Free to breed- Briony Mitchell and Bruce Quin take a closer look. 64158 Picture: Stewart Chambers

By Emma Schenk
ELEVEN captive-bred helmeted honeyeaters flew free at Bunyip National Park this month, in an attempt to boost the endangered Victorian bird emblem’s population.
Bred at Healesville Sanctuary and Taronga Zoo, Yellingbo’s Friends of the Helmeted Honey Eater, the Department of Sustainability and Environment, Parks Victoria and Friends of Bunyip State Park will support the birds in the wild.
Less than 100 honeyeaters are believed to be left in the wild and researchers couldn’t contain their excitement when they released the young birds.
“It’s extremely thrilling for all involved,” DSE senior ornithologist Bruce Quin said.
The birds acclimatised in an aviary at the release site for four days in the lead-up to their freedom and joined the established wild population on Friday 6 May – to hopefully increase it.
Researchers will radio-track the birds and supply feeding stations and a permanent water source.
Field assistant Emma Campbell said the soft-release and continued monitoring of the birds would ease them into their new life and aid their survival.
“With improved technology, new radio tracking will let us see where they are and what sort of things they like,” Ms Campbell said.
About two dozen people showed up to witness the release, many chasing the birds through the dense parkland to see where they flew.
Habitat destruction, competition from other species, increasing predators, and other environmental factors contributed to the birds’ rapid decline.
But Mr Quin said there were many ways to save them.
“We undertake nest protection and work with YellingboNature Reserve to swap eggs which helps breeding in the wild and increases genetic diversity,” he said.
Rebecca Rose, a Ph.D student studying helmeted honeyeaters, said the move was a step in the right direction.
“Anything that raises awareness about this critically endangered species is a good thing,” she said.