Fresh hope for rare honeyeater bird

By By LUCAS FORBES

Oct. 24, 2014, 9:37 a.m.

Bird lovers Shirley Cook and Beth Williams are bringing attention to a rare avian friend in the New England region for National Bird Week.The regent honeyeater once flew in flocks of thousands in Australia but now there may be less than 400 left.

But the New England region has one known breeding pair near Bundarra which Mrs Cook visited yesterday.

University of New England academic Steve Debus said the main reason for their decline was the same as with many other endangered species: habitat loss and fragmentation.

The birds are a migratory species, so when areas are cleared by humans they become easy targets for prey in the open.

National Bird Week is an initiative by BirdLife Australia, which also monitors the regent honeyeater.

It's aimed at raising the profile of bird conservation nationally.

Shirley Cook is part of two bird watching groups in town and said while some birdwatchers in Armidale were taking part in the week.

One way people participate is by taking part in the Aussie Backyard Bird Count.

Read on ...

Development could lead to extinction of rare Australian bird

The critically endangered Regent Honeyeater could be at risk of extinction if plans to develop an industrial estate in New South Wales in Australia goes ahead, experts have found.

The bird is endemic to South Eastern Australia and this site contains one of the most important breeding habitats for this extremely rare bird, whose population has declined by more than 80 percent over the last 24 years.

“We are now certain that Regent Honeyeaters rely on this site for food and to breed,” said Samantha Vine, Head of Conservation at BirdLife Australia. “Development of this site will be catastrophic for this imperilled species.”

“In 2007–8 observers recorded 20 nests and around 100 individual birds,” said lead author, Mick Roderick. “With fewer than 400 adult Regent Honeyeaters remaining in the wild, this represents around 25 per cent of this species’ current global population.”

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Chiltern's regent honeyeaters flourishing

A PROGRAM to host more regent honeyeaters in the Chiltern forest has proved a success.

Wildlife officers are thrilled 75 per cent of the rare birds released in April have survived.

Department of Environment and Primary Industries biodiversity officer Glen Johnson said 28 out of 37 regent honeyeaters let out of captivity into the Chiltern-Mount Pilot National Park this year were found alive last week.

“It’s really remarkable for a captive release,” Mr Johnson said.

“It’s lucky to get 25 per cent through the first winter — this is a great boost to the wild population.

“We’re hopeful that like last year we’ll again be able to demonstrate successful breeding between captive release and wild birds later in the year.”

Mr Johnson said other birds were discovered from earlier releases that began in 2008.

“Last week’s survey also identified three surviving birds from the 2010 release,” he said.

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Critically Endangered Regent Honeyeaters released into the wild in Australia

40 captive bred Regent Honeyeaters to be released in Victoria

April 2013. Victoria Department of Environment (DEPI) Senior Biodiversity Officer, Glen Johnson said: "These birds were bred at Taronga Zoo in Sydney and will provide another boost to the Regent Honeyeater population. We'll be attaching radio transmitters to about 25 of the birds that are being released, and all are fitted with unique colour leg band combinations to assist individual identification," Mr Johnson said.

Will breed with wild birds
"We know from re-sightings of previously released birds that the captive bred Regent Honeyeaters can successfully breed with and recruit new fledglings into the wild population. Each time we find another captive-bred bird in the wild we learn a bit more about how they are adapting and behaving."

"The transmitters have been specially adapted for Regent Honeyeaters by Dean Ingwersen, BirdLife Australia's National Regent Honeyeater Recovery Co-ordinator and the team at Taronga Zoo. We will be working with skilled volunteers to track these transmitters and identify individuals based on the unique colour band combinations."

Critically Endangered Regent Honeyeaters released into the

 wild in Australia. Photo courtesy of Birdlife Australia

Nomadic birds
Dean Ingwersen said: "Regent Honeyeaters, like other species of honeyeaters, rely on flowering events in our forests for their food, so they are relatively nomadic and can travel large distances. This makes them a difficult species to study particularly when there are so few of them. Once again though, this project highlights the value of releasing captive-bred birds and of colour banding as a research and monitoring tool," Mr Ingwersen said.

"There's so much we are still learning about Regent Honeyeater movements and habitat requirements and each detailed sighting report adds to our knowledge about individual birds and the species."

For more information about Regent Honeyeaters click here.