Where we work

Friends of the Orange-bellied Parrot (OBP) group works across the OBP's range with a focus on Tasmania's west and northwest coasts, King Island and Melaleuca in the far southwest.

What we do

The objectives of our group are to:

Conduct migration and winter surveys in various locations from Strahan to Woolnorth and on King Island when funds are available.
Raise awareness of the plight of the OBP.
Raise funds to support the activities of volunteers and other recovery actions.
Help support the monitoring program at Melaleuca (SW Tasmania) including working bees.
Assist with any habitat management projects.

The group is overseen by a committee that is elected at an Annual General Meeting each September.

Our 2026 AGM will be held at 7pm on Wednesday 23 September at Sandy Bay.

Wildcare news articles about our work are at the bottom of this page. We are also on Facebook.

Visit the gallery to view images of the Friends of the OBP in action.

Visit branch files to see newsletters from the OBP Recovery Team and other PDFs including links to OBP news, research papers and video footage.

2026 migration surveys

10-11 October at Woolnorth - see details and registration

17-18 October at Woolnorth - see details and registration

Registration for both surveys closes on Thursday 1 October.

Fundraising

We receive tax deductible donations to our fundraising through the "Support Friends of the OBP" portal that is on our webpage. Note that donations made through the "Donations" tab at the top of any of Wildcare's webpages go to the Tasmanian Nature Conservation Fund.

Friends of the OBP also receives income from Wildcare's online shop with 100% of profits on our merchandise supporting efforts to save the critically endangered Orange-bellied Parrot and the work of volunteer OBP monitors at Melaleuca.

On occasion, we have a stall at a market or festival:

Sunday 30 August - Long Beach Market 11am to 3pm
Saturday 5 September - Artisans' Collective Market at Sorell 10am to 2pm
Sunday 6 September - South Arm Market 9.30am to 1.00pm

One of our members runs a Redbubble shop that features Orange-bellied Parrot designs, with all profits donated to Friends of the OBP. You can either browse all products from the home page or navigate through "collections" near the top of the page.

Everything in The OBP Shop is discounted by up to 40% from 26 to 31 October 2026. While most things are around 20% off, Premium Oversized Hoodies and Premium Oversized Sweatshirts are both 40% off. They are made from heavyweight windcheater material. To find this style, click on a tee-shirt and scroll to the bottom to see all the different styles of tops in that design.

Designs from a mosaic by artist Jacqui Dawborn and used with permission were recently added to the shop. The original work is ceramic on sandstone.

OBP monitoring at Melaleuca

Volunteers with Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania (NRE Tas) observe Orange-bellied Parrots visiting the feed tables, recording individual leg bands and nest observations. This data is collected for the department's OBP Program staff to monitor survival and breeding success of wild and captive-bred release birds. While Friends of the OBP may assist the NRE OBP Program in various ways, we have no direct involvement with their volunteer program other than distributing information about the expression of interest process when it becomes available.

Excess baggage reimbursement

If you are a member of the Friends of the OBP and are selected by NRE as a volunteer for the OBP monitoring program, a reimbursement for a limited amount of excess baggage may be available. Please email friends.of.the.obp@gmail.com for details.

For all other enquiries about any aspect of volunteer work through NRE's OBP Program, including monitoring OBPs at Melaleuca or assisting at the OBP captive breeding facility near Hobart, please email volunteering@nre.tas.gov.au

Contact us

Email friends.of.the.obp@gmail.com (Marianne Gee, President and representative to the National OBP Recovery Team).

Follow us on Facebook.

Friends of the OBP

Friends of the OBP find old and new friends (but no parrots) on election day at Arthur River