THE critically-endangered regent honeyeater has been found breeding on environmental offset land, owned by Coal & Allied’s Mount Thorley Warkworth mine.
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At least 10 adult and juvenile regent honeyeaters were seen by the mine’s environment team and confirmed by independent researchers on a number of occasions in December and January on the land adjacent to the Goulburn River National Park, near Merriwa.
Birdlife Australia has been notified of the significant sightings.
The commonwealth government estimates the regent honeyeater has a population of about 350-400 mature individuals.
Ross Crates is undertaking a PhD on regent honeyeaters and has been observing the birds independently as part of the Australian National University’s national monitoring program.
“The Goulburn River region is known as habitat for the regent honeyeater but this is the first significant sighting there for some years,” he said.
“It’s a real thrill to see these birds breeding in the wild and to see 10 of them on this property is an extremely important discovery.
“We know that at least four juveniles have been raised on the site this year as part of a group of around 10 birds, some of which have been nesting.”
Land Offsets at Rio Tinto Coal Australia principal advisor Nel Byatt says this is a very significant finding.
“There are only a few breeding sites for the regent honeyeater in the country,” she said.
“The success rate for breeding has traditionally been low so to see these birds raising chicks on our property is extremely encouraging.
“We will continue to carefully monitor the area and implement our Offset Management Plan, which includes tree planting and weed and pest animal control, to give these birds and others the best chance of a strong future.
“The independent research being done by the Australian National University is vital and we will continue to welcome them as they conduct their monitoring work in our region.”
The land was purchased to protect regent honeyeater and swift parrot habitat as part of the approval for continued mining at Mount Thorley Warkworth, which was certified by the Office of Environment and Heritage and approved by the Planning Assessment Commission in 2015.
The mine has also contributed $1m to the NSW Government’s Saving Our Species program to support the captive breeding program for the regent honeyeater.
