Last week BirdLife Australia’s Mick Roderick (National Regent Honeyeater Recovery Coordinator) presented at the HRLN committee meeting, providing an update on the conservation status of Regent Honeyeaters in the Hunter.
The species remains Critically Endangered, facing extremely high risk of extinction in the wild. Less than 300 wild birds now remain and these populations are only viable due to captive-bred releases. The species disperses post-breeding, then often starts to reappear around May for the winter months and regroups to breed in spring-summer. Populations previously breeding in Victoria and northern NSW (e.g. Barraba) have declined dramatically in recent years such that the Greater Blue Mountains is now the core breeding area for the species. The habitats in Cessnock LGA have proved a stronghold for these birds, probably due to their proximity to larger tracts of undisturbed habitat in this part of the Greater Blue Mountains.
Due to their low numbers, the birds are very hard to detect and are usually found in amongst flocks of other honeyeater species, however, lone sightings also occur. Mick asks Landcarers and amateur naturalists to please continue to carefully search for and listen for Regent Honeyeaters across the Hunter and Mid-Coast, alongside your monitoring of other woodland bird species. Keep records and report sightings of Regent Honeyeaters immediately here: What to do if you see a Regent Honeyeater – BirdLife Australia.
Continuing threats are increased rates of raven, butcherbird and currawong predation due to habitat fragmentation and birds being forced to forage and breed closer to urban areas. Narrow wildlife corridors with open parkland type habitat favours aggressive, territorial birds, with the Noisy Miner listed as a Key Threatening Process to these woodland birds. Other factors are the loss of understorey through grazing, slashing and clearing, and intense bushfires that reach canopy height and kill mistletoe. The birds breed during summer when bushfire risk is highest.
These are canopy nectar-feeders that help pollinate eucalypts such as mugga ironbark, yellow box, white box and swamp mahogany. They distribute the pollen over long-distances, helping promote genetic diversity which increases the resilience of eucalypts to adapt to environmental changes. Their natural habitat is box-ironbark eucalypt forests in blossom and wet lowland coastal forests dominated by Swamp Mahogany or Spotted Gum, especially where mistletoe is abundant. They can sometimes be seen in urban gardens if other foraging cannot be found. Mistletoe has been found to be a key factor in the breeding success, health and survival of Regent Honeyeaters as it provides a food resource when the plant is flowering, as well as a sturdy base upon which Regent Honeyeaters often build nests.
Landcarers can help by supporting the protection of remnant habitats in the Cessnock area and potential habitats elsewhere. Hunter Region Landcare Network will continue to promote education opportunities for Landcare groups on ecological restoration for woodland bird conservation, woodland bird identification and site record-keeping. The network is also advocating for whole region landscape planning. Local Land Services is working collaboratively with species experts, land managers, Mindaribba Local Aboriginal Land Council and the community in the Lower Hunter on this conservation project. Contact Mick at woodlandbirds@birdlife.org.au .
For property owners, Landcarers and Landcare groups in the Cessnock area and surrounds, please consider seeking grants for projects involving Regent Honeyeater conservation, including surveys, education, habitat assessments and mistletoe seeding.
Links to further information:
Regent honeyeater conservation | NSW Government
Listen to the call: Australian native animals | Regent honeyeater | NSW National Parks
Restoring Mistletoe on Wonnarua Country – BirdLife Australia – includes link to the Mistletoe propagation guide