Australian Geographic – July-August 2019

SA

From June to August the giant

Australian cuttlefish forms huge

breeding aggregations in Spencer

Gulf, South Australia. Working in

tandem with environmental

authorities, the City of Whyalla is

offering opportunities for guided

snorkel tours from Stony Point,

as part of its annual Cuttlefest:

from $99 for adults and $49.50 for

kids. More info: visit whyalla.com/

cuttlefest or call Whyalla Visitor

Centre on 08 8645 7900.

A

USTRALIAN HONEYEATERS

come in all sizes, from the

hulking yellow wattlebird,

a Tasmanian endemic in which adult

males are up to 46cm long, to the

diminutive scarlet honeyeater of eastern

Australia that grows to only about 9cm.

Along with the chats, our honeyeaters

belong to the Meliphagidae, a widely

distributed songbird family of about

180 species, 72 of which are found in

Australia. Most feed primarily on nectar,

which they sip from flowers using a

specialised brush-tipped tongue. This

energy-rich food source is supplemented

by other sugary secretions from plants

and insects, and a few species even feed

mainly on insects.

Many honeyeater species are strongly

linked to the ecosystems in which they

live. An example is the regent

honeyeater, which is found mainly in

the box-ironbark forests of mainland

south-east Australia, west of the

Great Dividing Range. The species also

occurs in dry open forests in coastal

catchments, casuarina woodlands and

adjacent gardens.

One previous widely used common

name, the warty-faced honeyeater,

describes the wrinkled patch of yellow-

ish facial skin around its eye. The species’

plumage is striking. It has a distinctive

black hood; black body feathers broadly

edged with white, giving a scalloped

appearance; and bright-yellow panels in

the feathers of the wings and tail.

Historically, the regent honeyeater’s

range extended from around Adelaide,

South Australia, north to Rockhampton

in central eastern Queensland. But it is

no longer found in South Australia or

western Victoria. Today the species is

most abundant in Capertee Valley,

the Hunter Valley and central coast of

New South Wales, and around Chiltern

in Victoria. It is strongly nomadic,

following the flowering blossoms of

eucalypts and mistletoe.

Sadly, the regent honeyeater is now

critically endangered: loss, fragmenta-

tion and degradation of its habitat and

competition from other species are

among key threats. But fortunately,

several organisations, including Birdlife

Australia and the NSW government

through its Saving our Species (SoS)

program are taking action to help this

embattled little bird. Captive breeding

and release programs have been under-

way since 2008 and biannual (May and

August) regent honeyeater surveys

have been undertaken by Birdlife for

more than 20 years.

About 400 mature birds are thought

to remain in the wild, although only

94 individuals were reported in 2018

and just 30 up to the end of May this

year. More alarming is that the only

breeding site found last year, which is

near Cessnock in NSW, is at risk of

being lost to industrial development.

Birdlife and SoS rely heavily on

volunteers to undertake counts and

other activities, such as tree planting to

increase the species’ habitat and

re-establish essential wildlife corridors.

See birdlife.org.au to find out more.

If you’re lucky enough to see a regent

honeyeater in the wild, please note any

coloured leg band it might be wearing

and inform Birdlife of your sighting.

Bird

Nerd

One of our most stunning honeyeater

pecies is in desperate need of help

f it is to survive in the wild.

ON THE BRINK

FOLLOW Peter on

Twitter: @_peterrowland

and Instagram:

_peterrowland

Bird

Nerd

One of our most stunning honeyeater

species is in desperate need of help

if it is to survive in the wild.

ON THE BRINK

with Peter Rowland

SNORKEL WITH GIANT

CUTTLEFISH, WHYALLA

VIC

Winter is a great time to take a

drive along Victoria’s spectacular

Great Ocean Road, and the Otway

Coast hamlet of Kennett River is

one of the best places in Australia to

spot koalas. Turn into Grey River

Road off the Great Ocean Road and

1.5km further on you are almost

guaranteed to find them in the

trees. Late afternoon is best.

More info: Call the visitor

information centre at Apollo Bay on

03 5237 6529 or visit

greatoceanroad.org.au

SPOT A KOALA,

OTWAY COAST

July. August 37

PHOTO CREDITS, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: RALPH ALPHONSO/AUSTRALIAN GEOGRAPHIC; COURTESY PETER ROWLAND. SCIENTIFIC NAMES, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT:

Sepia apama; Alisterus scapularis; Anthochaera phrygia

WA

By July–August the Pilbara’s wild-

flowers are blooming. Mulla mulla,

Sturt’s desert peas, numerous flow-

ering acacias and native roses and

hibiscuses can all be enjoyed in both

Karijini and Millstream-Chichester

national parks, as well as along

roadsides. More info: call North

West Tourism on 08 9193 6660 or

visit australiasnorthwest.com/

page/pilbara-wildflowers-trail

SEE WILDFLOWERS IN

BLOOM, KARIJINI NP

The critically

endangered regent

honeyeater now

occurs in only a

fraction of its

original range.