Rob Blakers, Swift Parrot, logging coupe SH051I (NATURE WILDERNESS 2026)

A critically endangered swift parrot (Lathamus discolor) prepares to take flight from a small enclave of unlogged forest at the edge of logging coupe SH051I in the Eastern Tiers, Tasmania, November 2024. More than a dozen parrots were feeding and exploring tree hollows for potential nesting sites in this 5ha oasis of unlogged forest. The surrounding forest - selectively logged some 60 years earlier and containing very few old, hollow-bearing trees, consistently remained entirely devoid of parrots. To walk from the unlogged forest - full of the noise and colour of the parrots - into the silence of the adjacent recovering landscape was dramatic and shocking.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.