birding-aus
Trevor Quested wrote "Many other good birds are here and the Regent
Honeyeaters Have to be about somewhere, although I couldn't find any on
Sunday."
Yep, they must be somewhere!! This is traditionally the time of year that
we receive the fewest number of sightings of Regent Honeyeaters. The
1998-99 breeding season was a VERY strange one. They, more or less, didn't
breed at the major NSW sites - Capertee Valley (central NSW) and Bundarra
(northern NSW). I received reports of a pair with fledged young at
Capertee and a grand total of four nests at Bundarra. At the same time
there were reports of pairs or very small groups scattered from Emmaville
in northern NSW to the ACT with some reports of breeding - most failed
attempts. The ACT and adjacent NSW was a "warm" spot - not enough birds to
call it a hot spot.
At Chiltern (NE Victoria) the good flock of 40-50 that was present all
winter gradually dispersed although 13 nesting attempts were recorded but
only 2 nests managed to fledge young. Of great interest was a pair nesting
at Glenburn (80 odd kilometres NW of Melbourne).
Thank you to all those that have sent in reports of Regents as well as
those that are out there looking but, as yet, have not had reason to send
me a positive sighting.
The dispersed nature of the birds during the breeding season, when they are
often concentrated at the three major breeding areas, means that they could
be even more dispersed now. And what of the hundreds of birds in the
Capertee Valley in 1997. Where have they gone ?!
I would like to encourage people to take up the challenge and try and
locate these birds. THEY MUST BE OUT THERE SOMEWHERE. A greater
understanding of the movement patterns of the Regent Honeyeater means that
we might be able to better identify the requirements of the species. If we
don't know what habitat the bulk of the birds are utilising outside the
breeding season it is very hard to work towards conserving it.
There will be a national Regent Honeyeater/Swift Parrot survey on the
weekend of 22-23 May but why not take up the challenge and start searching
now.
David Geering
Regent Honeyeater Recovery Coordinator
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