Goodbye Pink N

Last week I confirmed the first mortality of one of my study birds. It is sad to loose one but it has overall been really encouraging to see just how well the rehabilitated birds have adjusted to being back in the wild.

The cause of death will remain unknown but she did survive for a whole month after release. She was found under pines next to a remnant of Banksia woodland east of Yanchep National Park.

The new hand held tracking gear enabled me to find her tracking device when previous attempts at searching the area had failed to find her (even armed with a metal detector). The device had been giving very inaccurate location readings because it was transmitting from a slope under the canopy of trees which was hampering its signal reaching the satellites.

Pink N's tracking device still attached to tail feathers

Blue A sighting

I tested some new equipment this morning. It is going to be a big help with field work next year. It led me to Blue A in Middle Swan. The battery in her tracking device is failing but was strong enough for me to locate with the new equipment. Below is a pic of her amongst some flock mates feeding on Marri seeds and also a closeup of her tail showing the identifying marks still visible but faded. She seemed quite happy waddling about on the ground before flying away.




 

Blue A to left of image nibbling at seed pods of Prickly Moses (Acacia pulchella)

Closeup of Blue A's faded but still recognisable tail markings