Critically endangered swift parrot released after surviving 600km journey to Lord Howe Island

Swift parrots are considered critically endangered, with around 2,000 left in the wild.

They breed in Tasmania, before migrating to the Australian mainland in autumn and winter, dispersing from central Victoria to southern Queensland.

In late May however, one turned up on Lord Howe Island, about 600 kilometres east of Port Macquarie — far from its migratory path.

The parrot was spotted and reported by a sharp-eyed local.

"An islander found it in their chook pen," Taronga Zoo bird supervisor Michael Shiels said.

"It's only the second sighting of a swift parrot on Lord Howe Island ever… to fly so far for such a tiny bird is an amazing achievement.

"His name is Houdini, they named him on Lord Howe Island as when they found him in a chook pen and went to get him, he actually escaped, and then escaped again."

Rest and recovery at Taronga

The male bird was safely captured and the Lord Howe Island board arranged for it to be flown back to the mainland.

The small parrot was taken to Sydney's Taronga Wildlife Hospital for rest and recovery after its marathon journey.

Mick Roderick, manager of Birdlife Australia's woodland bird program, said it hadn't suffered any major injuries but was very thin.

"The bird was quite exhausted, it took Taronga Zoo about five weeks to prepare the bird for release," he said.

"The bird wasn't in the best shape, hats off to Taronga for doing a great job."

Tricky search to find a wild flock

Once the bird was strong enough to be released, efforts began to find an area with suitable habitat and, ideally, a wild flock of swift parrots it could join.

"With such a small population left in the wild, finding an appropriate location to release this precious bird was paramount," Mr Roderick said.

"In a critically endangered population every individual animal is extremely important."

Finding a wild flock in NSW wasn't easy.

"It was quite difficult because there have been very few flocks of swift parrots reported and seen in NSW this year.

"The closest known flock we had was in Chiltern in North East Victoria, which was a long drive from Taronga in Sydney."

Mr Roderick said fortunately Steph Owen, a member of the Hunter Bird Observers Club, had spotted a small flock of swift parrots in the Werakata State Conservation Area in the Hunter region.

'Every bird counts'

A team, including Mr Roderick and Mr Shiels, drove the bird to the release site and watched it take flight.

"This bird was let go where there was a small group of swift parrots waiting for him, so it was great," Mr Roderick said.

"The bird flew out of its little holding cage just a few seconds after we unzipped it and started feeding straight away.

"He started calling and flew off to where the other birds in the flock were.

"It's really exciting…he's gone back and joined his mates, so it's a real success story."

Mr Shiels said rehabilitating and releasing the swift parrot had been extremely rewarding.

"The swift parrot is just one of a number of significant woodland birds that are under real threat, with each individual bird significant to the long-term survival of these species," he said.

"To be able to play a role in setting this bird back on course is extremely rewarding, and such an important example of the vital role zoos like Taronga play in securing a shared future for people and wildlife."

'Run of good news'

Mr Roderick said the swift parrot was released only 10 kilometres away from where 20 critically endangered regent honeyeaters were released last month, as part of a captive breeding program.

"So we've had a release of two critically endangered woodland bird species all in the same patch in the Lower Hunter," he said.

"It's been a really good run of good news."

ABC | Story By | Emma Siossian