By Melissa Cunningham &
AAP
14 February 2018 — 10:57pm
A critically-endangered bird
species, native only to Victoria, has recorded a bumper breeding season,
bringing it one step closer to staving off extinction.
Thirty-six Helmeted Honeyeater
couples in Melbourne's east have raised 61 fledglings so far, with hope for
more before the end of the breeding season in March.
Of the 36 couples, 24 birds are
first-time parents.
"This is fantastic news for
the recovery program, as it means the birds that are reaching breeding age are
replacing lost birds or, in some cases, finding their own breeding sites,"
Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning ornithologist Bruce Quin
told AAP.
"It's also a big positive
for the conservation program as it shows there is enough quality habitat to
support a population increase."
The small, yellow-tufted species
have been steadily making a comeback from near-extinction due to a more than
three decade-long conservation program.
The Helmeted Honeyeater is
Victoria's bird emblem, but it's survival rate on release from
captivity sits at less than 40 per cent.
Last year, numbers of the
yellow-breasted bird dwindled to 190.
But, increasing numbers of the
species is only half the battle.
When a Helmeted Honeyeater enters
the wild, it not only fails to evade its main predators, but often flies
directly towards them, resulting in its untimely death.
The reason for this, is that
Helmeted Honeyeaters have little understanding of what to fear.
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