Flock of corella survivors regains strength after suspected mass bird poisoning in Newcastle
By Giselle Wakatama
ABC Newcastle
Topic:Birds
17m ago17 minutes agoThu 20 Mar 2025 at 5:29am
Birds in care.
Birds recovering in the care of a Newcastle wildlife carer. (Supplied: Robyn Cragg)
In short:
Hundreds of birds died in a suspected mass poisoning incident on Monday.
Corellas fell from trees and the sky in inner-city Newcastle suburbs, prompting alarm among wildlife carers, locals, and vets.
What's next?
The EPA is investigating and test results are expected in two weeks.
Vets and wildlife volunteers say more than 100 corellas that survived a suspected mass bird poisoning in Newcastle are regaining strength after hundreds died on Monday.
The Environment Protection Authority (EPA) is investigating the bird deaths that occurred across the inner city suburbs of Carrington, Hamilton, and Broadmeadow.
While some of the birds were euthanased, at least 100 survivors have been nursed back to health by local vets and wildlife carers.
Robyn Cragg is from Hunter Wildlife Rescue and said she had more than 30 birds in her care.
"I started with 24 on the first night, and then on the second night, I picked up another 10," she said.
Birds in netted enclosure recovering.
Birds were treated with vitamin K and given water to ride out the impacts. (Supplied: Lisa Thompson)
"Many of the other carers were taking in six, seven, eight and we've had them spread all over Newcastle.
"We're getting close to a hundred [birds] now, and that's the whole point about this story — we've had very good success."
Life-saving vitamin
To keep the corellas alive, the initial treatment involved injecting them with Vitamin K — an effective antidote for poisoning.
However, Ms Cragg said sourcing the life-saving vitamins had not been easy.
"There was not an extensive supply in the Newcastle area, so initially we did run out of the supply,"
she said.
"It's one injection every four hours over a period until they show signs of improvement.
"We then provided them with large quantities of water for drinking."
She said the birds needed five days of vitamin therapy.
White corellas on a perch.
The Hamilton Veterinary Clinic has had 14 corellas in care, attracting an audience on social media. (Supplied: Bronte Wilkinson)
The Hamilton Veterinary Clinic managed to save 14 corellas.
Clinic nurse Bronte Wilkinson has shared the in-house flock's progress on social media.
"This is a small, yet deeply significant win, and it wouldn't have been possible without the dedication of our amazing team and the support of our community,"
Ms Wilkinson said.
"We're continuing to monitor their progress closely, and we're hopeful that, with further care, these resilient birds will be on their way to recovery."
A new flock
Once treatment ended, Ms Cragg said all surviving birds would be grouped together at an undisclosed location.
She hoped the corellas would bond and form a new flock.
"So now those that have pulled through are starting to feed and they're starting to groom and do the normal preening of themselves," she said.
"Now they're at that stage where we're moving them to one location, corralling them together, and they will become a major flock."
Ms Cragg said establishing a family unit would be important.
"In many instances, it has been the parents that have died because they're they're not as resilient as the younger ones,"
she said.
"They will form a lovely flock and support one another because that's what they need to do until they're at the point they can be independent to breed and mature."
dead bird lying on grass
Earlier this week, wildlife carers picked up hundreds of dead birds across Newcastle. (Supplied: Hunter Wildlife Rescue)
Testing to take weeks
EPA's acting director of operations Claire Miles said testing of bird samples would take time.
"The toxicological testing can take a few weeks, so we are waiting for that," she said.
"In the interim, just having EPA officers out there, looking for some of that physical evidence that might be a clue to lead us to the cause."
Testing includes ruling out bird flu and inspecting impacted locations for evidence of potential pesticide misuse.
Ms Miles stressed it was not clear whether the suspected mass poisoning was "deliberate or unintentional".
Wildlife care in vest
Hunter Wildlife Rescue volunteers have spent this week in inner-city suburbs collecting dead birds and ferrying sick ones to local vets. (Supplied: Jess Black)
Carrington silo operators GrainCorp and Newcastle Ag Terminal have both told the ABC they did not use bait for the management of bird species.
The City of Newcastle confirmed "it had not sprayed any pesticide recently, including in this area."
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Posted17m ago17 minutes agoThu 20 Mar 2025 at 5:29am
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