By KATH GANNAWAY
WITH less than 100 helmeted honeyeaters surviving in the wild, the bird is critically endangered.
It’s the main reason that when captive-bred birds are released into the wild at the Yellingbo conservation reserve, their only habitat, the event is carried out by a bit of a mix of groups involved in a military-style operation and a party.
Environment Minister Ryan Smith joined volunteers and staff from Friends of the Helmeted Honeyeater, Healesville Sanctuary, Parks Victoria and DEPI last week for the release of 13 birds.
The threatened species team at Healesville Sanctuary has had its most successful breeding season ever, with 22 birds hatching from 14 breeding pairs.
Karina Cartwright, the sanctuary’s specialist bird keeper, spelt out what it means to the hundreds of people involved to be part of the long haul that is keeping the bird’s chances of survival alive.
“It’s more than just animal husbandry, it’s making a difference to a species that, without our help, would probably not exist any more in the wild,” she said.
She explained that the birds have been acclimatising on site in large, portable aviaries for two nights to reduce the ‘culture’ shock of flying free and said everything possible is being done to ensure they have the best chance of survival, including a sort of gos hawk aversion training.
A small army of people will feed and monitor the birds for however long it takes.
The experience was clearly a buzz for the minister and Seymour MP and Liberal candidate for Eildon Cindy McLeish who sloshed in gumboots through the swampy, flood plain to see the birds released.
The government delivered $3.2 million in the 2014/15 budget for a revegetation program at the 33 hectare Yellingbo reserve earlier this year.
Part of that will be the planting of more than 80,000 understorey plants to increase habitat diversity and insect availability to improve the birds’ diet.
Mr Smith thanked and congratulated all the groups involved in what he said was a ‘vision’ to protect Yellingbo.
As the birds flew up into the tree canopy, gathering in a corroboree before flitting off to other parts of the reserve, there was a very unscientific, very apolitical, very joyous, collective ‘wow’.
