
This nest box is a big deal. It was so heavy it had to be lifted out of the ute by two people. When it was placed on the ground it towered over the other ‘standard’ sized nest boxes like a wooden monolith.
The enormous scale was to simulate a large tree hollow, something that would take more than 200 years to form in the wild. This special nest box was tailored for Glossy Black Cockatoos. It was something of a prototype, modified by Hollow Log Homes from a Palm Cockatoo nest box – and the heaviest one there was.
Two of these incredible next boxes were installed on a 20 hectare property at Calvert, Ipswich, owned by Mark Headridge who joined Land for Wildlife in 2023. Mark said he hoped the nest box would be used by the rare Glossy Black Cockatoos that often visited his property.
“We get them at dusk, they feed on the she-oaks trees at the front and then congregate around the dam,” he said.
Slowly, the giant nest boxes were raised high and secured in tall trees. In addition, another four standard nest boxes for other species were also installed. Glossy Black Cockatoos are a wary species, often spending a long time ‘checking out’ new nesting sites before using them. The nest boxes and installation were funded through Ipswich City Council’s Nature Conservation Grants.
As well as installing nest boxes, Mark’s grant has allowed him to carry out conservation improvements on his property, especially lantana control.
In some parts of his property the lantana is immense and impenetrable, especially in the gullies. With the support and advice of a weed contractor, Mark is making huge inroads with the lantana control. Different techniques are being used in different areas, from mulching with a brushcutter, hand-weeding, foliar spray and cut and paste of stumps and regrowth. Looking at his neighbour’s weed-free paddock, Mark says it’s what he aspires to in five years’ time.

Mark’s property is mapped as being within a Koala corridor, but he has yet to see one in the four years he’s been on his property. He hopes that by removing the dense lantana that Koalas will be able to move more easily across his property.
The grant is also helping Mark to improve the habitat values of a dam through plantings and creating leaky weirs on the slopes to disperse runoff.
Mark is new to conservation but has already made significant progress. He is tackling three significant projects at a scale that would not have been possible without the support of the grant.
Article by Jane Pinder
Environmental Education and Communications Officer
Ipswich City Council