WITH DON KNOWLER
Diagonal streaks of freezing rain fall as a little parrot sits on a thin twig, blinking and shaking its head. The rain drops cling to the bird’s plumage like diamonds, sparkling as shuffled, ruffled feathers toss them into the air.
The scene comes from a new documentary on the orange-bellied parrot and demonstrates the power of film, bringing what could be considered a small, insignificant piece of nature to life on the big screen.
The orange-bellied parrot braving the elements on its twig certainly loomed larger than life, with its lime-green breast, darker lemon-green shimmering back, steel-blue flight feathers and an azure-blue streak spreading across its forehead. And, of course, that orange belly. The Desperate Plight of the Orangebellied Parrot was given its premiere at the State Cinema on Monday.
I’ve been lucky enough to have seen this critically endangered bird in the wild, at Melaleuca in the far southwest of the state, late last year.
To say this little bird – barely 20cm in length – is critically endangered is a gross understatement. In fact, only 12 exist in the wild, the migrants returning last month from their wintering grounds in Victoria. This population is being augmented once again by releases at Melaleuca from a captive breeding program.
I won’t go into detail about this complex and costly plan, but will instead concentrate on the documentary by photographer David Neilson.
Neilson’s photography showcases the parrot’s sheer beauty, and also evokes a sense of sadness that it is so close to extinction.
We learn that these little creatures have individual personalities and behavioural quirks. We see them pairing and bonding, mating, rearing young and then encouraging them to fly.
In the film there are also amusing scenes of captive-bred birds being released. When the doors of their aviary at Melaleuca are opened some immediately fly to freedom. Some sit twittering on the outside of the cage, clearly showing doubts about going out into the wide world, and some shoot back into the safe confines of the aviary. Others return after a few minutes, and there is even a shot of a wild bird arriving to coax the captive-bred birds out of confinement. Quite possibly this male bird is looking for a mate.
Like all cinematic epics, this film has a hero – a nine-year-old male survivor who has made possibly 18 crossings of Bass Strait in his lifetime. This male’s longevity might hold clues to the parrot’s survival.
During a question-and-answer session after the screening, Neilson said he hoped the documentary would inspire others to help save the parrot.