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THE flock of corellas in Nowra’s Marriott Park is made up of two species.
National Parks and Wildlife Service wildlife officerMike Jarman said the flock consisted of the little corella and the larger long billed corella.
While both are native birds, they are usually found inland in the west or central west of the state.
“While they are usually found further west, it is not unusual for them to be here,” Mr Jarman said.
“They usually congregate in large flocks out west and it is hard to know why they come to the coast.
“Some people suggest it could be because of droughts and things like that and they are searching for food.
“But I think the majority of the birds locally started as escapees from local aviaries.
“I think they have escaped and simply managed to breed up to massive numbers. They can live up to 30 to 50 years and up to 80 years in captivity.”
While they can cause considerable damage, Mr Jarman said the NPWS had not been inundated with complaints.
“They are mainly looking for things like onion weed where they eat the roots, however they are partial to a number of species of gum trees.”
Mr Jarman said in some cases if the flocks were causing economic and commercial damage, licences could be obtained to allow for culling.