How you can work with CALM to help conserve Muir’s Corella and reduce the damage it causes on farms.

About Muir’s Corella

• The World’s only population of Muir’s Corella (Cacatua pastinator pastinator) occurs in southwesternAustralia from Boyup Brook and Qualeup south to the lower Perup River, Lake Muir and Cambellup
• Like other cockatoos, Muir’s Corella depends on mature eucalypts with hollows for nesting
• When large areas of the south-west were cleared for agriculture, numbers were reduced to fewer than 3000
• Muir’s Corella is now Endangered and the bird and its Habitat are protected by law
• Traditionally, Muir’s Corella fed on native shoots, bulbs and seeds, but it now flocks to farmland to feed, where it can damage crops and young trees
• Shooting to kill and poisoning are illegal and are probably not effective control methods in the longterm
• There is no easy solution to the problems caused by Muir’s Corella, but with planning, co-operation and communication, farmers can reduce the damage
• A knowledge of the biology of Muir’s Corella can assist with planning damage control

Reducing Damage on Farms

The Facts

• Muir’s Corella feeds on different crops at different times of the year as they germinate and ripen
• Most damage occurs to germinating cereal crops in autumn and seedling trees in winter
• Food is scarce in summer, when the population can be controlled by reducing the availability of grain
• Birds use regular flight paths, flock and feed together and regularly return to good feeding sites
• Flocks feed in the afternoon and morning in summer and can feed all day in winter
• Onion grass (Romulea rosea) is preferred to commercial crops and can be used as a decoy during sowing

The Plan

• Work together to monitor the whereabouts, movements and numbers of birds
• Feed sheep away from crops and at or after dusk rather than in the morning
• Sow at the same time as your neighbours and as many paddocks as possible at the same time
• Develop a program of frequent and random scaring, such as moving scare guns from farm to farm
• Monitor crops for damage during the first few weeks of growth and take action at the first signs of damage
• Identify sites for decoy feeding where the Corellas are provided with f