While walking in Royal Park this week we were surprised to see a Bell Miner in the trees along the tram line near Park Street, then again a few days later Bell Miners were in the trees to the east of the zoo rail gate and near Royal Park Station. Bell Miners have a permanent colony within the zoo, in the vicinity of the 'Australian Bush' zone, they can be regularly seen outside the zoo fence in the tall gums which line the west wall.

Seeing Bell Miners at these new sites is unusual, not only because we have not seen Bell Miners here before, but because Bell Miners have small foraging ranges. A Bell Miner would not normally be expected to forage more than 100m from its territory. The new sites are approximately 500m to 1km outside of the Bell Miners normal range. It may be possible that due to drought and lack of food some birds are foraging out of their normal territory. Or are they attempting to set up new colonies? I think it most likely that the Bell Miners are coming from the Zoo but there is a small possibility that these are 'new' Bell Miners seeking new territories due to the large fires in the east of Melbourne.

Seeing Bell Miners extend their territories is a concern because they are territorial and can chase other small birds from the area. Information I have read on other expansions of Bell Miner territory indicate that these expansions can be temporary as the birds find it difficult to breed without the protection of a larger group and eventually return to the original colony. I will continue to watch over the coming months to see what eventuates.