Tuesday, 2 May 2017

Boosting the population of Regent Honeyeaters in Victoria

Well done to the Team from DELWP Hume, Taronga Zoo, Birdlife Australia, the Threatened Species Commissioner Gregory Andrews and the many volunteers involved in the Regent Honeyeater Release.

In April 100 captive bred Regent Honeyeaters were released into north east Victoria's Chiltern Mt Pilot National Park.

The birds bred at Taronga Zoo were released to boost local numbers of the critically endangered species. All birds have unique colour leg band combinations to assist with individual identification. An army of community volunteers are monitoring the birds and after a few losses the birds are doing well and have been interacting with the wild Regent Honeyeater population and some Regent Honeyeaters which were released in 2015.

To get involved monitoring Regent Honeyeater's contact:

Liz Wemyss at Elizabeth.Wemyss@delwp.vic.gov.au or 0417 312 592

The Regent Honeyeater is listed as 'Threatened' under the Flora and Fauna Guarantee (FFG) Act and is listed as ‘Critically Endangered’ under the Commonwealth Government’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act.

The 2017 Regent Honeyeater Captive Release and Community Monitoring Project is funded by the Victorian Government’s Icon Threatened Species Program, North East Catchment Management Authority (NECMA) through the Australian Government’s National Landcare Programme, BirdLife Australia and NSW Saving Our Species Project.

Please keep a look out for a Regent Honeyeater and report any sightings to :

Glen Johnson 0260437924 or Glen.Johnson@delwp.vic.gov.au

Dean Ingwersen at Birdlife Australia 0393470757 dean.ingwersen@birdlife.org.au

Media Links

Minister Josh Frydenberg

Sweet Release For Critically Endangered Honeyeaters This Easter

Threatened Species Commissioner Gregory Andrews

Facebook Live Post from Gregory Andrews Threatened Species Commissioner

Minister Lily D’Ambrosio

Threatened Regent Honeyeaters Take Flight At Chiltern

Link to DELWP Hume Facebook

DELWP Hume Facebook Video Regent Honeyeater Release