Nicholas Leseberg

Nick completed his PhD on the ecology and conservation biogeography of the night parrot. Rediscovered in 2013, more than a century after the last confirmed sighting of a live bird, Nick’s research focused on: refining detection methods for the night parrot, particularly the use of acoustic monitoring; clarifying the species’ likely distribution through the identification of patterns in the historical sighting record; and developing best-practice management strategies and actions for the night parrot, given the relatively limited knowledge. The results of Nick’s research have seen the species detected at several new sites, particularly in central Western Australia, while it has also been uplisted to Critically Endangered in the most recent Action Plan for Australian Birds.

Nick’s postdoctoral work focuses on the research required to detect and manage poorly known and difficult-to-detect species. Through the Research and Recovery of Endangered Species (RARES) group Nick is involved in research on a number of other threatened species including the buff-breasted button-quail, golden-shouldered parrot, northern masked owl, Carpentarian grasswren and red goshawk, all poorly known species in desperate need of both research and conservation action.

Nick also works for Bush Heritage Australia as night parrot ecologist at Pullen Pullen Special Wildlife Reserve, and consults on a variety of projects around night parrots and other threatened species.