Hello Newdists. Last Saturday in August in what feels to be the longest year ever — 2020 — is here. Onward to September, eh?
As I am writing this diary, the remnants of tropical system Laura is almost upon us bringing a cold front and potential flooding from locally heavy pours. Booming thunder, lightening and yup, the rain has arrived! Good news, it’s forecast to be a fast moving system. I’m hoping I don’t lose electricity as I finish this.
Also, I don’t know how but a lonely cricket made it indoors from the back porch and is creaking/chirping (?) up a storm. I can’t find it so as to boot it back out! I think it’s taken shelter in the AC/heating vent.
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Diary bird: Regent Honeyeater — Anthochaera phrygia [Critically endangered]
Medium-sized honeyeater found in dry forests of northeastern Victoria and seasonally in small numbers up the eastern coast to around Brisbane. Critically endangered and the focus of a recovery program. Unmistakable, beautiful bird with black head, large bare warty red eye patch, and an elaborate scaly white-yellow-black pattern on back, wings, and belly. Tail is black with broad yellow corners. LINK
Regent honeyeater is small bird that belongs to the family of honeyeaters. It can be found only in Australia (New South Wales and Victoria). Regent honeyeater inhabits open box-ironbark forests, woodlands and fertile areas near the creeks and river valleys. 85% of natural habitats of regent honeyeaters has been already destroyed, resulting in drastic decline in the number of birds in the wild. Regent honeyeater is classified as critically endangered (remaining population consists of less than 1.200 birds). Preservation of remaining habitat is the only way to prevent extinction of regent honeyeaters from the wild. LINK
Loss of their woodland habitat is the major threat to this species and to other woodland birds. Due to expanding agriculture eighty-five percent of the box-ironbark woodlands, once extensively distributed across inland eastern Australia, have been cleared, making them one of the most threatened ecosystems in the country.
For example, at the time of European occupation roughly one million hectares of box-ironbark forest existed in Victoria. Today only twenty-five per cent of the original coverage remains, mostly on less fertile soils which are marginal habitat for this species. Special dietary and habitat needs, in particular the Regent Honeyeater's nomadic lifestyle and reliance on a small area of favoured habitat within the remnants, has meant that these reductions in habitat are having a huge impact on the species.
The clearance of the most fertile stands, the poor health of many remnants and very slow growth rate of replacement trees as well as the lack of regeneration due to stock grazing are also contributing to the decline in numbers. Firewood collecting, which many people may see as 'tidying up' the forest, actually results in removal of dead trees and fallen timber crucial to the healthy survival of the forest ecosystem, of which the Regent Honeyeater is an integral part. LINK
An interesting article on captive breeding and conservation. Such brilliant birds, I hope they make it back bigly —
From link in above tweet —
Captive-bred bird leads to wild flock
Regent honeyeaters travel widely in search of blossom and are found in the woodlands of south-eastern Australia stretching from Melbourne to Brisbane.
Mr Roderick said 13 of the released captive-bred birds were fitted with small transmitters and recently there was another unexpected discovery.
One of the captive-bred birds, which had not been located for weeks, was found and led the conservationists to a flock of wild regent honeyeaters near Broke, about 30 kilometres from the release site.
"We had a bird wearing a transmitter that went missing for at least three weeks and was subsequently found on a property where we hadn't found regent honeyeaters for over 20 years," Mr Roderick said.
"When we went to find this bird, we found six regent honeyeaters at the site.
"So effectively this captive released bird has led us to a flock of wild birds which is really exciting."
LINK
Another interresting article —
From above link —
Mr Roderick is a member of the Regent Honeyeater recovery team, and works for Birdlife Australia as its NSW Woodland Bird Project Manager.
"The Regent Honeyeater takes nearly all of my time," he admitted. "It can be a difficult bird to work with because it moves around looking for the best blossom.
"In some seasons it will only breed in the Hunter Valley which makes this absolutely crucial habitat. Unfortunately it's also bushfire country which adds to the problem.
"But we know that captive bred Regent Honeyeaters have shown they will breed with wild ones, so we're really hopeful. I think - I hope - we can still save them." ✂️
Every August is Stamp Collecting Month and this year's Australia Post theme is Wildlife Recovery - raising awareness of endangered species. One of the new stamps is the Regent Honeyeater.
"I think it's a great idea to introduce primary school aged children to animal conservation," he said. "It helps lift the profile of the Honeyeater.
Newdists, please grab a cuppa and something to nosh on, admire some photos and join us in the thread.
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Salty Lakes
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Lake Urmia, Iran
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Gaet'ale Pond, Afar, Ethiopia.[The saltiest lake on Earth]
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Lake Assal, Djibouti [The lowest point on the African continent, and the third lowest point on Earth]
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Khyargas Lake, Uvs, Mongolia
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Lake Van, Turkey [The largest alkaline/soda lake]
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Namtso/Nam Co Lake, Tibet. [Altitudinally the highest salt water lake]
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Lake Elton, Russia [ One of the most mineralized lakes]
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Spotted Lake/Kliluk, British Columbia, CA [The most mineralized lake on Earth. Sacred site for the First Nations of the Okanagan Valley]
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