Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2022L00777:body:0:p13
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2022L00777
Segment Type: other
Provision Reference: 
Character Range: 34749–37861

Honeyeater habitat faces ongoing degradation, particularly on agricultural land in central and north-east Victoria and on the western slopes of
    New South Wales. Loss of mature trees occurs through senescence, eucalypt dieback,
    harvesting for fence posts or firewood, or drought-induced stress. Illegal felling of key species for firewood and fence posts has been noted in travelling stock reserves and important remnant blocks (Tzaros 2005).

    Most of the Painted Honeyeater's remaining habitat is on private land which
    continues to be degraded by grazing by livestock, native macropods and rabbits
    (Oryctolagus cuniculus) (Garnett et al. 2011). Grazing inhibits tree recruitment through
    the consumption of seedlings and suckers, meaning that when mature trees die there is insufficient recruitment to replace them (Lindsay pers. comm. 2014). Grazing therefore results in an uneven age structure of mistletoe host trees and promotion of future
    collapse of mistletoe resources. Limited host tree recruitment results in host trees
    that are all roughly the same age. Consequently, when these host trees senesce there
    will be no host trees remaining for mistletoe to persist. Grazing thresholds supporting    non-significant effects to mistletoe resources are unknown but may be very low
    (Barea pers. comm. 2014). Additionally, many landholders remove mistletoes from trees as they view it as a pest. Mistletoe becomes more abundant on trees that have become
    isolated as a result of land disturbance or clearing (Lindsay pers. comm. 2014).

    Even with no further loss or degradation of habitat, the species is likely to continue to decline at some of the edges of its distribution (Ford et al. 2009). It is likely that numbers
    of Painted Honeyeaters breeding in southern and central Queensland are already
    extremely low, and the species is also becoming increasingly uncommon in north-west Queensland. Under current trends, the Painted Honeyeater may become extinct or
    absent from the extremes of its northern distribution (Lindsay, pers. comm. 2014).

    2.2.3        Competition
    Painted Honeyeaters compete for food resources with larger and/or more aggressive honeyeaters such as the Noisy Miner, Yellow-throated Miner, Noisy Friarbird and the
    Red Wattlebird. While the impacts from greater levels of competition with these other aggressive honeyeaters is unclear, anecdotal evidence of their impact on other woodland birds suggests it is likely to negatively affect Painted Honeyeater breeding success
    and survival.

            Red Wattlebirds appear to be increasing in numbers across their eastern Australian range (Birds Australia 2008), which may effectively reduce habitat availability for Painted Honeyeaters. The Noisy Miner is common in fragmented and degraded
            habitat due to its preference for open areas adjoining eucalypt woodland, and may
            occupy areas up to 300 m from a forest edge. In areas occupied by Noisy Miners, the abundance and species richness of other bird species are about half that recorded