NACC NRM will deliver BirdLife WA’s Great Cocky Count across the Mid West on 12 April 2026, coordinating activities in the Shires of Irwin and Chapman Valley. The event forms part of the House and Home: Saving Native Species initiative, led by NACC NRM and sponsored by Mitsui E&P (MEPAU) and Beach Energy.

The House and Home: Saving Native Species initiative has achieved several benefits, including helping to restore a critically endangered flowering bush, the Koobabbie Eremophilia, which is an important food source for Carnaby’s cockatoos. At the beginning of the project, the NACC NRM team had found a single plant in the area – today, they have a number of healthy seedlings ready to be planted. The initiative has also supported reclaiming tree hollows from European beehives through the engagement of a local pest controller, increasing the availability of nesting spaces.

To prepare for the Great Cocky Count, NACC NRM hosted a workshop in Geraldton with BirdLife’s WA Black Cockatoo Project Coordinator, Merryn Pryor, who explained how the count contributes to statewide conservation efforts each year.  The event brought together local knowledge and insights from regional conservation projects, with BirdLife volunteers Alice Bishop and Heather Beswick highlighting opportunities for community involvement.

The Great Cocky Count connects Western Australian communities, with volunteers monitoring roosts to track populations, and with Carnaby’s cockatoos only raising one chick per season, every observation is vital.

If you would like take part in the 2026 Great Cocky Count, late registrations can still be done via https://birdlife.org.au/late-registrations/.

MEPAU is committed to the Saving Native Species initiative, a vital project to help protect native species in the Mid West.