There was a confirmed sighting on 31 May 2021 of two glossy black cockatoos (Calyptorhynchus lathami) enjoying feasting on seeds of the Allocasuarina trees at Doyle Street Bushcare Site at Kincumber. This isn’t the first time they have been seen there and it shows the importance of this area as a regular feeding site. Glossy black cockatoos are one of the more threatened species of cockatoo in Australia and are listed as vulnerable in NSW.

The glossy black cockatoo prefers to nest in the hollows of large, old eucalypt trees, alive or dead.  It’s not yet known if the birds are nesting at the Doyle Street Bushcare Site.  In NSW breeding takes place from March to August, with one egg, white in colour, being produced.

In NSW the main food source is seeds from the forest she oak (Allocasuarina torulosa) and the black she oak (A. littoralis). At Doyle Street there are plenty of mature trees to select from.  You might notice a layer of cracked cones and fragments under favoured Allocasuarinas, and if you do it is worth looking up.  Small groups of the birds can chew on Allocasuarina fruit, sometimes for several hours, without making a sound.  
   
Some features to look for in recognising glossy black cockatoos include:

• Considerably smaller size than yellow-tailed black cockatoos.
• Red or orange-red tail feathers. Males have bright red panels in their tails, while females and juveniles have orange-red panels with varying amounts of black barring.
• Females have variable amounts of yellow on the head and neck.
• Heavy, rounded beak, shorter tail than Yellow-tailed blacks
• Usually seen in pairs or small groups.
• Soft, wavering call in flight and very different to the Yellow-tailed black call.

The Doyle Street Bushcare site has been the location of remediation works for several years with major planting events held to restore and strengthen the corridor connecting to nearby remnants of the  Critically Endangered Plant Community, Kincumber Scribbly Gum forest.

The Doyle Street Bushcare group meet on the 3rd Saturday of each month from 8am to 11am. The site is located at the end of Doyle Street, Bensville. If you are interested in volunteering with the Doyle Street Bushcare group please contact us through environmentalvolunteering@centralcoast.nsw.gov.au