A zoologist is hoping her observations spur government on to fund more conservation measures to save iconic native wildlife in the Pilliga Forest.

Dominique Homberger, an Alumni Professor of Louisiana State University in the United States enjoys nothing more than visiting Australia to study native parrots.

Dr Homberger took the opportunity to visit the Pilliga Forest and Warrumbungle National Park when she was in the country recently.  She is noted for her work on the evolution of complex structures in birds and mammals and is the author of a textbook on vertebrate dissection. 

Dr Dominique Homberger is concerned about the future of the Pilliga Glossy-black Cockatoos.

“I came to Australia to study the ecology and feeding behavior of cockatoos and parrots for the first time during my year-long sabbatical in 1987-88,” Dr Homberger said. “Over the years my husband and I have developed a special connection to and love for the Pilliga, Baradine, Coonabarabran and the Warrumbungles. 

“This region is of particular beauty and scientific interest, not only because of my interest in the Glossy Black-Cockatoos, but also because of the Siding Spring Observatory. The staff at the National Parks and Wildlife Service have provided invaluable assistance to my research, as well as Baradine ornithologist, the late David Johnston. Their knowledge and expertise and willingness to go out of their way to provide information and facilitate my research made all the difference.”

Dr Homberger’s particular interest is in the evolutionary history of the Psittaciformes, one of the largest orders of birds with about 350 species of parrots and cockatoos.

“Studies of the morphology and biomechanics of the feeding apparatus (beak, jaw, tongue, and larynx) in my lab at my university allow me to understand the ecology and the feeding behavior of parrots and cockatoos in their natural habitat,” Dr Homberger said.  

“I have also studied them, although to different extents, in India, and Patagonia and made brief observations in New Zealand, South Africa and the United States.

“We have visited every region of Australia at least once and usually several times, except the York Peninsula and the north-western part of Australia. Our Australian friends joke that we have seen more of Australia than most Australians and that we could save a lot of money by simply staying in Australia."

Observations

“Visiting and revisiting places where we previously observed cockatoos and parrots provides insights in possible behavioral variations over time and under different environmental conditions. These repeated observations are especially important in Australia because of the varying drought conditions and the environmental changes due to destructions of the natural habitat and climate change.

“I became especially interested in Black-Cockatoos for several reasons: they occur only in Australia (with the exception of the very special Palm Cockatoo which occurs also in New Guinea). They have retained many ancestral characters, such as the dark color of their plumage indicates, and thereby represent models for the original cockatoos to help us reconstruct the evolutionary history of cockatoos from the time when the continent of Australia was still part of Gondwana. More recently, I concentrated on

studying Red-tailed Black-Cockatoos in the broad sense and the Glossy Black-Cockatoos.

“In 1988, the Pilliga, as the largest inland forest in Australia, was to our admittedly naïve eyes quite intact, although I realize now that it has been exploited for timber and mining ever since settlers arrived.

“By the time of our visit in 2000, things had started to change drastically in the forest. The tracks were widened and increased in numbers and the prescribed burning had reduced the density of the undergrowth, including the Sheoak species (Allocasuarina) on which the Glossies depend for their food.

“We returned again and again in the following years without being able to see any Glossies and being alarmed at the ecological decline and intensification of industrial extractive activities in the Pilliga.

Shocked

“Our visit this time was especially depressing as the state of the Pilliga had further deteriorated since 2017. We were shocked and saddened to learn that the Narrabri gas project was being approved by the Federal Government. Not only would such a project hasten the deterioration of the Pilliga as a national treasure, but would also endanger the scarce water resources through fracking activities."

“On a positive note, we observed a pair of Glossies and heard about two or three additional pairs nearby, in a part of the Pilliga we had not visited before and which had been spared the devastation of fires. It was one of the highlights of our visit to Australia this time!"

“The Pilliga is an absolute treasure of global importance because of its unique flora and fauna and its size. Instead of accelerating its industrial exploitation, the Pilliga and Goonoo forests could be designated a World Heritage site. It is incongruous that Australia criticizes Brazil for destroying the Amazonian rainforest and the dry forest of the Caatinga, but allows and even promotes the destruction of its own unique and wonderful forests and wildlife.

“The efforts by the Central Inland Glossy Black-Cockatoo Working Group to count the Glossies residing in the Pilliga by watching them coming to drink are crucially important as a basis for estimating the degree of endangerment this species is facing.

Dr Homberger says it is "most worrisome" that only about 800 individuals were counted in November 2019, especially since that there are reasons to expect fewer breeding successes in the near future and that Glossies raise a maximum of only one young every two years.

“The low count, however, may goad governmental entities to fund conservation measures to save this iconic Australian species in the Pilliga," she said.

"Such conservation measures would also benefit Koalas and many other vertebrate, invertebrate and plant species."

“I hope that our observations may help guide the environmental management plans to save the Pilliga Glossies.”