Helmeted Honeyater - Conservation Context

Helmeted Honeyeater

CONSERVATION BACKGROUND

A subspecies of the Yellow-tufted Honeyeater, the Helmeted Honeyeater is the Bird Emblem of Victoria.  It lives in dense riparian vegetation at low altitudes (20 -120 m above sea level) which receive regular rainfall, and feeds on invertebrates, lerps (insect larvae covers), honeydews, manna, nectar and sap.

Helmeted Honeyeaters were once patchily distributed from Healesville to south Gippsland, but populations declined throughout the 1900s due to habitat destruction (including vegetation clearing, drainage and fire).  The remaining wild populations are now confined to less than 10km².

Since 1989, the Helmeted Honeyeater Recovery Team has made intensive efforts to secure these remaining wild populations.  Zoos Victoria has worked with the Recovery Team to found and maintain a captive breeding colony for Helmeted Honeyeaters, and several wild colonies have been successfully established from captive-released birds.

CONSERVATION STATUS

Environment Protection & Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 – Endangered
Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 – Threatened
DSE Advisory List of Threatened Vertebrate Fauna in Victoria 2007 – Critically Endangered

The primary threats to the Helmeted Honeyeater relate to its small population size and confinement to a small and isolated area. The wild population is very vulnerable to catastrophic events (e.g. wildfire or drought) which could wipe out the entire wild population.  Other threatening processes include:

  • Habitat degradation due to die-back of eucalypts and melaleucas at one release site and lack of regeneration of eucalypts
  • Competition with colonies of Bell Miners for habitat and breeding territories
  • Predation by feral and native animals

RECOVERY PROGRAM

The long-term aim of the Helmeted Honeyeater Recovery Program is to achieve a stable population of at least 1000 individuals in at least ten separate but interconnected colonies along several creek systems in the mid-Yarra and Western Port catchments.

The immediate objectives of the Recovery Plan are to:

  1. Increase the number and size of wild populations.
  2. Maintain and enhance the value of Helmeted Honeyeater habitat in:
    i. Yellingbo Nature Conservation Reserve
    ii. Bunyip State Park
    iii. elsewhere throughout the former range.
  3. Improve the management of stream flows, water quality and riparian environments throughout the Woori Yallock Creek catchment.
  4. Manage the captive population of Helmeted Honeyeaters to provide insurance against the demise of the wild population and to meet the needs of the recovery program.
  5. Maintain the genetic diversity and evolutionary potential of the Helmeted Honeyeater.
  6. Improve public awareness of the Helmeted Honeyeater Recovery Program and public support for implementation of the Recovery Plan.
  7. Effectively administer the recovery effort to ensure that Recovery Plan objectives are met.

CONSERVATION PARTNERS

Members of the Helmeted Honeyeater Recovery Team include: