|
Hello Australia,
Just a final (hopefully) point re the former status
of Regent Honeyeaters in western Victoria as quoted by Chris (Tzaros) from one
of his sources ("in the Yellow Gum habitat between north-central Victoria and
the South Australian border, the Regent Honeyeater has never had better than
vagrant status"). My recollection was that 'conventional wisdom' (whatever
that is!) was that the Regent Honeyeater was formerly reasonably common in that
area - a perception that is pretty-much in accord with much of what is written
on this species in HANZAB5 pp 574-577, e.g. that it was "formerly widespread and
numerous" and breeding in southern SA, "formerly a regular visitor around
Stawell and Ararat" in western Victoria, and Yellow Gum (Eucalyptus leucoxylon)
is mentioned several times as a habitat tree.
Why am I so obsessed with this? Amongst other
reasons, I was involved in the creation of new parks and reserves in the
Box-Ironbark country of Victoria last year, and the decline of the Regent
Honeyeater was frequently touted as one of the prime examples of biodiversity
loss in that region.
Cheers,
Paul.
Paul Peake
89 Leinster
Grove
Thornbury, VIC 3071
Phone: 03 9484 1815
Fax: 03 9484
1815
------------------------------------------------------
Outgoing mail
is certified virus free
Checked by Norton AntiVirus 2002
| 