Possum egg raids raise regent honeyeater risk 35%
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- Bianca McBryde installed 40 artificial nests with quail eggs on trees at North Head, Sydney, and fitted tree‑mounted cameras to monitor nest activity.
- University of Sydney researchers, led by McBryde, recorded that brush‑tailed possums entered four of the nests and ate the eggs over a two‑week period.
- Bianca McBryde's computer model indicated that loss of just a few eggs to possums could raise the regent honeyeater’s 20‑year extinction risk by about 35%.
- BirdLife Australia and Taronga Conservation Society are funding the work and are trialling non‑lethal deterrents such as trunk collars, scent masks and ultrasonic sound to protect nests.
- Australian National University ecologist Ross Crates warned that habitat‑restoration is too slow, making immediate nest‑protection measures essential for the species’ survival.
Why it matters: The model shows that curbing possum egg theft could cut the regent honeyeater's 20‑year extinction probability from roughly 90% to 65%, giving the species a realistic chance to rebound and validating targeted nest‑protection tactics for BirdLife Australia and Taronga Zoo.
