Red Goshawk female with young on Dambimangari Country.
© Chris MacColl
Traditional Owners and conservationists have made a remarkable breakthrough in the remote Kimberley region of Western Australia, discovering five nests belonging to Australia’s rarest bird of prey, the Red Goshawk.
The new nests were found over just two days of targeted aerial surveys, making a significant addition to the 15 to 20 Red Goshawk nests previously known across mainland Australia. The survey was carried out on Dambimangari and Wilinggin Country in the Kimberley, where Australian Wildlife Conservancy works in partnership with Traditional Owners to look after Country. The findings help fill a major knowledge gap around the national status of the endangered species’ population.
“I think I went into a bit of shock,” said Jessica Rooke, BirdLife Australia’s Threatened Species Coordinator (NSW and Northern Australia), who co-led the surveys in the Kimberley. “Unlike previous surveys conducted from the ground, we were searching for the nests from a helicopter. It was like looking for a needle in a haystack, but after we spotted the first nest, we just kept finding them. It was phenomenal, I still can’t believe it.”
“We all learnt so much about how to identify Red Goshawks from other Birds of Prey and about their nesting habitat,” said Joyce Malay, a Dambimangari Ranger. “It was good to be working alongside Jess, it was her first time doing aerial surveys in the Kimberley! She walked into camp every morning with a huge smile on her face and it rubbed off on all of us, especially when she came back from a long day flying around Wilinggin country absolutely glowing!”
“We flew along the river and saw some nests and landed in the helicopter and we saw two goshawks. Only seen them in books before, made me happy to see them there,” said Kane Nanowatt, Wilinggin Wunggurr Ranger.
BirdLife Australia, funded through the Australian Government’s Saving Native Species Program, is undertaking a national survey to establish the status of the Red Goshawk and provide Indigenous Ranger groups with support to survey and monitor this rare bird. In the Kimberley, BirdLife Australia experts joined AWC ecologists and Dambimangari and Wilinggin Wunggurr Rangers to complete the first broad-scale survey for the species in the region since 1990.
“This discovery is a major step forward for one of Australia’s most elusive birds of prey,” says Dr Fiona Fraser, Australia’s Threatened Species Commissioner. “The Red Goshawk is one of 110 priority species under the Threatened Species Action Plan, and these new insights will help guide efforts to secure its future. It’s a powerful example of what can be achieved through collaboration with Traditional Owners, scientists and conservation partners.”
Red Goshawk expert Chris MacColl, who co-led the surveys with Rooke, said the team was in the air from 8.00am until sunset each day, searching along creek lines and scanning tall trees for potential nesting sites. Only three hours into day one of the search, they came across the first nest in a tall paperbark tree, with two adults and two eggs visible.
“The helicopter pilot actually spotted the first nest,” Chris recalled. “In the Kimberley, they have a clear preference for large, horizontally branched stands of very tall, old Melaleucas. Once we figured that out, we had a good sense for where to look next.”
“We landed the helicopter at a distance and checked all the nests for chicks with binoculars. Three of the nests had one or two beautiful, fluffy, white chicks – about two weeks old at most – and two contained a pair of eggs. We were pinching ourselves; it was like a dream.”
The results of the survey provide the clearest picture yet of Red Goshawk distribution in the Kimberley.
“We attempted an aerial survey five years ago and didn’t find a single nest,” Chris explained. “We believe that time we were too far inland, where the landscape is drier and with less suitable habitat.”
Dr Pippa Kern, AWC’s Regional Ecologist in the Kimberley, welcomed the findings of the survey, saying it underscores the organisation’s focus in the north-west.
“The Kimberley is such an important region for biodiversity. It’s home to a vast range of unique species, but it also acts as a stronghold for things like the Red Goshawk that have declined elsewhere. That’s why it’s so critical that we continue to work with Traditional Owners to manage fire, and tackle weeds and feral animals.”
These discoveries underscore the importance of partnerships between conservation organisations, Traditional Owners and government programs in securing the future of Australia’s most threatened wildlife.
For more information about the Red Goshawk, click here.
Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC) is a pragmatic, on-ground global conservation leader, conserving landscapes and providing hope for Australian wildlife. Informed by science, we deliver measurable conservation impact at scale to secure the future of our most endangered species and their habitats, including restoring degraded landscapes where necessary.
BirdLife Australia is the national bird conservation charity that’s fighting to save birds and the natural life systems on which they depend. First Nations people, local communities, and our dedicated network are all critical to our work. It is through these partnerships, and the creation of evidence-led solutions, that we achieve fundamental change.
Species profile: Red Goshawk
The Red Goshawk was historically found in semi-open woodlands and forests stretching from near Sydney in New South Wales through much of Queensland and the Northern Territory to the Kimberley in Western Australia. It has been wiped out from at least 34% of its original range, largely due to habitat loss in south-eastern Australia. Changed fire regimes have also contributed to its decline by altering the structure of remaining woodlands which have grown thicker and less open, making it harder for the goshawks to hunt.
The Red Goshawk was listed as federally Endangered in 2023, partly as a result of MacColl’s research. It was identified as one of 22 ‘Priority Bird Species’ in the Federal Government’s most recent Threatened Species Action Plan.
Red Goshawks have been confirmed at several other AWC sanctuaries and partnership sites across northern Australia, including Newhaven in Central Australia, Piccaninny Plains in north Queensland, as well as Mornington in the Kimberley.
This project is funded by the Australian Government’s Saving Native Species Program.
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