HILTON’S Griffiths Park is set to become a haven for cockatoos following a community-led effort to install a specialised watering station.
Developed by environmental officers at the Town of Victoria Park, the Cockitrough is a four-metre-tall structure which provides a “continuous, clean” water for Forest Red Tail and Carnaby’s Black cockatoos to drink.
The Hilton Precinct’s garden, verges, and trees committee has spent the last year applying for grants, planning, and fundraising to install their own Cockitrough at Griffiths Park which was due to be unveiled yesterday (Friday, June 13).
Precinct member Linda Delaney says Griffiths Park was selected because the Black Cockies fly directly over on their regular routes.
• The Hilton precinct’s cockitroughs make sure black cockies are never without a drink. Photo supplied
“They come from Willagee, straight through Griffiths and Grigg, so they’re there constantly,” Ms Delaney said.
“We’ve already had cockies visiting… there’s also a ring of jarrah trees around it so we’ve absolutely nailed the position.”
Alongside the Cockitrough’s unveiling on Friday, community members will be planting over 2000 native seedlings to help rewild the park.
Nearly 150 Cockitroughs have been installed statewide, as far away as Geraldton and the Stirling Ranges, but the phenomenon has only just hit Fremantle’s suburbs.
Town of Victoria Park urban ecosystems supervisor Stephen Szydlowski was part of the team who developed the Cockitrough and says it was designed to be “low maintenance” and provide a consistent water source to the already endangered bird.
“The idea was that we could make a structure to set up in a public open space, and tap it into something that has a mains water supply, like a water fountain or recreation hall,” Mr Szydlowski said.
“We designed these in such a way that they fill up the trough and the water flows off the ends to flush them clean twice.
“This kind of product wasn’t available to the general public, so we designed it.”
Mr Szydlowski says it is “very important” to provide a fresh water source for birdlife, particularly in the hotter and drier months of the year.
“We realised that it really is an issue providing fresh water to birdlife in urban situations, because what we’ve done due to climate change, urbanisation, and agriculture, we’ve taken away a lot of fresh water sources out of the environment,” he said.
“It’s just another thing we can do to supplement the habitat loss of cockatoos in urban areas.”
Pressure
The effort to install the Cockitrough has been “huge” from a community which is “committed to rewilding” the suburb, according to Ms Delaney.
“Hilton’s been under a lot of developmental pressure, there’s a lot of subdivision and we’ve lost a lot of trees…vthat’s why we’re replanting and trying to support the flora and fauna which is native to this area,” she said.
“I’ve been here since 1995, and when I first came, it was so wild here that the bird life was deafening and there were a lot of old growth trees that have been around for 50 or 60 years… it’s been devastating to watch that disappear around me.
“We’ve had very positive feedback from the community… the people of Hilton have really put their money where their mouths are and they’re very supportive of [the Precinct’s work] to install the Cockitrough.”
by KATHERINE KRAAYVANGER