Pink Robins in NSW

By Birding-Aus, on June 10th, 2015

The recent banding record of a female Pink Robin at Wianamatta Reserve near Penrith, same bird for second year in a row, started me thinking. The nearest breeding location that I know of is at Mt Ginini west of Canberra, just below the tree line at about 1600 M above sea level. When this area is deep in snow, (which it would be at present ) these birds would presumably move. Years ago, Steve Wilson and his team operated a banding station lower down in the Brindabellas and they used to catch Pink Robins, in winter if I remember correctly. It seems unlikely to me that the female near Penrith has come from the A.C.T. – more likely it has come from somewhere not so far away. There are areas above 1300 M just straight up the valley from Penrith that might bear investigation if suitable habitat occurs. At Thredbo, where they are known to breed, the suitable habitat is creekline, lined with tree ferns. At Mt Ginini, the habitat is less distinctive, a fairly light scrub about 6m M high which is fairly open underneath, lots of mosses etc. Cheers Graeme Chapman

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mailforcat

June 11, 2015 at 12:17 pm

Yes sorry I got myself muddled up. I’d seen in the report that both Pink and Rose were present in the Brindabellas and were both were caught on the same day at Wianamatta too! Should have stuck to my main point which was that Pink (as well as Rose) robins are still occasionally caught in the Brindabellas. Cheers, Catherine On Thu, Jun 11, 2015 at 11:58 AM, Philip Veerman < pveerman@pcug.org.au> wrote:

pveerman

June 11, 2015 at 11:58 am

Catherine, Fine but Rose Robins are (and have always been) much more common in our region than are Pink Robins, which is what the enquiry was about………. Philip —–Original Message—– Catherine Young Sent: Thursday, 11 June 2015 10:00 AM Rose Robins are still caught at the Brindabella’s site although no where near as frequently. A recent report on the study (found here http://www.absa.asn.au/publication-category/aactt-full-bandings-reports/) suggests they are present all year round. A quick look on the ABBBS and the movement record for the species is 141km but it went east-west. Wouldn’t it be great if one of the Brindabella birds turned up in Wianamatta! Catherine

June 11, 2015 at 9:59 am

Rose Robins are still caught at the Brindabella’s site although no where near as frequently. A recent report on the study (found here http://www.absa.asn.au/publication-category/aactt-full-bandings-reports/) suggests they are present all year round. A quick look on the ABBBS and the movement record for the species is 141km but it went east-west. Wouldn’t it be great if one of the Brindabella birds turned up in Wianamatta! Catherine

gclancy

June 10, 2015 at 6:31 pm

Hi Carol, Yes I omitted the pardalotes from my earlier post. I have seen the Yellow-spotted race of the Striated Pardalote, which only breeds in Tasmania, in the Clarence Valley, NSW North Coast, a few times and during the autumn-winter we get mixed flocks of Spotted and Striated Pardalotes. There are usually 2 or more races of the Striated Pardalote represented at that time. The Black-headed race is our usual race locally. I had 40+ pardalotes in a mixed species and mixed race flock in our Forest Red Gum in the backyard some years back. Regards Greg Dr Greg. P. Clancy Ecologist and Birding-wildlife Guide | PO Box 63 Coutts Crossing NSW 2460 | 02 6649 3153 | 0429 601 960 http://www.gregclancyecologistguide.com http://gregswildliferamblings.blogspot.com.au/ —–Original Message—– Sent: Wednesday, June 10, 2015 5:12 PM Hi Greg, Graeme and all, I agree there’s likely much more latitudinal migration amongst Australian birds than many people realise. I’m certain the Red Wattlebirds are (partial) latitudinal migrants as we see flocks of them, sometimes numbering 50 or more, flying north through the Blue Mountains every autumn along with the migrating Yellow-faced and White-naped Honeyeaters, Noisy Friarbirds and Silvereyes. We also see flocks of Spotted and Striated Pardalotes flying north – sometimes hundreds moving over a single site on a given morning. I also agree about the Grey Fantails, Willie Wagtails, Golden Whistlers, etc, but as they seem to migrate at night we rarely see them actually flying over, though we do get definite influxes in autumn. Incidentally, this year’s autumn honeyeater migration was the smallest we’ve seen for a few years and definitely since Blue Mountains Bird Observers started their monitoring project in 2011. From a preliminary look at the figures it seems the numbers were in the order of ONE QUARTER the more usual numbers we see in autumn. (Having said that, it’s normal for there to be huge variation from one year to another.) Either they didn’t migrate this year, they took a different route, or they moved shorter distances. Regarding the possibility of Pink Robins breeding in or close to the central tablelands, there’s plenty of high country on the Boyd and Oberon Plateaus which could have pockets of suitable habitat and is little visited by birders. Who knows. Cheers, Carol

origma

June 10, 2015 at 5:12 pm

Hi Greg, Graeme and all, I agree there’s likely much more latitudinal migration amongst Australian birds than many people realise. I’m certain the Red Wattlebirds are (partial) latitudinal migrants as we see flocks of them, sometimes numbering 50 or more, flying north through the Blue Mountains every autumn along with the migrating Yellow-faced and White-naped Honeyeaters, Noisy Friarbirds and Silvereyes. We also see flocks of Spotted and Striated Pardalotes flying north – sometimes hundreds moving over a single site on a given morning. I also agree about the Grey Fantails, Willie Wagtails, Golden Whistlers, etc, but as they seem to migrate at night we rarely see them actually flying over, though we do get definite influxes in autumn. Incidentally, this year’s autumn honeyeater migration was the smallest we’ve seen for a few years and definitely since Blue Mountains Bird Observers started their monitoring project in 2011. From a preliminary look at the figures it seems the numbers were in the order of ONE QUARTER the more usual numbers we see in autumn. (Having said that, it’s normal for there to be huge variation from one year to another.) Either they didn’t migrate this year, they took a different route, or they moved shorter distances. Regarding the possibility of Pink Robins breeding in or close to the central tablelands, there’s plenty of high country on the Boyd and Oberon Plateaus which could have pockets of suitable habitat and is little visited by birders. Who knows. Cheers, Carol Carol Probets Blue Mountains, NSW At 1:10 PM +1000 10/6/15, Greg and Val Clancy wrote:

June 10, 2015 at 1:35 pm

Yes it is true that Steve Wilson and his team operated a banding station for many years, in the Brindabella Ranges I’m pretty sure it is higher up than Penrith (altitude) and they used to catch Pink Robins, in winter. Actually Steve’s book mentions that “over the years 27 were banded, all between February and October.” The first found was regarded with some amazement at being found there. The hinted at regularity, might be somewhat overstated. But the COG Atlas (and GBS Report) provides further information about their winter presence in the ACT region in some years since then. Philip —–Original Message—– Graeme Chapman Sent: Wednesday, 10 June 2015 10:46 AM The recent banding record of a female Pink Robin at Wianamatta Reserve near Penrith, same bird for second year in a row, started me thinking. The nearest breeding location that I know of is at Mt Ginini west of Canberra, just below the tree line at about 1600 M above sea level. When this area is deep in snow, (which it would be at present ) these birds would presumably move. Years ago, Steve Wilson and his team operated a banding station lower down in the Brindabellas and they used to catch Pink Robins, in winter if I remember correctly. It seems unlikely to me that the female near Penrith has come from the A.C.T. – more likely it has come from somewhere not so far away. There are areas above 1300 M just straight up the valley from Penrith that might bear investigation if suitable habitat occurs. At Thredbo, where they are known to breed, the suitable habitat is creekline, lined with tree ferns. At Mt Ginini, the habitat is less distinctive, a fairly light scrub about 6m M high which is fairly open underneath, lots of mosses etc. Cheers Graeme Chapman

June 10, 2015 at 1:10 pm

Hi Graeme, While not wanting to rule out your suggestion that the Pink Robin may have originated fairly close to Wianamatta, as it may well have, I would think that it would be more likely a latitudinal migrant as we are just learning now how extensive the northern movement of birds from southern latitudes in winter really is. We have known for many decades about the Tasmanian and Victorian Silvereyes moving into New South Wales and Southern Queensland but it is now known that Tasmanian Grey Fantails and Tasmanian and Victorian Golden Whistlers move north. The Tasmanian Boobook is thought to move to the mainland as well but this has been recently challenged. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the presumed altitudinal migrants such as the Rose Robin and Pied Currawong, are in fact latitudinal migrants. The abundance of Willie Wagtails on the NSW north coast during the winter is also highly suggestive of an influx of migrants (from southern latitudes?). Other species known to migrate north in autumn-winter include the Yellow-faced and White-naped Honeyeaters. Red Wattlebirds move to the north coast in the autumn-winter but again it is not known whether they are altitudinal or latitudinal migrants. It is clear that there is much to learn about the migration of Australian birds, particularly during the autumn-winter months. Regards Greg Dr Greg. P. Clancy Ecologist and Birding-wildlife Guide | PO Box 63 Coutts Crossing NSW 2460 | 02 6649 315302 6649 3153 | 0429 601 9600429 601 960 http://www.gregclancyecologistguide.com http://gregswildliferamblings.blogspot.com.au/ —–Original Message—– Sent: Wednesday, June 10, 2015 10:46 AM The recent banding record of a female Pink Robin at Wianamatta Reserve near Penrith, same bird for second year in a row, started me thinking. The nearest breeding location that I know of is at Mt Ginini west of Canberra, just below the tree line at about 1600 M above sea level. When this area is deep in snow, (which it would be at present ) these birds would presumably move. Years ago, Steve Wilson and his team operated a banding station lower down in the Brindabellas and they used to catch Pink Robins, in winter if I remember correctly. It seems unlikely to me that the female near Penrith has come from the A.C.T. – more likely it has come from somewhere not so far away. There are areas above 1300 M just straight up the valley from Penrith that might bear investigation if suitable habitat occurs. At Thredbo, where they are known to breed, the suitable habitat is creekline, lined with tree ferns. At Mt Ginini, the habitat is less distinctive, a fairly light scrub about 6m M high which is fairly open underneath, lots of mosses etc. Cheers Graeme Chapman

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Pink Robins in NSW

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