With the news headlines around the COP events full of general doom and gloom about species decline, it’s worth taking the time to meet one lucky bird that’s on the mend.

From as few as 17 known individuals, the orange-bellied parrots of Tasmania now number in the low hundreds after years of hard conservation work.

Recently, a new group of 28 captive bred juvenile parrots will be released into Melaleuca, southwest Tasmania, to join an adult breeding and nesting colony near Five-Mile Beach.

This is vital for this species, which migrates to the coast of Queensland, Australia during the winter. During their short migration, the juveniles have to learn the various migration routes from experienced parrots who have made the flight before.