It wasn’t until 1998 that the species began to spread down the South Coast and now its members visit every year.

They can be found as far south along the coast as Eden where they come in twos and tens but the numbers are growing there also.

According to Birding NSW spokesmen Alin Morris the birds were once an endangered species only found in Victoria and western NSW.

“The numbers were declining until the early 1980s when wheat farming increased,” he said.

“Apart from eating the wheat they used their long bills to dig up vegetation with bulbs such as onion weed.

“It began to spread through the wheat fields and the number of corellas increased to a point where they became a problem.”

Farmers were then given the right to shoot the pesky birds and not long after it became legal to sell them as pets.

It was during that time that they spread to the coast, according to Mr Morris.

“They were being sold in cages in all states, so suddenly the feral population of corellas increased up and down the coast,” he explained.

“They’ve been spreading ever since and the numbers are gradually building.”