Cockatoo expert visits resource centre

Members of the Yarloop Community Resource Centre attended an informative morning tea with a special guest on Wednesday.

Centre manager Julie-Ann Ford organised Birdlife Australia program manager Vicki Stokes to visit the centre and provide information on cockatoos.

“I first heard Ms Stokes talk on black cockatoos earlier in the year and I found it quite interesting,” Ms Ford said.

“After the fires, we didn’t see many birds around for a while, but they seem to be coming through all the time now, so I thought having Ms Stokes come and talk about cockatoos would be of interest to residents in Yarloop.”

Ms Stokes spoke about the various types of cockatoos, threats they faced and how the community could help protect them.

“Yarloop is a good spot for birds like cockatoos,” Ms Stokes said.

“We need to encourage people to look after the marri and jarrah trees as they are the birds’ favourite to eat.” Ms Ford said she received positive feedback.

“Ms Stokes said she saw some passionate attendees and would love to come back and look around for nesting sites,” she said.

“After seeing the high volume of interest from our members, the Yarloop CRC are looking at organising a planting day to help with the food sources for the cockatoos.

“I think it’s really important for the CRC to have information sessions like this that help people become more aware of nature and the environment we live in.”