The caring hand of man – Helmeted Honeyeaters

Unlike last week’s distressing image, The Hand of Man, there are many times when the hand of man (and woman) reaches out to help our wildlife. This week I’m sharing photographs of a critically endangered sub-species that would almost certainly have become extinct if not for the dedicated work of a team of professionals and volunteers.

Helmeted Honeyeater (Lichenostomus melanops cassidix)
1/500, f/5.6, ISO 1250

The Helmeted Honeyeater Recovery Team was set up in 1989 with the aim of improving habitat and increasing breeding success. Over the years the team has worked tirelessly to help this Tufted Honeyeater sub-species to survive. I’ve had some involvement with the program since the early 2000s, including being part of the supplementary feeding/data collection team. Many years ago my upper primary class spent a day planting habitat. Friends of the Helmeted Honeyeaters welcome volunteers in several areas of the program so please contact them if you might be able to help, please note though that volunteers are not generally permitted to take photographs.

Breeding success is obviously essential to sustain a population of endangered birds. The fledglings above were deep in the bush waiting for a parent bird to offer food; the photograph was taken with a long lens and is heavily cropped. During the breeding season mealworms are offered, as well as the Wombaroo mix, to supplement the nutritional requirements of young birds. When in the field we note which direction the parent birds fly but we rarely get to see the youngsters.

The gentle hand of man
Helmeted Honeyeater (Lichenostomus melanops cassidix)
1/400, f/5.6, ISO 800

Young birds are carefully handled during the banding process. Banding identifies individual birds which means they can be monitored for breeding and health. The young bird above is wild-born but Healesville Sanctuary has a captive breeding program that teaches fledglings predator awareness skills before releasing birds into the wild.

Helmeted Honeyeater (Lichenostomus melanops cassidix)
1/640, f/5.6, ISO 1600

Although birds lose their feathers as part of the moulting process, Helmeted Honeyeaters can be quite aggressive and often pull at each other’s bills and feathers, especially during the lead up to the breeding season. They also vigorously defend their territories from antechinus which is dramatic to witness! The HeHo team have an ongoing program to control foxes and feral cats. They also try to minimise the impact of snakes and antechinus by tying branches away from the specially designed feeders. The wild birds are visually monitored regularly, if concerns are noted volunteers keep a special lookout for individual birds, if necessary they are caught and taken to Healesville Sanctuary where, hopefully, they are treated and able to be released where they were found.

Helmeted Honeyeater (Lichenostomus melanops cassidix)
1/400, f/5.6, ISO 2500

Along with supplementary food, careful monitoring and predator control the Helmeted Honeyeaters are also supplied with fresh water trays for bathing. The HeHo above had just enjoyed a splash and was letting a neighbour know that it wanted to continue its ablutions.

Happy birding

Kim

NB  I have finally created a Kim Wormald – lirralirra facebook page, my regular lirralirra posts will continue here as usual.

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