Seasonal pattern of abundance of honeyeaters and their resources in heathland areas near Sydney

Abundances of honeyeaters, flowers and flying insects, the daily nectar‐energy production per flower and the average size of flying insects were estimated every three weeks for circles of radius 20 m located in three heathland areas near Sydney. Seasonal fluctuations in honeyeater density showed no apparent relationship with seasonal fluctuations in nectar‐energy productivity or in biomass of flying insects. Variation between circles in honeyeater density was also unrelated to spatial variation in energy productivity and insect biomass. The relatively low incidence of nectar‐feeding and high incidence of flying exhibited by birds observed during troughs in nectar‐energy production suggest that many of these birds are transient and that their density may consequently be unrelated to local conditions.