Heat wave killing endangered birds in Western Australia

February 2010. Heat stress remains the most likely cause of death for more than 200 native birds in Western Australia. The birds perished during extreme weather conditions in January, when temperatures reached 47¢ªC in the Hopetoun area with strong, hot northerly winds, while temperatures of 50¢ªC to 53¢ªC were reported in Munglinup.

Endangered Carnaby's black cockatoos
At least 115 dead Carnaby's black cockatoos were found at the Hopetoun golf course, and a further 37 cockatoos, six regent parrots, two galahs, three mudlarks, three ravens, four yellow throated miners and one kestrel were reported at Munglinup about 75km east of Hopetoun.

DEC senior wildlife officer Kevin Morrison said laboratory tests had not revealed any obvious cause of death.

"The Department of Agriculture and Food's Animal Health Laboratories conducted examinations and tested samples for infection and a range of diseases such as avian influenza. These results were negative," he said.

"The process of ruling out possible causes enables us to narrow down what may have killed the birds, as there is no definitive test that can be done to establish whether heat stress was the actual cause. Therefore the cause of the bird deaths remains inconclusive."

Repeat of 2007 heatwave
Mr Morrison said this was not the first time an event such as this had occurred.

"A similar bird death incident occurred in February 2007 between Yealering and Cunderdin when more than 200 ringneck parrots are believed to have died of heat stress caused by high temperatures (45¢ªC) and strong winds," he said.

Carnaby's black cockatoos are an endangered species with up to 40,000 birds remaining in the wild in Western Australia. Numbers have declined dramatically over recent decades due to habitat decline, illegal shooting and wildlife trafficking.