Effects of flower removal on abundance and behaviour of honeyeaters in heathland near Sydney

Removal of almost all honeyeater nectar sources from a 5.6 ha area during February to July had no apparent effect on honeyeater nesting or total abundance. Behaviour in the experimental area was also generally unaffected except for the extent of nectar‐feeding which was significantly reduced for the most commonly observed species. The honeyeaters must have compensated for the nectar removal by flying to nearby productive areas to feed on nectar. Nectar‐removal had no significant effect on the species composition of resident honeyeaters but did affect the species composition of all observed honeyeaters. Nectar removal resulted in a decrease in the abundance of the large and dominant Little Wattlebirds Anthochaera chrysoptera and an increase in the abundance of the other, smaller species.