I understand that the "Best Bird" recorded during the Victorian Twitchathon
was Grey-crowned Babbler. Can anyone, possibly the judges of this award,
please explain the basis for this decision.
I appreciate the Grey-crowned Babbler is in real trouble in Victoria but I
would have thought that locating this species during the twitchathon would
not be all that difficult if that was what the team had set out to do.
They generally hang out at regular spots, are fairly vocal etc etc etc.
I would have thought that the Regent Honeyeater seen at Chiltern was a good
contender (I can't recall which team saw it). There are probably fewer
than 100 Regent Honeyeaters left in Victoria and while Chiltern is
recognised as THE spot to see them there are certainly no guarantees. At
the time of the twitchathon I was aware of the location of only 4 Regent
Honeyeaters in Victoria (and no-one approached me for inside information).
These rest of the birds having departed for parts unknown.
Given the rarity of the two species I would have thought the degree of
difficulty in actually locating the species would determine the "Best
Bird".
Incidentally, if anyone knows of the whereabouts of Regent Honeyeaters at
the moment I would love to hear from them. We are certainly in the dark at
the moment.
David Geering
Regent Honeyeater Recovery Coordinator
Phone: Freecall 1800 621 056
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