Dear All
The second national Regent Honeyeater and Swift Parrot survey for 1998 is
on this weekend, 8/9 August. While only 65 Regents were seen at seven
locations during the May survey 565 Swift Parrots were located at 16 sites.
It will be very interesting to see how things have changed since May.
Several of the concentrations of Swift Parrots in central Victoria appear
to have dispersed as flowering Yellow Box and Western Grey Box passed their
peak. The Regents at Chiltern appear to be dispersing within the Chiltern
forest as the breeding season approaches but there is still no sign of
Regents at Bundarra or the Capertee Valley. Occasional reports are coming
through of small groups in what we consider to generally be wintering
sites, the Hunter Valley and the NSW north coast. We hope that the birds
currently at Chiltern, about 40, isn't the sum total of the remaining
Victorian population. There must be many more birds out there that are not
being found.
This weekend provides an opportunity, and excuse if you need one, to get
out and help us find these birds. This information is vital if the
respective Recovery Teams are to develop strategies aimed at protecting
habitat for these two endangered species, not to mention the other
declining woodland species that share their habitat.
Remember: They're out there somewhere, we just have to find them.
David Geering Simon Kennedy
Regent Honeyeater Recover Coordinator Swift Parrot Project Officer
Phone: Freecall 1800 621 056 (03) 5444 6790
Email:
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