine field identification.

  • Inspect old and senescent eucalypts for multiple hollows, including hollows in trunks, branches and dead stags.
  • Treat suitable hollow-bearing trees near flowering eucalypts as potential breeding habitat even when birds are not seen.

Distribution: States and territories

The Swift Parrot occurs as one migratory population. It breeds in Tasmania and the entire population, or nearly all of it, moves across Bass Strait to mainland south-eastern Australia during the non-breeding period.

The breeding range is concentrated in eastern and south-eastern Tasmania, with additional breeding records from north-west and western Tasmania and Flinders Island. After breeding, birds disperse through Victoria, New South Wales, the ACT, south-eastern Queensland and south-eastern South Australia.

In Victoria, the main range is the box-ironbark region on the inland slopes of the Great Dividing Range, with occasional records around Melbourne, Geelong and Gippsland. In New South Wales, birds occur through coastal forests and woodlands and the western slopes, with larger coastal concentrations during drought.

  • Tasmania: breeding and post-breeding habitat, mainly the east and south-east, with additional records in the north-west, west and on Flinders Island.
  • Victoria: mainly box-ironbark forests and woodlands, with records in the Melbourne, Geelong and Gippsland districts.
  • New South Wales: coastal and western slopes regions, including the central and north coast, Sydney Basin, South East Corner, South Eastern Highlands, Riverina and western slopes regions.
  • Australian Capital Territory: small numbers occur regularly, including in the Murrumbidgee region.
  • Queensland: small numbers occur regularly in south-east Queensland, including the South Eastern Queensland bioregion.
  • South Australia: less frequent records occur in the southern Mount Lofty Ranges and the Bordertown to Naracoorte area.

Distribution: Known strongholds and subpopulations

The Tasmanian breeding range is largely restricted to the east and south-east coast and closely follows the distribution of Tasmanian Blue Gum. Important areas include the Meehan Range, Mount Wellington and surrounds, Tasman Peninsula, Wielangta, the D'Entrecasteaux Channel and Bruny Island, Maria Island, the Southern Forests, and areas between Cockle Creek and Binalong Bay.

North-west Tasmanian sites include the Gog Range, Kelcey Tier, Badger Range, Mount Careless, Round Hill and Dial Range. Potential breeding habitat there is scarce and fragmented.

Mainland priority areas include box-ironbark sites in central and north-eastern Victoria, coastal and western slopes habitats in New South Wales, and selected council reserves and parklands in south-east Queensland. Many mainland sites are outside formal reserves.

  • Check project data against current state mapping and recovery program records because annual use changes with flowering and lerp availability.
  • Do not treat a site as unimportant solely because it was not occupied in one survey year.

Distribution: Population and trend

The population is difficult to count because birds migrate long distances and change feeding sites between years. The available evidence indicates a continuing decline.

Older assessments estimated approximately 2,000 mature individuals, while the Tasmanian Government reports an expert consensus of about 750 mature individuals, with a plausible range of 300 to 1,000. These figures should not be treated as a site population estimate.

Population structure: One migratory population.

Older estimate: Approximately 2,000 mature individuals, based on an assessment published in 2010.

More recent estimate: About 750 mature individuals, with a plausible range of 300 to 1,000.

Modelled decline: A mean projected decline of 86.9 percent over three generations in models that included sugar glider predation.

Three generations: Approximately 16.2 years.

Habitat: Overall habitat

Swift Parrots use different eucalypt habitats through the year. Habitat value depends on the combination of flowering or lerp resources, mature trees and, in Tasmania, suitable nesting hollows.

On the mainland, the species mainly uses dry sclerophyll forests and woodlands, especially box-ironbark communities in Victoria and inland New South Wales. It also uses coastal eucalypt forests and woodlands in New South Wales and Queensland, and occasionally wet sclerophyll forest.

In Tasmania, breeding habitat includes hollow-bearing eucalypt forest close to flowering Blue Gum or Black Gum. Post-breeding birds use a wider range of flowering eucalypt forests, especially in northern and north-western Tasmania.

  • Retain mature and senescent eucalypts, dead stags and hollow-bearing trees within and next to flowering habitat.
  • Assess planted eucalypts, roadside trees, urban park trees and fragmented remnants where flowering or lerp is present, because these can be used opportunistically.

Habitat: Vegetation communities and structure

Important Tasmanian communities include grassy Blue Gum forest, Black Gum forest and forests where Blue Gum or Black Gum occurs as a subdominant species. Important mainland communities include box-ironbark woodland, Grey Box, White Box, Yellow Box, Yellow Gum, Red Ironbark, Mugga Ironbark, Swamp Mahogany, Forest Red Gum, Blackbutt and Spotted Gum communities.

Swift Parrots preferentially use large mature trees because these trees provide more reliable and abundant flowers, lerp and hollows. Nest sites are generally in old-growth or mature forest patches with several hollows and nearby food trees.

Typical nest tree: Diameter at breast height greater than 0.7 m, with several visible hollows and signs of senescence.

Typical nest forest patch: Nest hollows are predominantly in forest patches greater than 100 hectares.

Breeding range size: The 2011 recovery plan described the Tasmanian breeding range as less than 500 km2.

  • Map mature eucalypts, hollow-bearing trees, dead stags, flowering trees and lerp infestations before clearing.
  • Include adjacent trees and vegetation used for movement, feeding and roosting when assessing the effect of removing a mature tree or remnant.

Habitat: Climate and elevation

The documents describe seasonal movement between Tasmanian summer breeding habitat and cooler mainland feeding habitat, but do not specify a species-specific elevation limit.

Food availability is strongly affected by rainfall, drought, flowering conditions, lerp production and wildfire. Birds can move between inland and coastal areas when drought reduces food availability inland.

Foraging habitat: Food and feeding sites

Swift Parrots feed mainly in the outer canopy of eucalypts. They move between sites as flowering and lerp availability change, so a site with no birds during one visit may still be used in another year.

The main foods are nectar from flowering eucalypts and psyllid lerp, which is the sugary casing produced by psyllid nymphs. Seeds, fruit, wattle blossom and other flowers are also taken.

Birds usually feed in large or mature trees and may hang upside down while feeding. They commonly feed with lorikeets and honeyeaters where food is abundant.

  • Inspect the canopy for flowering eucalypts, lerp deposits, feeding birds, discarded flower parts and concentrated activity by other nectar-feeding birds.
  • Record the tree species, tree size, flowering intensity, lerp abundance and the number of Swift Parrots present during each survey.

Foraging habitat: Key food plants

Tasmanian breeding and feeding trees include Blue Gum, Black Gum and, in some areas or years, Brooker's Gum, Stringybarks, White Gum, Mountain Gum and Cabbage Gum.

Mainland food trees include Yellow Gum, Red Ironbark, Mugga Ironbark, Grey Box, White Box, Yellow Box, Swamp Mahogany, Forest Red Gum, Blackbutt and Spotted Gum.

  • Retain flowering feed trees and mature trees that may produce nectar or lerp even when they are not flowering during the survey.
  • Treat coastal Swamp Mahogany, Spotted Gum and Forest Red Gum stands as potential drought refuge or winter feeding habitat in New South Wales and Queensland.

Foraging habitat: Movement between feeding sites

On the mainland, Swift Parrots are semi-nomadic and may stay at a site for only a few hours or for weeks or months, depending on food supply. Some sites are revisited on a cyclic basis.

Most birds winter in Victoria and New South Wales, but drought can shift birds towards coastal New South Wales. Small numbers may reach south-east Queensland, the ACT and south-eastern South Australia.

  • Use records from several seasons where possible before concluding that a site is not used.
  • Survey heavily flowering eucalypts and lerp-infested trees between March and July on the mainland, with additional surveys when local conditions indicate high food availability.

Breeding habitat: Breeding biology

Breeding occurs in Tasmania, usually from September to January. Nesting sites combine mature hollow-bearing eucalypts with nearby flowering food trees, and several pairs may nest close together.

Pairs nest in hollows in living or dead eucalypts. Breeding success is linked to the amount and intensity of Blue Gum or Black Gum flowering and to the level of sugar glider predation.

The species commonly forms loose colonies. Aggregations of up to 50 nesting pairs have been recorded over more than 100 hectares where flowering and hollow resources are both suitable.

Breeding range: Tasmania, mainly the east and south-east, with additional records in the north-west, west and on Flinders Island.

Arrival in Tasmania: Birds generally return from early August, with most completing the return by the end of October.

Breeding season: Usually September to January, extending into February in some years and locations.

Clutch size: 3 to 6 eggs.

Fledglings: An average of 3 fledglings is reported.

Age at first breeding: Approximately 2.0 years.

Generation length: Approximately 5.4 years.

Maximum longevity: Approximately 8.8 years, based on the conservation assessment.

Incubation and nestling period: Not specified in the supplied documents.

  • Avoid felling or disturbing hollow-bearing trees in Tasmanian breeding habitat during the breeding season unless the work has been assessed and approved under the relevant requirements.
  • Search old trees and dead stags within or near flowering Blue Gum, Black Gum or other suitable eucalypt forest for active or recently used hollows.
  • Retain groups of nest trees and the nearby feeding trees rather than isolating individual hollows.

Breeding habitat: Nest-site requirements

Nest hollows occur in older growth trees, live trees, dead trees and stags. The species selects trees and forest patches with many hollows, usually close to the main food source.

Individual hollows and nesting sites may be reused in different years, but not necessarily in consecutive years. The presence and intensity of flowering can determine which suitable sites are occupied in a particular breeding season.

Nest tree diameter: Typically greater than 0.7 m diameter at breast height.

Nest tree condition: Usually old or senescent, with several visible hollows; both living and dead eucalypts are used.

Associated forest patch: Most recorded hollows occur in forest patches greater than 100 hectares.

Recorded breeding aggregation: Up to 50 nesting pairs over more than 100 hectares.

  • Measure tree diameter at breast height and record every visible hollow, including hollows in trunks, branches and spouts.
  • Inspect for breeding activity only under an appropriate wildlife handling and disturbance protocol. Do not enter, block or repeatedly approach a hollow.
  • Maintain a buffer around occupied or potentially occupied nest trees that also protects nearby flowering trees and access routes used by birds.

Sheltering habitat: Roosts

Swift Parrots roost communally, often in trees near feeding areas. Roost characteristics are not well defined, so roost trees and surrounding vegetation should be retained where repeated use is recorded.

Roost sites have been recorded in Tasmania, Victoria and New South Wales. Birds may return to the same tree or group of trees each night for extended periods.

Vegetation structure and proximity to feeding areas are likely to influence roost selection, but the available documents do not provide a standard roost-tree size or buffer distance.

  • Record repeated evening arrivals, departures, flock size and roost-tree locations during project surveys.
  • Avoid removing or lighting repeatedly used roost trees, particularly where they are close to flowering or lerp-rich feed trees.
  • Retain connected vegetation between feeding areas and known roosts where practicable.

Sheltering habitat: Hollows and cover

Hollow-bearing trees provide nesting shelter and may also provide daytime refuge. The species uses old living trees, dead trees and dead stags, with several hollows often present in a suitable tree.

No species-specific ground-cover, burrow or den requirement is described. Swift Parrots are canopy-feeding birds and are rarely observed foraging on the ground, although they may come to the ground to drink.

Known hollow-bearing tree feature: Trees commonly have a diameter at breast height greater than 0.7 m and several visible hollows.

Known nest patch feature: Nest hollows are predominantly in forest patches greater than 100 hectares.

  • Retain hollow-bearing trees, dead stags and adjacent mature vegetation during clearing and construction planning.
  • Do not remove a dead tree solely because it has no foliage if it contains hollows within potential breeding habitat.
  • Check for repeated roosting and drinking locations at the site, especially near mature eucalypts.

Threats: Clearing, forestry and fragmentation

Swift Parrots are affected by the loss of feeding and nesting habitat across their range. Threats can act together, with habitat disturbance increasing exposure to nest predators, competition, fire and collision hazards.

Clearing for plantations, forestry, firewood, agriculture, residential development, industry and infrastructure removes mature feed trees, nest trees and hollow resources. Fragmentation also reduces the amount of suitable forest around nest trees and can increase competition and predation.

Historical clearing has been extensive. About 83 percent of box-ironbark habitat was reported as cleared in Victoria and 70 percent in New South Wales. About 70 percent of grassy Tasmanian Blue Gum forest was also reported as cleared.

Box-ironbark habitat cleared: About 83 percent in Victoria and 70 percent in New South Wales, according to the conservation advice.

Grassy Tasmanian Blue Gum forest cleared: Approximately 70 percent.

White Box, Yellow Box and Blakely's Red Gum woodland remaining: Less than 4 percent of pre-European extent in the cited south-western slopes and southern tablelands of New South Wales.

  • Avoid clearing mature flowering eucalypts, hollow-bearing trees, dead stags and connected vegetation around known or potential breeding sites.
  • Assess both current food supply and the future value of non-flowering mature trees, because flowering and lerp production vary between years.
  • Plan works outside the Tasmanian breeding season where possible, and use seasonal controls where clearing cannot be avoided.

Threats: Predators and competition

Introduced Sugar Gliders, also referred to in recent Tasmanian material as Krefft's Glider, prey on eggs and nestlings and may kill incubating females. Predation has been recorded at mainland Tasmanian breeding sites and is lower on offshore islands where Sugar Gliders are absent.

Competition occurs with honeybees, starlings, introduced birds and aggressive honeyeaters for flowers, lerp and tree hollows. Noisy Miners can exclude Swift Parrots from disturbed woodland.

  • Do not create new disturbance or retain isolated nest patches without assessing the associated increase in predator and competitor access.
  • Control or manage introduced predators and competitors only under an approved species or site management programme.
  • Keep food trees and hollow-bearing trees in larger connected patches where practicable.

Threats: Fire, climate and food supply

Wildfire can alter flowering patterns and reduce the availability of tree hollows. At one known nesting location, more than 60 percent of nest trees collapsed within one year after wildfire.

Drought and changing rainfall can reduce nectar and lerp supplies and shift birds between inland and coastal feeding areas. Climate change is expected to affect flowering, breeding success, drought frequency and fire frequency.

  • Protect mature trees and retain recruitment trees after fire so that future hollow and flowering resources are not lost at the same time.
  • Include flowering phenology, drought refuge habitat and fire history in project impact assessments.
  • Do not assume that burned or drought-affected habitat is unused without checking for feeding, roosting or movement records.

Threats: Collisions, disease and other impacts

Swift Parrots are killed or injured by windows, wire netting, mesh fences, vehicles and other human-made structures. Collision risk is recorded around greater Hobart, Melbourne and parts of coastal New South Wales, and can increase when birds feed in urban areas.

Psittacine Beak and Feather Disease occurs in the species and has been recorded in wild nestlings. Illegal capture and trade remain additional threats.

  • Use bird-safe glazing treatments, external screens or visual markers on windows near feeding and roosting habitat.
  • Make mesh fences visible to flying birds and avoid fine wire or transparent barriers across flight paths.
  • Manage vehicle speeds and construction traffic near known feeding, roosting and breeding trees.
  • Apply hygiene and disease-control procedures when handling birds, nest material or equipment between sites.

Survey methodology: 1. Area searches and transects

Survey for Swift Parrots must account for their migration, nomadic movements and changing food supply. Search suitable eucalypt habitat when birds are active, and assess both flowering trees and hollow-bearing trees.

On the mainland, survey suitable dry sclerophyll forest, woodland and coastal eucalypt habitat between March and July. In Tasmania, survey between August and February, including the breeding period from mid-September to late January.

Conduct searches in the early morning and afternoon, when Swift Parrots are more active and vocal. Record birds by sight and by their distinctive calls, including the flight call.

Search flowering eucalypts, lerp-infested trees and stands containing large mature feed trees. On the mainland, give particular attention to box-ironbark woodland and forests containing Swamp Mahogany, Spotted Gum, Forest Red Gum, Mugga Ironbark, White Box, Grey Box, Blackbutt and Yellow Box.

In Tasmania, search hollow-bearing eucalypt forest near flowering Blue Gum or Black Gum, particularly where flowering trees occur within suitable nesting habitat.

Use slow-moving vehicle transects where suitable habitat is extensive or restricted to roadside remnants. Vehicle surveys can detect the species' loud call over engine noise.

Recommended effort: 20 hours over 8 days for area searches or transect surveys in areas smaller than 50 hectares.

Mainland survey period: March to July.

Tasmanian survey period: August to February.

Survey methodology: 2. Targeted searches of food trees

Target patches of heavily flowering eucalypts and trees with abundant lerp, as Swift Parrots move in response to food availability and may remain at one site for only a short period.

Survey the outer canopy for feeding birds and listen for contact calls from birds moving through the canopy. Birds may be quiet and difficult to detect while feeding, especially in the middle of the day.

Record the tree species, flowering intensity, lerp abundance, flock size, behaviour and the location of all observations. Map nearby mature trees and hollow-bearing trees that could be used for nesting or roosting.

Recommended effort: 20 hours over 8 days for targeted surveys of heavily flowering eucalypts.

Survey methodology: 3. Breeding habitat searches

In Tasmania, search hollow-bearing trees from August to February, with particular attention to September to January when active nesting occurs.

Inspect patches of older eucalypts with multiple visible hollows, especially where the trees are close to flowering Blue Gum, Black Gum or other suitable food trees. Nest trees are commonly in forest patches greater than 100 hectares and are typically more than 0.7 metres in diameter at breast height, although these features do not exclude smaller suitable trees.

Treat groups of nearby hollow-bearing trees as potential breeding habitat. Several pairs can nest close together, and individual hollows and sites may be reused in different years.

Breeding season: September to January, extending into February in some Tasmanian years and locations.

Typical nest tree indicator: Older tree with hollows, often more than 0.7 metres diameter at breast height.

Survey methodology: Minimum effort and reporting

  • Use the survey effort in the national guideline as the minimum targeted effort where the species or suitable habitat may occur, and increase effort where flowering, lerp abundance, weather or access constraints reduce detectability.
  • Repeat surveys across suitable seasonal windows where one year's observations cannot reliably establish presence or absence, because Swift Parrot distribution changes between years with food availability.
  • Start with a desktop review of state and Commonwealth species records, recovery plans, habitat mapping and recent sightings before selecting survey sites.
  • Do not treat a negative result as proof of absence where suitable habitat has not been surveyed in the appropriate season or where flowering and lerp conditions were poor.
  • Submit records, including nil records where required, to the relevant state or territory wildlife database and provide significant records to the Swift Parrot Recovery Team or BirdLife Australia survey program.
  • Record the survey dates, times, effort, weather, observers, methods, habitat condition, flowering and lerp conditions, calls, photographs, flock size, coordinates and any evidence of nesting or roosting.

Before habitat disturbance: Avoid and minimise habitat loss

Plan the work around the Swift Parrot's migratory cycle and its dependence on mature eucalypts, food trees and tree hollows. Avoid clearing these features wherever practicable, particularly in Tasmanian breeding habitat and in repeatedly used mainland feeding sites.

  • Retain mature eucalypts, hollow-bearing trees, dead stags and large winter-flowering feed trees within and beside the work area.
  • Avoid clearing Tasmanian breeding habitat, especially hollow-bearing forest near flowering Blue Gum or Black Gum, and avoid clearing mainland box-ironbark, coastal eucalypt and other known feeding habitat.
  • Retain groups of trees rather than isolated trees where practicable, because Swift Parrots use loose breeding colonies, communal roosts and connected feeding areas.
  • Keep retained feeding and nesting trees connected to adjoining woodland or forest and protect them from root damage, compaction, firewood collection, pruning and indirect loss of flowering resources.
  • Avoid works in known or repeatedly used feeding, nesting or roosting sites. Give added weight to sites where large flocks, site fidelity or repeated seasonal use has been recorded.

Before habitat disturbance: Approvals and work planning

National status: Critically Endangered under the EPBC Act.

State and territory status: Critically Endangered in the ACT and Victoria, and Endangered in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania.

  • Check the EPBC Act referral requirements before approving an action that may significantly affect this nationally listed Critically Endangered species or its habitat.
  • Obtain all required state or territory approvals, threatened species permits, wildlife licences and tree-clearing approvals before work starts.
  • Prepare a fauna management plan that identifies Swift Parrot habitat, survey results, exclusion areas, clearing limits, fauna handling arrangements, stop-work triggers, reporting duties and post-work monitoring.
  • Schedule mainland clearing outside the main March to July winter survey period where this avoids occupied feeding habitat, and schedule Tasmanian clearing outside the August to February breeding and return period where practicable.
  • Stage works so that retained habitat remains available between work areas and so that flowering trees, roosts and potential nest trees are not isolated by successive clearing stages.

Before habitat disturbance: Site preparation

  • Complete the pre-clearance survey in the appropriate seasonal window and update the site map immediately before works if flowering, lerp or bird activity has changed.
  • Mark retained mature eucalypts, hollow-bearing trees, active or potential nest trees, roost trees, flowering feed trees and exclusion areas before machinery enters the site.
  • Install exclusion fencing or other physical controls around retained habitat where they can prevent machinery access, canopy damage, soil compaction and storage of materials.
  • Brief machinery operators and the fauna spotter catcher on the mapped habitat, no-go areas, clearing sequence, daily checks and the stop-work procedure.
  • Confirm the location and contact details of the authorised fauna handler, wildlife carer, veterinarian, project ecologist, regulator and relevant wildlife database before clearing begins.

During habitat disturbance: Daily controls and machinery coordination

Use a controlled clearing sequence and keep a fauna spotter catcher in direct communication with machinery operators. Swift Parrots are fast flying and may be detected by call before they are seen, so work must stop when birds or occupied habitat are identified.

  • Inspect the work area each day before clearing for Swift Parrots, active feeding, flocking, roosting, nesting activity, damaged exclusion fencing and new hazards.
  • Keep the fauna spotter catcher in a position with a clear view of the clearing face and direct communication with the operator.
  • Clear in stages towards retained habitat, leaving an unobstructed flight path and allowing birds to leave without being driven into machinery, roads, buildings or other hazards.
  • Do not fell, prune, burn or damage a marked hollow-bearing tree, mature feed tree, roost tree or retained habitat patch unless the approved plan specifically permits the action.
  • Stop machinery immediately when the spotter catcher directs, and do not restart until the spotter catcher has inspected the area and authorised recommencement.

During habitat disturbance: Habitat feature handling

  • Treat hollow-bearing trees as potential Swift Parrot breeding habitat in Tasmania during August to February and avoid felling them where practicable.
  • Do not remove dead stags or large mature eucalypts used for hollows or food unless authorised under the project approval and fauna management plan.
  • Protect retained trees from impact, root-zone compaction, soil fill, trenching, stockpiles, vehicle parking and damage to the canopy or flowering branches.
  • Retain fallen timber and other natural shelter features where they form part of retained habitat, and do not burn or chip material before the spotter catcher has checked it for fauna.
  • Do not relocate hollows, nest material or other habitat features without the project ecologist's direction and any required approval.

During habitat disturbance: Fauna response, stop-work and records

  • If a Swift Parrot is found, stop nearby work, keep people and machinery back, and allow the bird to leave the area without chasing, handling or directing it towards hazards.
  • Only an appropriately authorised fauna spotter catcher or wildlife handler may capture or handle the bird, and handling must be limited to what is needed for immediate safety, assessment and approved relocation.
  • Relocate a healthy bird only where authorised and only to nearby retained habitat that provides suitable eucalypt food trees and safe cover, following the fauna management plan and permit conditions.
  • Take an injured or sick bird to an approved veterinarian or wildlife carer as soon as practicable, using a ventilated container and minimising noise, heat and handling.
  • Stop work and notify the project ecologist and relevant regulator if a nest, eggs, nestling, incubating or injured bird, repeated flocking, a communal roost, or an unexpected concentration of Swift Parrots is found.
  • Record every observation, capture, injury, mortality, relocation, nest or stop-work event with the date, time, coordinates, habitat, cause, action taken, handler and outcome.
  • Report collisions, injuries and deaths to the project ecologist and relevant state wildlife authority, and submit verified records to the relevant wildlife database.

After habitat disturbance: Post-clearance checks

Post-clearance checks must confirm that retained Swift Parrot habitat remains safe and usable. Continue controls until machinery, traffic and rehabilitation activities no longer present a foreseeable risk.

  • Have the fauna spotter catcher or ecologist inspect the cleared area, retained trees, exclusion fencing and access routes at the end of each clearing stage.
  • Check retained hollow-bearing trees and mature feed trees for trunk, root, branch and canopy damage, and document any loss or decline in flowering resources.
  • Search the work area and nearby retained habitat for injured or dead birds, collision victims and displaced fauna after clearing and after major construction activities.
  • Remove temporary hazards such as loose wire, mesh, open pits, reflective structures and unsecured fencing that could cause collisions or restrict bird movement.

After habitat disturbance: Monitoring and reporting

Mainland monitoring window: March to July.

Tasmanian monitoring window: August to February.

  • Monitor retained habitat during the next suitable Swift Parrot season, using area searches or transects and the species-specific effort in the survey guideline where the project may have affected feeding or breeding habitat.
  • Continue monitoring where the project has removed mature eucalypts, altered flowering habitat, affected a known site, or created collision hazards near occupied habitat.
  • Compare post-work records with pre-clearance records for bird presence, flock size, feeding activity, flowering, lerp abundance, hollow condition and use of retained habitat.
  • Report the final clearing area, retained habitat, incidents, mortality, relocations, monitoring results and any non-compliance to the approval holder, project ecologist and relevant regulator.
  • Submit confirmed records and mortality data to the relevant state or territory wildlife database.

After habitat disturbance: Maintain controls and offsets

  • Maintain exclusion fencing, tree protection, collision controls and no-go areas until the site is stable and the project ecologist confirms that they can be removed.
  • Where an approval requires an offset, deliver it in accordance with the approval and target protection or restoration of Swift Parrot breeding, feeding or roosting habitat.
  • Prioritise offsets and habitat agreements that protect mature eucalypts, tree hollows, flowering resources and habitat used repeatedly across seasons.

Rehabilitation actions: Restore food and nesting habitat

Rehabilitation should restore mature eucalypt feeding habitat and protect the hollow resources that the species needs for breeding. Planting alone will not replace old trees or hollows in the short term, so retain existing habitat and protect it while replacement trees mature.

  • Protect retained mature eucalypts and regenerate or plant locally appropriate Swift Parrot food trees suited to the site and region.
  • In Tasmania, prioritise Blue Gum, Black Gum and other locally suitable flowering eucalypts used during breeding and post-breeding movements.
  • On mainland sites, restore locally appropriate winter-flowering and lerp-supporting eucalypt woodland, including species such as Swamp Mahogany, Spotted Gum, Forest Red Gum, Mugga Ironbark, White Box, Grey Box, Blackbutt and Yellow Box where they naturally occur.
  • Use a mix of tree ages and retain natural regeneration so future habitat includes large flowering trees as well as younger replacement trees.
  • Do not plant trees where they will create a collision hazard, remove existing habitat or reduce the quality of nearby retained trees.

Rehabilitation actions: Hollows, logs and site structure

Nest box guidance: Consider nest boxes in areas of low sugar glider predation to improve breeding success.

  • Retain all surviving hollow-bearing trees and dead stags, and protect them from firewood collection, pruning, machinery impact and repeated disturbance.
  • Where approved and supported by the project ecologist, install Swift Parrot nest boxes in suitable retained habitat with low sugar glider predation risk, and maintain them through the breeding season.
  • Do not assume nest boxes replace mature hollow-bearing trees, because Swift Parrots normally nest in hollows in living or dead eucalypts.
  • Retain suitable fallen timber and natural site structure where it does not create a fire, safety or access hazard, and prevent rehabilitation works from damaging retained feeding trees or hollows.

Rehabilitation actions: Weeds, predators, fire and success measures

Recommended monitoring windows: March to July on the mainland and August to February in Tasmania.

  • Control weeds that suppress eucalypt regeneration or reduce the health of retained and planted food trees, using methods that do not damage Swift Parrots or their food resources.
  • Manage introduced predators and other threats in accordance with approved recovery actions, with particular attention to sugar glider predation in Tasmanian breeding habitat and cats where relevant to the site.
  • Plan fire management to protect hollow-bearing trees, flowering eucalypts and regenerating habitat, and avoid high fire frequency that reduces food availability or tree hollows.
  • Monitor plant survival, natural regeneration, canopy development, flowering, lerp availability, hollow condition, nest box use, bird collisions and Swift Parrot presence during suitable seasonal windows.
  • Define success by survival and growth of planted trees, protection of retained hollows, increasing availability of flowering and lerp habitat, absence of new collision hazards and documented use of the rehabilitated area by Swift Parrots.

Sources