Are there any links to Young's photos or video, or have they managed to keep them out of public scrutiny to date?
A possible sighting from the Northern Territory: Night Parrot ? a possible sight record from the Northern Territory ? Chris Watson
Correct. It is indeed next to a highway and creek, but just keep zooming out of Google Satellite view and you will see that that there is nothing else there (town, service station, farm etc) for dozens of km in all directions. The nearest large airport is more than 800km away in Alice Springs...
Well, I saw so many night parrots it wasn't funny, and got some great photos, but then dropped my camera's memory card in the creek and so lost them all...
Did you guys read Chris Watson's excellent blog post about the NT sighting? Don't ridicule reports, man!! John Young had both video and photos and people still didn't believe him. No wonder Zooboy and others don't want to come forward. I have to admit though, I chuckled when I read that the guy's dashcam just happened not to be working when he supposedly saw the bird. And as a birder who is capable of identifying a Night Parrot, why didn't he turn around to try to find the bird again? I can barely tell the difference between a Robin and a Raven, but I have turned around many times to get second looks of birds.
The whole way John Young went about his discover of "his species" (as he seems to think it is) was why people were so sceptical. And the photoshopping. And the description by Chris Watson of the recent report makes me very sceptical of that too, despite him saying we should take reports seriously.
John Young could have made it a lot easier for himself if indeed he would have not been that secretive. Plus his previous reports around some rare species did not help his credibility. And the report from NT is not that strong. If I would drive in the NT and I think I would see a Pezoporus I would be out of my car in seconds!!! And I haven't even been in Australia at all. And contrary to John Young there is no indications that this person has the knowledge and background to see the difference between a budgie and a night parrot. So without ridiculing the report I would have some questions if I would receive this report. If there are anyway researchers in the area (hint hint Zooboy) I would anyway have a quick survey of the area and consider placing some cameras or mistnets around local waterholes.
This blog post written by the Greg Roberts quoted in that article tells a very different story: "Murphy and Young found 31 feathers last October and these have been reported as definitive evidence that a bird had been killed by a feral cat. However, Murphy says there is no certainty that a cat was responsible. The feathers were examined at the Australian Centre for Ancient DNA in Adelaide by Associate Professor Jeremy Austin, an expert in the field of trace DNA analysis." sunshinecoastbirds: Important News Regarding Night Parrots
Ok folks. Hot off the press. Night Parrot captured, filmed, tagged and released. If the article is behind a paywall, Google 'looking for a night parrot in a haystack'. Cookies must be enabled. | The Australian
From an Andrew Isles Natural History Books regular email: "Bush Heritage has the knowledge, experience and capacity to manage the Night Parrot’s habitat, and protect it from feral cats and other threats such as wildfire. All we need now is your support. Bush Heritage are looking to raise $400,000 in the next fourteen days to secure the Night Parrot’s immediate future, while they work towards achieving its permanent protection." Here is the link to donate: https://www.bushheritage.org.au/donatenow
