Bird enthusiasts in Tamworth and the wider region were dealt a disappointing blow when an annual bird count was cancelled last year, but their wait is over.
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The NSW Saving our Species program is calling for community volunteers to become "cockatoo counters" and help be part of the Great Inland Glossy Count this February.
While the first count was on the weekend at the Pilliga Forests, two other counts will be held on February 20 at Goonoo National Park and on the 27th at Goobang National Park and surrounds.
National Parks and Wildlife Service Senior Project Officer Adam Fawcett said bird lovers, citizen scientists or anyone with an interest are needed to survey populations at these key sites.
"Listed as vulnerable in NSW, glossies are easily spotted with their distinctive red markings and this cockatoo count will help our scientists understand more about this threatened bird," he said.
This is the second time the Great Inland Glossy Count has occurred.
The last count in 2019 had seventy volunteers participate and count over 700 Glossy Black Cockatoos across inland NSW.
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This year the target is to get 100 volunteers, and Tamworth's Denise Kane and her husband Chris are two who are ready to go.
"We are in Newcastle, but have packed up our caravan and are heading straight to the Pilligia," she said.
Volunteers will need to pre-register using the DPIE's Volunteer Portal and will be required to follow COVID safety guidelines.
The project is funded by the NSW Government's Saving our Species program and the NSW Environmental Trust, and is led by Central West Local Land Services in partnership with NPWS, NSW Forest Corp, Dubbo Field Naturalists, Australian Wildlife Conservancy and the land owners and managers within these areas.
