Flight to save their species

By Melissa Meehan
YOUNG helmeted honeyeaters will fly off into the wild east of Melbourne on Friday, blithely unaware of the critical role they must play to save their kind from extinction.
The birds, aged from just two to eight months, are the latest graduates of Healesville Sanctuary’s captive breeding program that supplements two wild populations of honeyeaters.
Six birds will be released at Yellingbo Nature Conservation Reserve, 18km south of Healesville, with the release of nine others at Bunyip State Park 20km southeast of Gembrook, the week after.
The fate of the birds now rests with nature, assisted by the Department of Sustainability and Environment, Parks Victoria and volunteers such as the Friends of the Helmeted Honeyeater.
The nine birds being released into Bunyip State Park bring the total of captive birds produced by the sanctuary, and released there and at Yellingbo, to 116.
All released birds are banded for tracking purposes.
The releases will take the wild population of Victoria’s bird emblem to about 100, a stark contrast to many years ago when there was plentiful habitat for the birds from Healesville to South Gippsland.
DSE field ornithologist Bruce Quin has been working to boost survival rates of the birds in the wild for more than 14 years. Supported by a dedicated group of volunteers, Mr Quin provides supplementary food for the released birds, which enables close monitoring of the population.
This assists in the long term understanding of the helmeted honeyeater’s habitat needs, potential predators, survival and population dispersal.
“It is a special feeling to be a spectator and watch released captive birds discover that the sky is now their ceiling,” said Bob Anderson, president of the Friends of the Helmeted Honeyeater. “Being part of a program that returns birds to their natural habitat is a real joy.”
Without the commitment and cooperative approach of government and volunteers, the long-term aim to bring this species back from the brink of extinction would not be possible.