Working With Helmeted Honeyeaters
Helmeted Honeyeater at feed station.
The last month has been really busy for this Bush Chick as I have just started a new job looking after Victoria’s Avi-faunal emblem the Helmeted Honeyeater, Lichenostomus melanops cassidix. These birds are endangered under the Environment Protection & Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act 1999. My current role is to work with the birds in the field to meet outcomes of the Recovery Plan for this species.
Over the last month I have been busy working with the dedicated volunteers who maintain the supplementary feeding program. The birds are part of a captive breeding program where birds are bred in either the Healesville Sanctuary or Taronga Zoo and released into the wild. On the birds release into the wild they are given extra support to increase their chance of survival through a supplemented feeding program, where a part of their diet is supplemented with a nectar based solution known as Wombaroo.
Helmeted Honeyeater - captive leg banded bird being released.
Whilst out in the field I have been busy tracking which birds are observed during each visit by checking their leg bands. This is sometimes an easy task if they come down low and you can see their bands really easily, but if they stay up high in the trees this is more difficult. We are currently moving into the breeding season where I will be busy monitoring nesting behaviour and assisting the birds nesting success as best as possible. This will mostly involve trying to reduce the chance of predation of their nest.
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