World Migratory Bird day, 9th May: Highlights from King Island

Many migratory birds come or pass through King Island. They include the only 3 migratory parrots in the world - the Orange Bellied Parrot, the Swift Parrot and the Blue-winged Parrot. Of these only the Swift parrot ever stays longer than just a few days - and then only if there is a good season of flowering King Island Blue Gum. These parrots, together with other Bass Strait migrants such as the Silvereye, Grey Fantail and Flame Robin, use King Island biannually as a R&R stopover.

Other migratory birds include the international migrants such as the Ruddy Turnstone and Red-necked Stint that spend the summer here, seabirds such as the Short-tailed Shearwater that breed here and Tasman Sea migrants the Double Banded Plover who leave the summer grounds in the mountains of the South Island, New Zealand, to over-winter in southern Australia including King Island.

So celebrating the World Migratory Bird day is an important event for King Island.

This year, the Bowerbird Collective - Simone Slattery and Anthony Albrecht - who have been sheltering from the Covid-19 virus on King Island, have composed and produced this wonderful new peace 'Invisible Connections' specifically to celebrate and acknowledge the extra-

ordinary lives of migratory shorebirds. Enjoy https://youtu.be/VDotxnJ7bBI