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Black-eared Miner (Manorina melanotis)

The Black-eared Miner is a small, colonial honeyeater of mature mallee in the Murray Mallee of South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales. It is listed as Endangered under the EPBC Act, with very small or declining populations in Victoria and New South Wales, so clearing, fire and disturbance in mature mallee require targeted assessment and controls.

Conservation status

Commonwealth, EPBC Act 1999: Endangered.

New South Wales, Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016: Critically endangered.

Victoria, Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988: Critically endangered.

Breeding season

The species is sedentary and can breed opportunistically after suitable rainfall. The usual breeding period is spring to early summer, but nests have been recorded in all months and additional breeding has occurred in autumn.

Months are indicative across the range. Before clearing, inspect suitable mature mallee for active nests and colony activity because breeding can occur outside the usual period.

  • Breeding: Breeding typically extends from September to December, with October and November treated here as peak months. Breeding is linked to rainfall, insect activity, lerp and flowering.
  • Young: Nests and dependent young are expected during the main September to December breeding period. Nestlings probably remain in the nest for about 16 days and fledglings probably remain dependent for about five weeks.
  • Additional breeding after rain: Widespread breeding has been observed from March to May on three occasions. This period is less predictable than spring breeding.
  • Colony movement and foraging: Colonies are generally sedentary. Outside breeding, birds move as groups or smaller aggregations over greater distances to forage within home ranges of several hundred hectares.
  • Highest clearing risk: Risk is highest during the main breeding and dependent-young period from September to December, and may also increase from March to May when opportunistic autumn breeding occurs. Active nests can occur in other months.

Identification

The Black-eared Miner is a stocky, mostly grey honeyeater that is difficult to identify reliably because it resembles the Yellow-throated Miner and occurs with birds showing intermediate plumage. Field identification should be conservative, particularly where Yellow-throated Miners or hybrids are present.

Adults are dark grey above and paler below, with a dark facial mask, orange to yellow bill and legs, and yellow skin around the eye. The species has a darker rump, lacks the pale terminal band on the tail, and shows stronger contrast between the lower jaw and throat than the Yellow-throated Miner.

The Black-eared Miner is generally shyer and quieter than other miner species. It is usually seen singly or in small groups, although colonies contain several breeding pairs and helpers.

Length: About 20 cm in the recovery plan, and about 25 cm in the NSW review.

Plumage: Dark grey upperparts, paler underparts, dark facial mask, orange to yellow bill and legs.

Identification: Similar species

The main comparison is the Yellow-throated Miner, Manorina flavigula. Yellow-throated Miners are generally paler, with a whiter rump and a stronger yellow tinge on the forehead and throat. Hybrids can show intermediate characters and may be difficult to separate from either parent species.

The recovery literature treats the Black-eared Miner as a distinct species, supported by morphological, behavioural, ecological and molecular evidence. Older literature includes disagreement about its taxonomic status, so unusual or borderline birds should be documented with clear photographs and referred to an experienced ornithologist.

  • Do not identify a bird from one plumage character alone.
  • Record the rump, tail pattern, face, throat, forehead, bill and leg colour, and the habitat structure around the observation.
  • Treat birds in colonies containing Yellow-throated Miners or intermediate-plumaged birds as requiring expert confirmation.

Identification: Field signs and survey detection

Nests are open cups made from twigs, plant fibres and cobweb. They are usually placed in upright forks, among small twigs and foliage, or on epicormic shoots in mallee eucalypts, generally 1.5 to 4.5 m above the ground. Cypress-pines and tall understorey shrubs may also be used.

The species is colonial, so repeated sightings of miners, alarm activity and several nests within mature mallee may indicate a colony. Adults typically forage close to the nest during breeding, and helpers may attend nests.

There is no reliable information in the supplied documents on distinctive tracks, scats, feathers, eyeshine or other non-bird field signs. Playback can induce vocalisations during breeding, but should be used sparingly because it may disrupt nesting birds.

Nest height: Usually 1.5 to 4.5 m above ground.

Recommended survey methods: Area searches and limited broadcast surveys during breeding.

  • Search mature, unburnt mallee by area search and careful observation of canopy, forks and dense foliage.
  • Use targeted call playback only during the breeding season and stop if birds show disturbance or approach a nest.
  • Because hybrids are common, do not rely on an unaided field view for a definitive species record where identification is uncertain.

Distribution: States and bioregions

The historical range covered the Murray Mallee of South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales. The present range is greatly reduced, with the strongest known population in north-western South Australia and very small populations or records in western Victoria and far south-western New South Wales.

In South Australia, the main stronghold is the Bookmark Biosphere Reserve, about 50 km north-west of Renmark, within the Murray Mallee. A further site was recorded at Glenburr Scrub near Murray Bridge.

In Victoria, records and former colonies are associated with the Sunset Country and adjacent mallee reserves, including Murray-Sunset National Park, Annuello and Bronzewing. In New South Wales, the remaining population is restricted to the far south-western Mallee around Scotia Station and Tarawi Nature Reserve, adjoining South Australia and north-western Victoria.

Distribution: Strongholds and population size

The Bookmark population is the principal stronghold. Estimates differ between surveys and reporting periods, and include different treatments of hybrids and effective population size. The figures below should therefore be treated as dated estimates rather than a current census.

The NSW population is extremely small. The species has been recorded as a single subpopulation around Scotia Station and Tarawi Nature Reserve, with recent survey results indicating only a handful of birds classified as Black-eared Miners.

Bookmark, South Australia: The 2003 recovery plan reported more than 200 known colonies and more than 3,600 miners, including about 1,400 Black-eared Miners and the remainder hybrids.

South Australian effective population: The recovery plan estimated about 2,000 mature individuals in Bookmark, including about 760 Black-eared Miners, while the NSW review cited a later estimate of about 3,750 pure birds and about 2,250 hybrids in 150 colonies, with an effective population size of about 390 Black-eared Miners.

Victoria: The recovery plan reported about 150 Black-eared Miners and hybrids after translocations in 2000. The NSW review cited about 50 birds in four colonies, with the ratio of pure birds to hybrids unknown.

New South Wales: The NSW review estimated fewer than 50 birds, probably about 10 to 20, and reported six birds classified as Black-eared Miners in a 2007 survey of Scotia and Tarawi.

Range trend: The former range has contracted substantially. The NSW reporting rate declined between the first and second national bird atlases, and the species is considered to be decreasing globally.

Distribution: Project screening

For project work, records in any mature mallee within the historical Murray Mallee range should be treated as potentially significant. The species is highly sedentary, and colonies are separated by intervening colonies of Yellow-throated Miners and hybrids, so apparently suitable habitat may not be occupied continuously.

A suspected record should be checked by a suitably experienced ornithologist. The supplied survey guideline identifies confusion with Yellow-throated Miners and hybrids as a specific survey issue.

  • Check project areas and nearby mature mallee for recent records, colony activity and habitat age before clearing.
  • Map mature mallee blocks, recent fire boundaries, artificial water points and cleared edges around any record.
  • Use the national threatened bird survey guidance when presence or absence must be assessed.

Habitat: Vegetation communities

Black-eared Miners depend mainly on extensive, mature mallee eucalypt vegetation. They are associated with old-growth structure, dense or relatively closed mallee, and large areas that have remained unburnt for several decades.

The species occurs in Shallow-sand Mallee and Chenopod Mallee. Common mallee eucalypts include Eucalyptus dumosa, Eucalyptus gracilis, Eucalyptus oleosa and Eucalyptus socialis.

The understorey may include Porcupine Grass, Triodia scariosa, and shrubs in the Chenopodiaceae and Zygophyllaceae. The species has also been associated with mallee containing flowering shrubs and a developed litter and bark layer.

Mallee types: Shallow-sand Mallee and Chenopod Mallee.

Recorded dominant eucalypts: Eucalyptus dumosa, E. gracilis, E. oleosa and E. socialis.

Habitat: Structure and patch size

Breeding colonies are associated with mature mallee that has not been burnt for at least 40 years in the recovery plan, and more than 50 years in the NSW review and national survey guideline. The preferred habitat has an open shrubby understorey and spinifex ground layer, with mature mallee trees providing canopy nest sites, bark and foliage for foraging.

High-quality colonies in the Bookmark region were more than 5 km from dams and man-made clearings. Known Victorian colonies occurred in contiguous mallee blocks larger than 12,000 ha. In South Australia and New South Wales, almost all known colonies occurred in contiguous mallee blocks larger than 100,000 ha, although these figures describe known colony settings and are not a universal minimum area requirement.

Preferred fire age: Usually at least 40 to 50 years unburnt.

High-quality colony setting: More than 5 km from dams and man-made clearings in the Bookmark region.

Victorian colony blocks: Known colonies occurred in contiguous mallee blocks larger than 12,000 ha.

  • Retain mature mallee and avoid creating new edges beside occupied or potentially occupied colonies.
  • Protect long-unburnt mallee from fire and activities that reduce canopy, bark, litter or understorey structure.
  • Treat large contiguous mallee blocks as higher priority habitat than isolated remnants.

Habitat: Climate and elevation

The supplied documents place the species in the semi-arid Murray Mallee and do not provide an elevation limit. Breeding is linked to rainfall after mild to warm conditions, when insects, lerp and flowering increase.

No separate elevation or temperature threshold is reported. In project assessments, habitat age, mallee structure, continuity and fire history are more useful screening attributes than elevation alone.

Foraging habitat: Food and feeding sites

Black-eared Miners forage mainly in and beneath the mallee canopy, taking invertebrates and lerp from bark, twigs, limbs and foliage. They also use flowers and, less often, the ground and air column.

The diet consists mainly of invertebrates and lerp, the sugary exudate produced by psyllids. Birds glean and probe decorticating bark, limbs and twigs of mallee eucalypts, and glean insects from foliage.

They also take nectar from Eucalyptus species, Eremophila species and Grevillea huegelii. Ground foraging and hawking of flying insects have been recorded. Food supply is vulnerable to fire and overgrazing.

Main animal food: Invertebrates and lerp.

Nectar sources: Eucalyptus species, Eremophila species and Grevillea huegelii.

Foraging methods: Gleaning and probing bark, limbs and twigs, foliage gleaning, occasional ground foraging and hawking flying insects.

Foraging habitat: Foraging range

Breeding adults usually forage short distances from the nest, up to 0.8 km. Outside breeding, colonies or smaller groups move farther to forage within a non-breeding territory of several hundred hectares. Marked birds have been recorded up to 2 km from the core home range during non-breeding periods.

Foraging habitat should therefore be assessed beyond the immediate nest tree or colony core. Clearing of mature mallee, recent fire, grazing and artificial water points can alter food resources and increase contact with Yellow-throated Miners.

Breeding foraging distance: Up to 0.8 km from the nest.

Non-breeding range: Several hundred hectares, with marked birds recorded up to 2 km from the core range.

  • Retain mature mallee around suspected colony areas, not only trees containing nests.
  • Assess flowering mallee, shrub cover, bark retention, litter and ground-layer condition when describing foraging habitat.
  • Include adjacent mature mallee used during non-breeding movements in impact assessment.

Breeding habitat: Breeding biology

The Black-eared Miner breeds in colonies within mature mallee and uses cooperative care. Breeding responds to rainfall and food availability, so nesting can occur outside the usual spring period.

Several breeding pairs form a colony, and up to 12 non-breeding juveniles and adults, mostly males, may help at a nest. Pairs appear to remain together for life and re-pair after the death of a mate.

Nests are open cups made from twigs, plant fibres and cobweb. They are placed in upright forks, among small twigs and foliage, or on epicormic shoots, usually 1.5 to 4.5 m above ground. A clutch commonly contains three eggs, with other sources reporting two to three eggs.

Breeding season: Usually September to December, with occasional widespread breeding from March to May and nests recorded in all months.

Clutch size: Usually three eggs, with a reported range of two to three.

Incubation: Probably about 16 days, by analogy with other miner species.

Nestling period: Probably about 16 days, by analogy with other miner species.

Post-fledging dependence: Probably about five weeks, by analogy with other miner species.

Age at maturity: Not reported in the supplied documents.

Lifespan: Not reported in the supplied documents.

Generation length: Estimated at 1.5 years.

Breeding habitat: Breeding habitat features

Breeding colonies require mature mallee with suitable forks, foliage and epicormic shoots for nests. Colonies are usually in extensive, long-unburnt mallee, with nearby foraging habitat for adults and helpers.

Breeding is associated with rainfall events during mild to warm seasons. These conditions increase insect activity, lerp abundance and flowering in mallee and understorey shrubs. Nest success is likely to be reduced where mature mallee, food plants or colony continuity are removed.

Nest height: Usually 1.5 to 4.5 m above ground.

Typical colony spacing in dense Bookmark habitat: About 2 km between colonies, equivalent to about one colony per 400 ha of available habitat.

  • Inspect suitable mallee trees and tall shrubs for open cup nests before clearing.
  • Maintain a disturbance buffer around active nests and colonies in accordance with project approvals and fauna handling requirements.
  • Schedule clearing outside September to December where practicable, while recognising that breeding may occur in other months.
  • Recheck habitat after substantial rain or flowering because opportunistic breeding may begin outside the usual season.

Sheltering habitat: Cover and roosting structure

The species does not use dens, burrows or mammal-style roost shelters in the supplied sources. Its shelter and nesting cover are provided by mature mallee canopy, forks, epicormic shoots, foliage and dense understorey.

Mature mallee provides the main structural cover. Nests are placed in canopy forks, small twigs, foliage or epicormic shoots, and may occasionally be placed in cypress-pines or tall understorey shrubs.

Colonies act together to repel predators and intruders. Large, continuous mallee also provides cover during group movements and supports the bark, foliage, litter and flowering resources used for feeding.

Known nest shelter: Mallee canopy forks, small twigs and foliage, epicormic shoots, and occasionally cypress-pines or tall shrubs.

Nest height: Usually 1.5 to 4.5 m above ground.

  • Retain mature mallee trees with forks, dense foliage, epicormic shoots and retained bark.
  • Avoid removing tall shrubs and cypress-pines near occupied colonies where they may provide nest sites.
  • Retain connected mature mallee around colony cores and avoid isolating small patches.

Sheltering habitat: Shelter limits

The supplied documents do not provide a separate roost diameter, hollow size, winter shelter requirement or confirmed overnight roost type. The species is described as sedentary and colonial rather than as a species that uses caves, hollows, burrows or seasonal torpor sites.

Recent fire can remove the mature structure needed for breeding and cover. Small patches of long-unburnt mallee have been reported as unoccupied or unsuitable, although the evidence for this relationship is described as correlative.

Threats: Clearing and fragmentation

The main risks are loss and fragmentation of mature mallee, genetic introgression from Yellow-throated Miners, wildfire and unsuitable fire frequency. Grazing, artificial water points and introduced predators can add pressure at colonies and during breeding.

Clearing and modification of mallee have reduced the species range and enabled Yellow-throated Miners, which favour more open habitats, to expand into former Black-eared Miner habitat. Fragmented remnants and cleared edges increase contact between the species and promote hybridisation.

Small-scale clearing remains possible in parts of the range, including for infrastructure, mineral exploration, extraction and utilities. Clearing around dams and other open areas can also attract or support Yellow-throated Miners.

  • Avoid clearing mature mallee within or next to known colonies and long-unburnt habitat.
  • Do not assume that a narrow remnant is low value if it forms part of a colony’s movement or foraging area.
  • Map and retain mature mallee connections between colony areas where practicable.

Threats: Fire

Black-eared Miners are associated with mallee unburnt for at least 40 to 50 years. Large wildfires can remove habitat across whole reserves, while frequent fires reduce the amount and continuity of mature mallee.

The species is positively associated with large patches of mallee unburnt for many decades and may be sensitive to fire patterns that break up mature habitat. Firebreaks, access tracks and prescribed burning can also create edges and alter habitat structure if poorly placed.

Preferred unburnt age: At least 40 years in the recovery plan, and more than 50 years in the NSW review and survey guideline.

  • Use the fire history and current age structure of mallee to identify potential colony habitat before works.
  • Keep construction compounds, hot works, ignition sources and fire management activities away from long-unburnt mallee where practicable.
  • Plan emergency response and access so that fire controls do not unnecessarily fragment mature mallee.

Threats: Water points, grazing and degradation

Artificial water points and their associated clearings can attract Yellow-throated Miners, which do not require permanent water in the same way. Dams can also increase grazing pressure by domestic stock, feral animals and native herbivores, reducing mallee regeneration and ground cover.

The supplied evidence does not show that artificial watering points alone explain Yellow-throated Miner expansion. Land clearing, fragmentation, grazing and fire also contribute.

  • Record dams, tanks, troughs and other artificial water points during site assessment.
  • Assess clearing and degradation around water points and consider whether project works would create new open habitat or increase access for stock.
  • Prevent stock access to retained mature mallee where grazing is damaging regeneration or ground cover.

Threats: Predators and other risks

Cats and foxes are identified as likely predators of nests and fledglings. Predation by the European Red Fox and Feral Cat is listed as a threatening process in New South Wales.

Genetic introgression from Yellow-throated Miners is the greatest identified threat in the supplied artificial watering point advice. The documents do not identify a specific disease affecting Black-eared Miners.

  • Control food waste and other attractants around construction sites to avoid increasing feral predator activity.
  • Do not feed birds or provide new permanent water near retained colonies.
  • Treat reports of Yellow-throated Miners or intermediate-plumaged birds near a colony as a management issue, not only an identification issue.

Survey methodology: 1. Area searches

Survey the Black-eared Miner in mature, contiguous mallee that has not been burnt for at least 40 to 50 years and has not been cleared. Identification is difficult because Yellow-throated Miners and intermediates can look similar, so use experienced observers and document identification evidence carefully.

Search suitable mature mallee by walking through the area and recording all miners, calls, nests, feeding activity and colony locations.

Give priority to large, unburnt blocks with mallee eucalypts, an open shrubby understorey and a spinifex ground layer.

Record the vegetation age, recent fire history, clearing, artificial water points, nearby clearings and any evidence of Yellow-throated Miners or intermediate-plumaged birds.

The species is shy, quiet and less aggressive than other miners, so observers should move slowly, minimise noise and allow time for birds to be detected.

Recommended effort: 24 hours over 8 days for sites smaller than 50 hectares

Preferred habitat: Mature mallee, generally unburnt for at least 50 years in the survey guideline

Typical breeding foraging distance: Up to 0.8 kilometres from the nest

  • For sites smaller than 50 hectares, complete at least 24 hours of area searches over 8 days.
  • Search during suitable daylight conditions, avoiding periods of heavy rain, strong wind or poor visibility.
  • Record the search area, date, start and finish times, observer names, weather, effort, GPS tracks and all miner observations.

Survey methodology: 2. Broadcast surveys

Use call playback during the breeding season to encourage vocal responses from birds that are present but not immediately visible.

Use playback sparingly because repeated disturbance can disrupt breeding activity.

Do not rely on playback outside the breeding period, when it is rarely useful according to the national survey guideline.

Combine playback with area searches of suitable habitat rather than treating a non-response as evidence of absence.

Recommended effort: 16 hours over 8 days for sites smaller than 50 hectares

Best timing: Breeding season, usually September to December, although breeding may occur in other months when conditions are suitable

  • For sites smaller than 50 hectares, complete at least 16 hours of broadcast surveys over 8 days.
  • Record the playback locations, times, call sequence, duration, weather, observer position and all responses or non-responses.
  • Stop playback if birds show signs of distress, become unusually agitated or approach an active nest.

Survey methodology: 3. Colony and habitat assessment

Treat a suspected sighting as a colony assessment opportunity because Black-eared Miners live in communal groups containing several breeding units and helpers.

Map the suspected colony, nest sites, core activity area, nearby mature mallee, fire-age classes, artificial water points and man-made clearings.

Inspect birds carefully and obtain photographs or other diagnostic evidence where this can be done without capture or disturbance.

Distinguish Black-eared Miners from Yellow-throated Miners and intermediate birds using an appropriately trained ornithologist or other suitably qualified person.

Colony structure: Several breeding pairs, with up to 12 juvenile and adult helpers assisting at a nest

Breeding period: Usually September to December, with breeding also recorded in other months after suitable rainfall

Home range: Several hundred hectares outside the breeding period; marked birds have been recorded up to 2 kilometres from the core territory

  • Record the number of birds, plumage types, behaviour, direction of movement, nest locations and distance to the nearest clearing or artificial water point.
  • Record whether the site is within a large contiguous mallee block and whether the surrounding vegetation has been burnt within the past 40 to 50 years.
  • Where identification is uncertain, record the observation as uncertain rather than assigning it to the species.

Survey methodology: Minimum effort and reporting

  • Use both area searches and broadcast surveys where the project could affect suitable habitat.
  • Repeat surveys if weather, access, observer skill or identification uncertainty reduces the likelihood of detection.
  • Treat suitable habitat as occupied until survey evidence and expert review support another conclusion.
  • Submit confirmed and uncertain records, including photographs, call recordings, GPS locations and survey metadata, to the relevant state wildlife database.
  • Report any suspected colony, nest, injured bird, mortality or unexpected concentration of miners promptly to the project ecologist and the relevant wildlife authority.
  • Keep the survey report, raw data, maps, photographs, playback logs, weather records and observer qualifications with the project environmental records.

Before habitat disturbance: Avoid and minimise

Avoid clearing mature mallee wherever practicable. The species is highly sensitive to loss and fragmentation of mature habitat, wildfire and contact with Yellow-throated Miners and hybrids.

Preferred habitat: Large blocks of mature mallee, generally unburnt for at least 40 to 50 years

Recorded colony spacing: Approximately 2 kilometres apart in the highest-density Bookmark region

Known habitat risk: Fragmentation allows Yellow-throated Miners to colonise mallee and increases hybridisation risk

  • Redesign the project to retain large, contiguous areas of mature mallee that have remained unburnt for at least 40 to 50 years.
  • Retain mallee eucalypts, dense canopy, bark, litter, shrubs and spinifex ground cover that provide nesting and foraging habitat.
  • Avoid creating new clearings, roads, tracks, permanent water points or other features that could attract Yellow-throated Miners into retained habitat.
  • Retain connectivity between occupied or potentially occupied mallee blocks and avoid isolating colonies with linear infrastructure or construction clearings.
  • Set project-specific exclusion buffers around confirmed colonies, active nests and retained mature mallee in consultation with a suitably qualified ecologist and the relevant authority.

Before habitat disturbance: Approvals and work planning

  • Check whether the action is likely to have a significant impact on this EPBC Act Endangered species and obtain specialist advice before works begin.
  • Check state threatened species legislation, permits, wildlife handling requirements and approval conditions for the state or territory in which the project occurs.
  • Prepare a fauna management plan that identifies retained habitat, survey methods, exclusion areas, response actions, authorised handlers, stop-work triggers and reporting requirements.
  • Stage clearing so that retained mature mallee and any confirmed colony remain undisturbed while the first work area is checked and cleared under supervision.
  • Where practicable, schedule clearing outside the usual breeding period of September to December and avoid periods when birds are actively nesting after favourable rainfall.

Before habitat disturbance: Site preparation

  • Complete the required pre-clearance survey using area searches and, where appropriate, limited broadcast surveys in suitable mature mallee.
  • Mark no-go areas, mature mallee to be retained, active nests, colony locations, access routes and machinery exclusion zones before mobilisation.
  • Install exclusion fencing where it can protect retained habitat and does not block normal movement between retained mallee areas.
  • Brief machinery operators and spotter catchers on the species' appearance, quiet behaviour, colony structure and the difference between the species, Yellow-throated Miners and intermediates.
  • Check for recently burnt areas, artificial water points, stock impacts, feral animal activity and nearby clearings that could affect the risk assessment.

During habitat disturbance: Daily controls

Use a controlled, supervised clearing process. A fauna spotter catcher should work directly with the machinery operator and have authority to pause work whenever a bird, nest or occupied habitat feature is at risk.

  • Inspect exclusion fencing, no-go markers, access routes and retained habitat before work starts each day.
  • Conduct a daily pre-clearance inspection of the work area and record weather, conditions, machinery, personnel and the area to be disturbed.
  • Clear progressively in small sections so birds have an opportunity to move into retained mallee rather than being surrounded by active works.
  • Keep machinery out of marked mature mallee, colony areas, nests and other exclusion zones unless the approval and fauna management plan specifically allow access.
  • Avoid unnecessary noise, idling and vehicle movement near suspected colonies and active nests.
  • Stop work during periods of poor visibility, high wind, heavy rain or other conditions that prevent effective fauna detection.

During habitat disturbance: Fauna spotter catcher and machinery

  • Position the fauna spotter catcher where the work face, falling vegetation and nearby retained habitat can all be seen safely.
  • Use clear hand or radio signals so the spotter catcher can stop machinery immediately when an animal, nest or unsafe condition is detected.
  • Require the operator to wait for the spotter catcher to confirm that the next section is clear before moving or felling vegetation.
  • Do not allow untrained personnel to chase, capture, handle or release a Black-eared Miner.
  • Use only trained and authorised wildlife personnel for capture, examination, transport or release, in accordance with the relevant permit and approval conditions.

During habitat disturbance: If a bird is found

  • Pause work and establish a quiet exclusion area around the bird and its likely movement path.
  • Do not handle a bird that can move safely into retained habitat without assistance.
  • If capture is necessary, use the least intrusive authorised method and minimise handling time, noise, heat and visual stress.
  • Relocate a captured bird only to nearby suitable retained mallee identified in the fauna management plan and only when authorised by the relevant permit or approval.
  • Take an injured bird promptly to an authorised wildlife carer or veterinarian and record the location, condition, treatment destination and transport details.
  • Treat an active nest, dependent fledgling or colony concentration as a stop-work matter until the project ecologist and relevant authority determine a safe response.

During habitat disturbance: Habitat features and stop-work records

  • Stop work if a suspected colony, nest, injured bird, dead bird or bird with uncertain identification is found within or adjacent to the work area.
  • Stop work if clearing would damage retained mature mallee, an active nest, a marked colony area or the movement route to retained habitat.
  • Do not remove hollow-bearing mallee, logs, rocks, burrows or other habitat features unless they are covered by the approved fauna management plan and a qualified person has checked them.
  • Record the time, GPS location, species or identification uncertainty, number of birds, action taken, personnel involved, photographs and the time work resumed.
  • Report mortality, injury, nest disturbance, escape, unapproved capture or damage to exclusion areas immediately under the project's incident reporting process.

After habitat disturbance: Post-clearance checks

Confirm that clearing has not left injured animals, isolated birds or avoidable damage to retained mature mallee. Continue controls until the site is stable and the approval conditions have been met.

  • Inspect the cleared area and retained habitat at the end of each clearing stage for birds, nests, fledglings, carcasses and damaged exclusion fencing.
  • Complete a follow-up search of retained mature mallee if a colony was recorded nearby or if birds were displaced during clearing.
  • Repair fencing, markers and access controls before the next work stage.
  • Remove temporary materials, spoil and construction debris from retained mallee unless their removal would damage habitat.

After habitat disturbance: Monitoring and reporting

Useful monitoring movement measure: Record birds within the core territory and up to 2 kilometres from it during non-breeding searches

Breeding monitoring period: Usually September to December, with additional surveys where rainfall produces suitable breeding conditions

  • Monitor confirmed colonies and retained habitat using repeat area searches and, where appropriate, limited broadcast surveys during the breeding season.
  • Record changes in colony numbers, bird identification, nesting, use of retained mallee, fire age, grazing pressure, artificial water points and nearby disturbance.
  • Compare monitoring results with the pre-work survey and investigate any reduction in detections, colony size or habitat condition.
  • Provide the regulator, approval holder and project ecologist with a completion report that includes maps, effort, observations, incidents, handling records and photographs.
  • Submit confirmed records and relevant monitoring data to the relevant state wildlife database.

After habitat disturbance: Ongoing controls and offsets

  • Maintain no-go areas, fencing, weed controls, predator controls and fire management measures for the period specified in the approval or fauna management plan.
  • Prevent new artificial water points or clearing from being established near retained colonies unless specifically assessed and approved.
  • Apply any approved offset, restoration or conservation payment requirements and track delivery against the relevant approval condition.
  • Review the management plan if monitoring shows habitat degradation, increased Yellow-throated Miner activity, fire damage or continuing colony decline.

Rehabilitation actions: Restore mallee habitat

Rehabilitation should restore mature mallee structure over the long term and protect the retained habitat from fire, grazing pressure, fragmentation and increased access by Yellow-throated Miners. It will not replace the immediate value of existing old-growth mallee.

Habitat structure to restore: Multi-stemmed mallee eucalypts with an open shrubby understorey and spinifex or other suitable ground cover

Relevant mallee species recorded in habitat descriptions: Eucalyptus dumosa, Eucalyptus gracilis, Eucalyptus oleosa and Eucalyptus socialis

  • Use locally appropriate mallee eucalypts and associated chenopod, shrub and spinifex species that match the surrounding mature mallee community.
  • Reinstate a continuous planted or naturally regenerating cover rather than isolated narrow strips wherever the project has removed habitat.
  • Protect regenerating mallee from grazing by domestic stock, feral animals and other herbivores until plants are established.
  • Control weeds and prevent soil disturbance, erosion and vehicle access in rehabilitation areas.
  • Do not use planting or revegetation as a reason to clear existing mature mallee, because the species prefers mature habitat that has remained unburnt for many decades.

Rehabilitation actions: Fire, water and predator management

Fire habitat requirement: The species is positively associated with large patches of mallee unburnt for many decades

Water point risk: Artificial water points and associated clearings can attract Yellow-throated Miners and increase grazing pressure

  • Protect retained and rehabilitated mallee from large wildfires and inappropriate fire frequency through an approved fire management plan.
  • Maintain large patches of long-unburnt mallee and avoid breaking them into small isolated fire-age patches.
  • Do not install artificial watering points near retained or rehabilitated Black-eared Miner habitat unless their ecological effects have been assessed and approval conditions allow them.
  • Where approved, close or restrict artificial water points to reduce grazing pressure and discourage Yellow-throated Miners from using degraded clearings.
  • Manage feral cats and foxes where they threaten nests or fledglings, using methods approved for the site and jurisdiction.

Rehabilitation actions: Habitat features and success measures

  • Retain existing mature mallee, hollow-bearing trees, logs, litter and natural shelter wherever possible during rehabilitation and construction close-out.
  • Do not assume that nest boxes, relocated logs or planted vegetation will provide an immediate substitute for mature mallee, because the supplied species information does not establish replacement specifications.
  • Monitor survival and recruitment of planted mallee, ground cover, weed abundance, grazing damage, fire age, artificial water points and predator activity.
  • Use repeat bird searches to measure whether Black-eared Miners continue to use retained habitat and whether Yellow-throated Miners or intermediate birds increase.
  • Define success as stable or improving retained habitat condition, no avoidable loss of occupied colonies, successful establishment of suitable mallee regeneration and no increase in disturbance-related risks.

Sources