The NRE Tas OBP team is dedicated to providing regular updates on OBP numbers and program activities throughout the season here and on the Orange-bellied Parrot Tasmanian Program
Facebook page.
December 22
We have officially undertaken our annual census of OBPs that have returned to Melaleuca from migration. This year, 86 birds have been confirmed as having returned: 25 females and 51 males. Twenty of the returns were bred in captivity, and released at Melaleuca as juveniles, and 66 were born at Melaleuca – including 32 born in the 2024-25 season.
Dedicated followers of the OBP might notice that the number of returns this season is lower than last, when 91 birds returned from migration. While we always hope for numbers to increase from one season to the next, an occasional small decrease is not unexpected given the very small increases we've seen over previous years. The wild OBP population remains precarious, but ongoing management by NRE Tas and our OBP recovery Team partners has increased the population from just 17 birds in 2016, to the 86 we recorded this year.
In January, OBP Tasmanian Program staff will start monitoring nest boxes to collect data on reproductive success. We'll report on this in March, so stay tuned until then!
December 17
Our first Orange-bellied Parrots of the season have arrived at the Five Mile Beach Wildlife Management Facility!
Their bright orange beaks make them easy to spot before their iconic orange belly patch starts to develop.
Fledglings from Five Mile Beach will either stay in captivity to contribute to the OBP captive insurance population or be released to the wild at Melaleuca to supplement the wild population.
December 9
Two more OBPs have returned to Melaleuca since our last update, bringing the current number of confirmed returns to 85.
Next Monday is our annual OBP census day, so we won't provide our usual weekly update until we've crunched all the numbers and can provide a full update. Watch this space!
December 1
Welcome to the first day of Summer! At Melaleuca, another four Orange-bellied Parrots have been confirmed in the last week bringing the total to 83 returns. Two were born in the same nest box while the other two were born in nest boxes located on poles that were erected by the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania.
November 24
Ten more Orange-bellied Parrots (OBPs) have arrived at Melaleuca in the last week! This brings the total number of OBPs to 79 birds returned from migration so far this year.
Thanks to our volunteers who continue to keep an eye out for birds as they return. It's a rewarding job but also challenging!
Fingers crossed the winds and wild weather of spring are finally starting to turn to summer sunshine and more birds continue to roll in over the next few weeks as we get closer to our mid-December census date.
New arrivals this week were all birds returning from their first migration including eight wild-born and two captive-born juveniles.
November 17
The good news continues with the Five Mile Beach Wildlife Management Facility reporting the first three Orange-bellied Parrot (OBP) nestlings for the season!
We are expecting more nestlings to hatch in the coming weeks.
Wild OBPs are continuing to return to Melaleuca, 69 birds are now confirmed to have returned to their breeding grounds from migration with a month to go before the annual wild population census in mid-December.
November 11
Our dedicated volunteers have had another busy week at Melaleuca, confirming another 17 Orange-bellied Parrots (OBPs). This brings the total of OBPs to 66! The 17 OBPs consist of wild born birds from 2024 and 2025 and a juvenile release bird from 2025 who was bred in captivity at Healesville Sanctuary.
November 3
We have had another big increase from last week's update. Another 14 Orange-bellied Parrots have been confirmed bringing the total to 49. Our volunteers are starting to observe more and more OBPs that were born in the wild last season. We recorded a minimum of 99 fledglings from nest boxes monitored by NRE Tas staff last season, so we are excited to see how many return.
October 28
Orange-bellied Parrot numbers at Melaleuca have more than doubled since last week! Our volunteers have confirmed another 20 OBPs bringing the total to 35.
The new arrivals include a female born in the wild from 2017 and some of the birds that were fitted with VHF (very-high frequency) transmitters last season.
Find out about the Orange-bellied Parrot Migration Tracking Project.
October 20
Our volunteers at Melaleuca are happy to report that another five Orange-bellied Parrots have been confirmed in the last week, bringing the total to 15. Among the five was the first arrival of a fledgling from last season.
Our new volunteers are now at Melaleuca following a delay due to the wild weather conditions and are settling in well for the next three weeks.
The latest issue of the OBP Recovery Team Newsletter has been released which includes updates of OBP sightings on the mainland. The October newsletter can be found on The National Orange-bellied Parrot Recovery Team Website.
October 13
Orange-bellied Parrots (OBPs) continue to arrive at Melaleuca.
In the last week, our volunteers have confirmed another four OBPs, bringing this week's total to 10. All four birds were wild born from 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024.
October 9
The Orange-bellied Parrot Tasmanian Program is delighted to announce that the first Orange-bellied Parrots have started to arrive at Melaleuca for the 2025/26 season! Our volunteers had a wet, wild and slow start to the season; however, they have now confirmed six returns. Of these six birds, five are wild born and includes a six-year-old female and one is captive born. Staff have also undertaken the first field trip of the season, refreshing nest box material and replacing nest boxes at Melaleuca ready for upcoming breeding season.
Adding to the great news, OBPs at the NRE Tas Five Mile Beach Wildlife Management Facility have been paired up. Forty pairs have been set-up, which is the largest number of breeding pairs at the NRE Tas captive management facility since the 202/21 season. Wildlife officers monitor courtship behaviours and nest-building activities and are proud to report the discovery of the season's first egg, laid by a five-year old female.
We will aim to provide weekly updates on wild bird returns and milestones reached at our captive facility. Here's to a great season ahead!
June 4
With the 2024-25 Orange-bellied Parrot breeding season completed and migration well underway, the OBP Tasmanian Program would like to thank all our dedicated volunteers, supporters and partner organisations and institutions for another successful season.
At the NRE Tas Wildlife Management Facility, 50 OBPs fledged. Breeding participation was average with 72 per cent of breeding attempts resulting in laid eggs, compared with 68 to 94 per cent participation between 2020 and 2024. On average, 1.9 fledglings were produced per nest with eggs, compared to a fledgling success rate of 1.8 to 2.8 from 2020 to 2024.
At Melaleuca, our committed and passionate volunteers recorded a minimum of 99 fledglings (97 banded, two unbanded) at the feed tables from 27 out of the 34 known nests in nest boxes monitored by NRE Tas staff members. The image below was the first sighting of one of the season’s fledglings.
Approximately 172 OBPs were predicted to migrate from Melaleuca which is the third highest number in over a decade. Amongst those predicted to migrate, is a wild born female from 2017 and three females and one male, also wild born, from 2019. Based on previous return rates, between 35 and 130 OBPs are expected to return in spring 2025.
VHF transmitters were deployed again this season to attempt to detect birds on their migration. Fifteen OBPs have been sighted so far on the mainland, including at least one with a transmitter attached.
We look forward to providing further updates into the upcoming season!
Previous updates
Updates from previous years are availble on the Previous Updates page.