What does $10 buy these days?

Helmeted Honeyeater fledgling March 2015 - image B.Tardif

Apart from membership to Friends of the Helmeted Honeyeater?

Not much.

Your membership makes a difference to the long-term survival of this bird (pictured). Find out more here

Breaking records

At less than 30 days this fledgling looks to its parents for food - image B.Tardif

It's a NEW RECORD, and another one, and another.... A record breaking breeding season for Yellingbo

Yellingbo Nature Conservation Reserve is home to the last remaining wild population of Helmeted Honeyeaters - in the world! Each bird is precious.

In the 2013-14 breeding season (Aug'13-Feb'14), 36 Helmeted Honeyeater young were raised at Yellingbo. A bumper year!

The 2014-15 breeding season has broken records! In March 2015 we know of:

• in excess of 130 individual birds - a record number of birds since the start of the recovery program in 1989
• 23 breeding territories - a record number
• 46 fledglings - beating the 1995-96 record
• 2 females still building nests - don't they know the breeding season is over?

There are a number of new pairings this year, including females who are breeding for the first time.

One female has had triplets for the 2nd year running (plus two additional clutches of 2 offspring each).

Birds from the 2013-14 breeding season have dispersed into a new breeding territory. Some of this seasons fledglings have also been sighted here. The last recorded observations of HeHos at this site was in the late 1970s. The birds are using plantings that range in age from 4 years old to 30 years old. This is a great endorsement of the generation of restoration effort made by the local community and the Helmeted Honeyeater Recovery Team.

How good is that?

Would you like to be part of the volunteer team that monitors the Helmeted Honeyeater populations at Yellingbo? Contact us for further details.