By Jed Lanyon
For 30 years, Healesville Sanctuary’s devotion to the Helmeted Honeyeater has not waned.
Sanctuary keepers are celebrating the birth of 30 critically endangered Helmeted Honeyeaters as the current breeding season draws to a close.
“It’s ironic, but we’ve bred 30 birds in our thirtieth year of the program, our best breeding season in a decade,” said Helmeted Honeyeater Keeper Meagan Lane.
“These chicks are fantastic news for the wild population.
“Each of these young birds has an important role to play for their species and will go on to become part of the captive breeding program, or be released to the wild at Yellingbo.
“Helmeted Honeyeaters are fast-growing, so most of the chicks are now independent from their parents, we only have a few still left in the nest with mum and dad,” Ms Lane said.
According to the Healesville Sanctuary, the Helmeted Honeyeater was once common across Victoria, and is now only found in a single location on 661 hectares of land in Yellingbo.
The last remaining home for these critically endangered birds is both an oasis of hope and a constant threat, with the prospect of fire or disease a real risk.
Helmeted Honeyeaters are a unique Honeyeater subspecies, distinguished by the golden-crested cap of feathers on their heads.
Australia is renowned for its abundance of unique plants and animals, with many species not found anywhere else in the world.
“Visitors to Healesville Sanctuary are incredibly lucky to be able to see Helmeted Honeyeaters for themselves in our Fighting Extinction aviary,” Ms Lane said.
“Each visit to Healesville Sanctuary directly contributes to the recovery of local endangered species like the Helmeted Honeyeater.”
