Wally Kerkhof: the Carnaby’s black cockatoo’s best friend

By Rachel Walmsley, Moore Catchment Council

Wally has always been interested in nature, particularly birds.

During the Sixties and Seventies, he worked on farms in the Moora district of Western Australia where he started noticing the number of Carnaby’s black cockatoos decreasing in the area. Once a familiar sight in the northern agricultural region their numbers have dramatically declined and now the bird species is threatened with extinction.

 Historically, the Moora area is important for Carnaby’s due to the abundance of large salmon gums and wandoo which provide nesting hollows. Unfortunately, their demise has been swift due to the fragmentation of habitat caused by large-scale clearing, creating a lack of suitable breeding trees and forage plants.

Concerned with the Carnaby’s decline around Moora, Wally began developing a design for an artificial breeding log constructed from fallen salmon gums and wandoo, in the hope of reviving the population in the area. Over the years the design has been improved and modified, with each log lovingly created and taking many hours to finish. The logs have been a huge success, increasing the population of Carnaby’s in Moora from a dozen pairs in the 1980s to a healthy flock today of 92 breeding pairs!

In 2010, the Kerkhof Carnaby Group (KCG) formed to help Wally carry out his important work in Moora and further afield. The Moore Catchment Council has been supporting Wally and the KCG since 2012, assisting with funding to help build nesting logs, promoting their work, running community awareness events and documenting Wally’s knowledge of Carnaby’s and log making.

The increase in the Carnaby’s population around Moora is the result of one man’s vision against many odds. Wally is a true Landcare legend. There will only ever be one Wally and we honour his efforts!

To download Wally’s Nesting Log Construction Guide visit moorecatchment.org.au/news-and-resources/publications