Skip to content

Olkola & the Golden-shouldered Parrot

Allana Brown (Ecologist)
Published 06 Jul 2015 by Allana Brown (Ecologist)

“Hey! Where’s the road gone?!” The metre high grasses have covered it up again!

I’ve never driven 7 hours just to put in a photo point before (that’s 7 hours there and 7 hours back, by the way) but for the Olkola land managers this is just a regular day.

The team of six rangers and their coordinator have over 800,000 ha to manage in central Cape York. The country is endless savannah grasslands, melaleuca swamps, open eucalypt woodlands, creeks, rivers and lagoons.

“It’s strange Country” says Olkola Chairperson, Mike Ross. He’s referring to the spring mounds, which bubble up rocks and secrets from 3km underground; to the glowing white hills that appear from nowhere and to the little parrots that live in giant ant beds.

It’s a strange, beautiful place this Olkola Country.

Bush Heritage is extremely proud to be partnering with Olkola; working together to support Olkola undertake their healthy country planning and to care for their significant natural values.

One key conservation concern for Olkola is the Golden-shouldered Parrot (Psephotus chrysopterygius). This iconic and beautiful, small species of parrot is the Olkola totem, which means there is significant cultural responsibility to care for and protect the endangered bird.

The Golden-shouldered Parrot is a small granivore closely related to the extinct Paradise Parrot (P. pulcherrimus). The male is turquoise with a black crown, bright yellow on the wing and forehead and with a salmon pink belly.

Females and immature birds are mostly green with a turquoise rump. Also known as the ‘ant bed parrot’ the little bird waits until the end of the wet season when termite mounds are soft from the rains and digs out a nest chamber in which to safely lay eggs.

In the early dry season Olkola rangers undertook surveys to count active nests and to mark out potential habitat for future surveys.

The parrots’ distribution is estimated at 1,380 km2 for the northern population, with survey effort this year focussing on the north-east corner of Olkola’s tenure as a starting point.

This work was undertaken with the guidance of Sue Shepard, who is a local expert from neighbouring Artemis Station and who has been monitoring the golden-shouldered parrot for 20 years.

Dr Steve Murphy also took part and very kindly donated 20 remote monitoring cameras. These cameras were placed several meters away from active nests and will hopefully capture successful fledglings heading off into the world to fend for themselves.

Not all chicks will make it however, and these cameras will also give us a good insight into the types and frequency of predation events suffered by the parrots (goannas and butcher birds being the main culprits).

In addition to the parrot surveys Olkola rangers have established their first long-term monitoring plots and photo points to assess changes in savannah vegetation health over time. This will allow the rangers to understand the impacts of their management activities, particularly fire management, and the way this influences plant species, diversity and habitat values.

Woody thickening of broad-leaved titree (Melaleuca viridiflora) is a particular concern, as too many trees can adversely affect golden-shouldered parrot habitat.

Olkola Aboriginal Corporation and Bush Heritage Australia are currently developing a long-term, landscape-scale habitat improvement project in order to secure the future of this iconic parrot.

With the help of Bush Heritage, local experts, landholders and Queensland Parks, Olkola rangers will implement the recovery actions necessary to secure the current population, and protect the parrot and its habitat well into the future.

The Olkola rangers would like to sincerely thank the Scully Fund for its generous donation that allowed this year’s surveys to happen, through funding ranger wages and the purchase of necessary monitoring equipment.

Photo (left to right) Glen, Brendan, Hamish and Ashley (Olkola Land Managers) with Allana Brown (Bush Heritage Australia) at a nest site. Photo (left to right) Glen, Brendan, Hamish and Ashley (Olkola Land Managers) with Allana Brown (Bush Heritage Australia) at a nest site.
Golden shouldered parrot eggs recorded during this year's surveys, using an inspection camera. Golden shouldered parrot eggs recorded during this year's surveys, using an inspection camera.
Golden shouldered parrot chick photographed during this year's surveys, using an inspection camera. Golden shouldered parrot chick photographed during this year's surveys, using an inspection camera.
An active nest (inside a termite mound) monitored by a remote camera – Olkola rangers aim to actively manage the invading titree that can be seen in this photo. An active nest (inside a termite mound) monitored by a remote camera – Olkola rangers aim to actively manage the invading titree that can be seen in this photo.
Glen spots a nest! Glen spots a nest!
Olkola savannah country – Mike Ross (Olkola Chairperson) and Lucas (Coordinator). Olkola savannah country – Mike Ross (Olkola Chairperson) and Lucas (Coordinator).
Hamish and Allana working on plant identification in the field. Hamish and Allana working on plant identification in the field.

Related stories

BLOG 06/04/2021

Finding Alwal’s sweet spot

A new research project on Olkola country funded by the Paul Hackett Memorial Scholarship will shed light on the nesting habits of the Golden-shouldered Parrot.

Read More

BLOG 09/08/2019

Dingo protects endangered Alwal

The Olkola People of Cape York believe one of their totems may be a secret weapon in protecting another. Since 2014 Dingo baiting has been stopped and the boss totem of Olkola Country is making a comeback.

Read More

BLOG 06/08/2019

Felixers: a tool to help save Alwal?

Olkola and Bush Heritage may have a new tool in our battle to protect the endangered Golden-shouldered Parrot (Alwal) from feral cats.

Read More

BLOG 24/07/2018

Our volunteering experience with Olkola

Mick and Kerry Moylan are long-time volunteers with Bush Heritage and their contribution can't be overstated! Here they share their experience of volunteering in Cape York for the recent Alwal Recovery Team meeting with our Olkola Aboriginal partners.

Read More

BLOG 10/07/2018

Olkola lead the way for their Totem

I was fortunate to spend time last week up on beautiful Olkola Country in Cape York to be part of a very exciting national recovery team meeting for Alwal, the Golden-shouldered Parrot.

Read More

BLOG 12/06/2018

That tricksy Felixy

It's well known that cats have a huge and often catastrophic impact on native species and are notoriously difficult to control. The Felixer cat trap might be the solution.

Read More

BLOG 18/12/2017

Alwal’s Christmas dinner

Last week was the last trip for 2017 by Olkola Land Managers and Bush Heritage for the 'Bringing Alwal Home' project, and we gave the Golden Shouldered Parrots (Alwal) their Christmas dinners! The early wet season is a critical time for the survival of juvenile Alwal. Seeds are in short supply as early rains have germinated much of the seed and it's too soon for the young grasses to produce more. We provide supplementary food.

Read More

BLOG 11/05/2017

Alwal breeding

The first surveys for Alwal (Golden-shouldered Parrots) have begun for 2017 and successfully recorded 12 nests. At some of the nests we observed the sympatric grub, Trisyntopa scatophaga, which lives in Alwal nests and helps keep them clean.

Read More

BLOG 13/12/2016

Helping Alwal survive the wet season

Olkola, Bush Heritage, Artemis Station, Black-faced Woodswallows and friends all working together to support young Golden-shouldered Parrots make it through their first wet season.

Read More

BUSHTRACKS 06/12/2016

Bringing home Alwal

A partnership between Bush Heritage Australia and the Olkola Aboriginal Corporation aims to bring the Golden-shouldered Parrot back from the brink.

Read More

BLOG 29/11/2016

Alwal’s first flight

It's not every day you get to see the first flight of a baby bird, especially not an endangered species, nor to capture the moment on camera. But through hours of dedicated survey time Olkola Land Manager Glen Kulka did just that!

Read More

BLOG 06/07/2015

Olkola & the Golden-shouldered Parrot

Hey! Where's the road gone?! The metre high grasses have covered it up again! I've never driven 7 hours just to put in a photo point before (that's 7 hours there and 7 hours back, by the way) but for the Olkola land managers this is just a regular day.

Read More
Origami paper parrot.

Origami paper parrots

The Golden-shouldered Parrot, or Alwal in Olkola language, is one of Australia’s most colourful birds. When you're ready to make a paper parrot, download our PDF template and print on a double-sided colour printer. Then simply cut out and follow the instructions.

Read More
Loading...
{{itemsInCart}} Items - {{formatCurrency(grandTotal)}}