Swift parrot egg safe havens a 'bonanza' for endangered species

The sight of eggs in experimental nesting boxes has brought joy to researchers who say it marks a turning point in the fight to save the rare migratory swift parrot from extinction. Swift parrot snapshot Breed in Tasmania and migrate to south-east Australia Less than 1,000 breeding pairs Feed on flowering eucalypts Habitat loss from blue gum deforestation Last winter, scientists and volunteers put 300 nesting boxes in trees on Bruny Island, which acts as a safe haven for the parrots because, unlike in rest of Tasmania, they are not preyed upon by sugar gliders. "Checking nests in the last couple of days and 11 out of the 40 boxes we've checked have swift parrots in them, including a discovery that one of those boxes contained six eggs and another has four eggs," he said. " Dr Stojanovic said more boxes would be installed on Bruny Island to help the species recover, but next year there was no guarantee the birds would return to safe haven off south east Tasmania. "Bruny Island is especially important because there's no sugar gliders here so these boxes will always stay on Bruny because it's going to be a safe place."