Hi again Val
My initial response mentioned that the Melbourne BOCA group is collecting
info. on LWBs in outer suburbs to document their spread from near-coastal
areas. In a response to me Philip Veerman said he had seen them recently in
Surrey Hills, yet they were also there in small numbers in the 1970s.
I've since remembered the VORG Bird Atlas of the Melbourne Region which was
the pilot - from 1/12/1975 to 31/12/1976 - for atlassing across Australia.
The maps show recording rates for 54 10' by 10' blocks. In my home one
("Oakleigh") the rate for LWB was 61-80% (I see them almost daily at home),
in the next one to the east ("Williamstown") it was down to 41-60%. The rate
was 0-20% (with only one record needed to qualify) in 3 other adjacent
blocks (Essendon, Heidelberg - including Surrey Hills, and Fern Tree Gully),
with no records at all from the last (Warrandyte).
Beyond this "immediate" area only 4 of the 48 blocks had any records at all.
Gembrook is in one with none.
So all our observations are consistent with the VORG Atlas and the reported
spread in distribution. Perhaps the Australian Atlas would also confirm the
trend.
Michael Norris
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