Rio Tinto Coal Australia Pty : Critically endangered bird species discovered breeding on coal mine offset land

The critically endangered regent honeyeater has been found breeding on environmental offset land in Northern NSW owned by Coal & Allied's Mount Thorley Warkworth coal mine.

At least ten adult and juvenile regent honeyeaters have been seen by the mine's environment team and confirmed by independent researchers on a number of occasions in December and January on the land adjacent to the Goulburn River National Park west of Muswellbrook.

Birdlife Australia has been notified of the significant sightings. The Commonwealth Government estimates the regent honeyeater has a population of around 350-400 mature individuals.

Pictured: Regent Honeyeaters Capertree NSW 2016. Credit: Murray Chambers

Ross Crates is undertaking a PhD on regent honeyeaters and has been observing the birds independently as part of the Australian National University's national monitoring program.

'The Goulburn River region is known as habitat for the regent honeyeater but this is the first significant sighting there for some years,' he said.

'It's a real thrill to see these birds breeding in the wild and to see ten of them on this property is an extremely important discovery. We know that at least four juveniles have been raised on the site this year as part of a group of around ten birds, some of which have been nesting.'

Nel Byatt is Principal Advisor - Land Offsets at Rio Tinto Coal Australia and she says this is a very significant finding.

'There are only a few breeding sites for the regent honeyeater in the country. The success rate for breeding has traditionally been low so to see these birds raising chicks on our property is extremely encouraging,' she said.

'We will continue to carefully monitor the area and implement our Offset Management Plan, which includes tree planting and weed and pest animal control, to give these birds and others the best chance of a strong future.

'The independent research being done by the Australian National University is vital and we will continue to welcome them as they conduct their monitoring work in our region.'

The land was purchased to protect regent honeyeater and swift parrot habitat as part of the approval for continued mining at Mount Thorley Warkworth, which was certified by the Office of Environment and Heritage and approved by the Planning Assessment Commission in 2015.

The mine has also contributed $1 million to the NSW Government's Saving Our Species program to support the captive breeding programme for the regent honeyeater. 

Notes to editors

• Mount Thorley Warkworth purchased the 1,539ha property in 2012 and manages it in accordance with the Regional Offset Management Plan.
• Work to improve habitat for the regent honeyeater and swift parrot since 2012 includes weeding and feral pest control activities. Tree planting will be undertaken in 2018 to further enhance the natural characteristics of the land.
• The land is located some distance from the mine's operations and was selected especially due to its proximity to Capertree Valley, a known breeding site for the regent honeyeater, and to form an extension of the Goulburn River National Park.
• Mount Thorley Warkworth is a coal mine located west of Singleton. It employs 1,300 people and produces around 12 million tonnes of coal each year. The mine is approved to continue operating until at least 2036.