Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2016L00635:reg:1:p6
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2016L00635
Segment Type: reg
Provision Reference: reg 1 (pt 6/23)
Character Range: 18466–21279

1992; Menkhorst et al., 1999; Oliver 2000).

3.4.3  Movement patterns and habitat use
There appears to be regular movements by the species but there is also a high level of variability in the timing and pattern of movements between years, with seasonal patterns of abundance and breeding related to regional patterns in the flowering of key species (Franklin et al., 1989; Ley et al., 1996; Menkhorst 1997). Accumulated evidence from banded birds has shown that individuals may return to the same area in successive breeding seasons (Ley et al., 1996; Geering & French 1998). Conversely, some birds also change breeding sites from one season to another. For example, two of seven birds banded as breeding adults in Canberra in December 1995 were found breeding at Capertee Valley, NSW, during the summer of 1997/98, and another breeding male banded in Gippsland, Victoria, in 2009 was found breeding in the Capertee Valley in late 2011. Birds have also been known to breed in the Capertee Valley and then at Mudgee-Wollar and vice versa (Regent Honeyeater Recovery Team, unpublished data). Use of other areas appears to be related to good flowering events.
Better understanding of movement patterns is one of the planned outcomes of this recovery plan. Current knowledge is based on limited re-sightings of banded birds. Radio tracking studies have been used but the use of transmitters is limited by the weight that the bird can carry. Future radio-tracking studies may benefit from focussing on larger surrogate species that are known to share similar habitat requirements and also undertake long distance movements. The advantages of focussing tracking studies on larger surrogate species is that those species can carry a larger battery, which will extend the life of the tracker and may allow satellite tracking techniques to be employed.

Historically, the regent honeyeater infrequently occurred in large aggregations at nectar sources, mostly during autumn and winter (Franklin et al., 1989; Webster & Menkhorst 1992). The species was also known to roost communally in small groups or large flocks, in both mature trees and saplings, but only in trees with dense foliage. Foraging trees are rarely used as roosting sites (Higgins et al., 2001). Larger aggregations (greater than 100 birds) of regent honeyeaters have not been seen in recent times, as numbers are now likely to be too small to support such aggregations.
It is likely that many historically used areas are no longer utilised due to the loss of important foraging habitat or habitat fragmentation resulting in the inability of regent honeyeaters to access these areas and because the areas have been colonised by larger more aggressive honeyeaters, such as the noisy miner.

3.4.4 Breeding
The timing of breeding varies between regions, and