Gecko Talks-Help the Powerful Owl-26 August in Currumbin RSL

Name: Gecko Talks-Help the Powerful Owl-26 August in Currumbin RSL
Start: 2020-07-30
End: 2020-07-30

Helping Powerful Owls Through Citizen Science

Gecko Talks – Wednesday, August 26 at Currumbin RSL

Australia’s largest owl, the threatened Powerful Owl, should be living throughout the Gold Coast.

With much of its habitat destroyed in the recent fires and impacted by land clearing, a study to learn about its local whereabouts urgently needs your help.

Dr Rob Clemens, Powerful Owl Project Coordinator for BirdLife Australia, will discuss this, and more about owls, when he speaks at Gecko Talks on August 26.

The Powerful Owl’s territory ranges from S.E. Queensland to South Australia, within 200 km of the coast – but one-third was impacted by this Summer’s devastating fires.

It’s an impressive, if elusive, bird. It can live for 30 years and has a wingspan of up to 1.4 m. It needs big, old trees for nesting and dense, leafy foliage for roosting. ‘As with the other forest owls, we have a poor understanding of where they are on the Gold Coast,’ Rob explained. ‘At the Gecko talk, I’ll also explain how we’re planning to overcome that.’ With the big human population increase due here in the next few years, it’s important to know where these owls are and how we can conserve them, he said.

BirdLife started its Powerful Owl project two years ago, and is showing some success already. However it needs local help to monitor the Gold Coast, an area which hasn’t been tackled.