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Two 12 seater buses full of eager participants
embarked with me on this ambitious quest to try to see all 7 species of robins
which occur in the ACT in the one day.
Our first port of call was Mulligan's Flat where 3
species had been reported recently. We first encountered a pair of Scarlet
Robins amongst a very active mixed feeding flock close to the old
woolshed. We then moved to the NE of the reserve where we located much more
quickly than expected the Hooded and Red-capped Robins that have been seen
there over the past month. All participants had very good views of
the single male and 2 female/immature hooded, together with the female/immature
red capped robin (with a clear red-brown forehead particularly from some
angles but no noticeable red wash in the breast) feeding in front of us for over
30 minutes. For most of the party, this was their first sighting of this
species in the ACT. Towards the end they were joined by a pair of scarlet
robins, and it was lovely to be able to see the 3 species together, even though
the latter were not made too welcome by the male hooded robin.
We then moved to the Australian National Botanic
Gardens, to find the Eastern Yellow Robin, and hopefully the Rose Robin.
Again all participants had good views of the former relatively quickly,
though the latter remained elusive, as it seems to have all this winter, with
no-one able to report its presence in spots where they have often been seen
in previous winters and where we might have searched for
it.
After lunch we moved to the edge of the former
Narrabundah Hill pine plantation with the Chapman horse paddocks where the
expected Flame Robins initially proved elusive with only some distant views of
several female/immature birds and a couple of calls during the first 45
minutes. However, close to our return to the buses we encountered the
flock, some distance from where they have been over the past few weeks, and
again all participants had excellent views of 5 males and at least 10
female/immatures as they moved around and fed on the ground in front of
us. An added bonus was 2 diamond firetails and 2 speckled warblers; I
hadn't seen the former there for about a month, and I only have 1 or 2 records
of the latter for this area, and certainly none since the fires. A
wedge-tailed eagle circling over as we started our walk was also only the second
record I have of this species in the area since the
fires.
It was agreed by all that finding 5 of the 7 robin
species, all seen clearly by all participants, made for a pretty good pass
mark. As noted above the rose robin has rarely been seen this winter, and
I am not aware of any sightings of the much less common Pink Robin. After
the rain overnight and the less than optimistic forecast, the clear, sunny
conditions though with a pretty cold wind was appreciated by all
participants. My thanks to all who came and especially to Jenny Bounds for
offering to drive the second bus and for helping me find the birds.
Jack Holland
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