BirdLife Australia is working with the Mindaribba Local Aboriginal Land Council to restore mistletoe to burnt woodlands in the Hunter Valley by planting mistletoe seeds, which will provide vital food and nesting resources to boost the Regent Honeyeaters' survival.
Repeated bushfires in the Hunter Valley in NSW have severely diminished food and nesting resources that are crucial for the survival of the Critically Endangered Regent Honeyeater.
Mistletoe is an important plant which plays a crucial role in saving Regent Honeyeaters from extinction.
To ‘fast-track’ mistletoe regeneration in the Hunter Valley in NSW, BirdLife Australia is working with the Mindaribba Local Aboriginal Land Council and landcarers to:
Mistletoe restoration work is being undertaken in conjunction with BirdLife Australia’s Woodland Birds Program and Regent Honeyeater Release.
This knowledge- and action-based mix of ecology, habit restoration and land management is being used to reverse the steep decline experienced by Regent Honeyeaters in recent decades.
About 4,500 mistletoe seeds have been planted since the summer of 2020–21, and monitoring shows signs of success.
Continuing habitat restoration, working in concert with captive releases, should see Regent Honeyeaters surviving and thriving.
Since 2008, hundreds of zoo-bred Regent Honeyeaters have been released into the wild — a strategy that's working, with many of the birds not only surviving, but breeding.
Woodland bird populations are declining rapidly, with more than 40 species at risk of extinction. The Woodland Birds Program aims to stop and reverse this trend before it's too late.
If you see a Regent Honeyeater, let us know as soon as possible.
