As regular CFZ-watchers will know, for some time Corinna has been doing a column for Animals & Men and a regular segment on On The Track... particularly about out-of-place birds and rare vagrants. There seem to be more and more bird stories from all over the world hitting the news these days so, to make room for them all - and to give them all equal and worthy coverage - she has set up this new blog to cover all things feathery and Fortean.

Thursday 13 September 2018

Rare regent honeyeater found in the Burragorang Valley



Ilsa Cunningham
The regent honeyeater, a bird under threat of extinction, has been found in the Burragorang Valley which environmentalists say will be inundated if the proposed raising of the Warragamba Dam for flood mitigation goes ahead.
Researchers from the Australian National University (ANU) discovered 21 birds and seven nests in the area late last year, publishing their findings in a report released last week.
“The Burragorang is a really important piece of the jigsaw for the Blue Mountains population,” said lead researcher Ross Crates.
“The birds are so restricted in where they will breed. They need trees in blossom to breed.”
Being chased away by bigger birds also made breeding problematic.
Australia-wide, only between 200 to 500 regent honeyeaters remain, Mr Crates said.
“If we are to have any chance of saving regent honeyeaters from extinction, we must act now. We must protect all existing breeding habitat, restore lost breeding habitat and protect nests.”
Mr Crates and his colleagues from ANU’s Difficult Bird Research Group surveyed more than 5000 sites between 2015 and 2017 to locate this rare species.
In addition to the new breeding site found in the Burragorang Valley, another new site was found in the Severn River in northern NSW. 

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