Logo image
Back
Listening out for Sulphur crested cockatoos on the Swan Coastal Plain
Conference paper   Open access

Listening out for Sulphur crested cockatoos on the Swan Coastal Plain

Tracey Kreplins, Jill M. Shephard, Glen Coupar, Phil Jacka, Susan Campbell and Tim Oldfield
Proceedings of Acoustics 2025: Sounds of the Sunset Coast
Acoustics 2025 — Sounds of the Sunset Coast (Joondalup, WA, 12/11/2025–14/11/2025)
2025
pdf
crested cockatoos278.87 kBDownloadView
Open Access

Abstract

Sulphur-crested Cockatoos, highly intelligent birds native to northern Western Australia, are attempting to establish a population on the Swan Coastal Plain. Their presence along the plain raises concerns, as they have the potential to become noisy pests and may compete with native black cockatoos for feeding and roosting sites. In response, a collaborative team has launched a monitoring program to map their distribution and estimate population numbers across the region. Surveillance has been underway for over a year, using acoustic recorders to detect the birds and monitor their activity at known locations. Based on public reports and sightings, the program has been progressively expanding. To streamline data processing, a recogniser developed by QUT has been implemented to analyse recordings from 20 Bar-LT acoustic recorders deployed across the Swan Coastal Plain. This tool has achieved a high detection accuracy of over 90% for Sulphur-crested Cockatoos. Complementing the acoustic data, the program also employs 4G-enabled cameras and movement tracking. The project is ongoing and continues to test and refine the recogniser under varying environmental conditions and background noise levels, with the goal of accurately mapping the presence of Sulphur-crested Cockatoos in the region.

Details

Metrics

1 Record Views
Logo image