A Victorian philanthropic foundation is championing the plight of the State’s much-loved, but severely threatened, bird emblem.

The Merrin Foundation – that honours the life of Merrin Tegner by supporting issues close to her heart – has stepped in for a second year to fund vitally important research that will enhance Healesville Sanctuary’s captive breeding program for the Helmeted Honeyeater.

The Helmeted Honeyeater survives in only two small wild populations east of Melbourne and is facing severe threat due to the loss of its native habitat.

In 2006 the Merrin Foundation generously funded the purchase of a camera surveillance system that enabled keepers to efficiently and effectively monitor the behaviours of Helmeted Honeyeater pairs that are breeding in captivity. The cameras also aided staff to intercept predation of a nest that had been built against the aviary wall. The lives of two precious nestlings were saved, and these youngsters have since been released to help build the wild Helmeted Honeyeater populations.

In 2008 the Merrin Foundation is again supporting Healesville Sanctuary through the provision of funds for keepers to implement two research projects that are designed to improve the management of captive and wild Helmeted Honeyeaters.

The first stage involves a trial of implantable microchips in the Helmeted Honeyeaters. This research will provide the most significant benefits for the management of wild Helmeted Honeyeater populations. The microchips will enable the remote identification of individual birds, thereby enabling comprehensive inventories of the wild populations to be undertaken, even when Field Officers are not present.

The second stage of research will compare the microclimate within nests of captive and wild Helmeted Honeyeaters to determine whether the conditions of the aviaries at Healesville Sanctuary are optimal for nesting. Nest microclimates will be gauged by placing temperature and humidity data loggers into the base of Helmeted Honeyeater nests both at the Sanctuary, and eventually in the wild. Keepers will be able to access essential data that will enable them to effectively manage the aviary temperature and climate conditions.

The Helmeted Honeyeater captive breeding program is one of eight native threatened species programs – including the Tasmanian Devil, the Mountain Pygmy Possum and the rare Sunshine Diuris Orchid – that are managed by the skilled and experienced staff Zoos Victoria.

Zoos Victoria would like to thank the Merrin Foundation for their generous support of the Helmeted Honeyeater conservation program. With this support, Victoria’s bird emblem has a strong chance of survival.