Hi All,
This morning I took a visiting friend from Sydney (Rob Hynson) to look for the Chestnut-rumped Heathwrens (CRHW) in Pierce's Creek Forest. These are the birds that Alastair Smith located last year and I have attached an email that Ian Fraser sent to the chatline detailing the directions to the site.
I have been keeping an eye on these birds every month or so with about a 75% success ratio of finding CRHW. There are clearly at least several pairs in the area with territories seemingly only a hundred or so metres apart. One pair is usually present very close to the upper concrete water tank, left of the dirt road as it reaches the top of the hill 1/2 km past Concrete Crossing.
We only had glimpses of this pair this morning and they were quiet for about the first 40 minutes that we were looking for them. A separate bird was singing to the right of the track, a hundred metres back from the road. I reckon there are probably CRHW right through the large areas of low reveg along the lower Brindabellas and it is just a case of getting to know the song and particularly their rather distinctive scolding alarm call. But it would probably take a bit of effort to prove this...
Although their wasn't much CRHW activity or song today, the birds were showing much better in May and on my last visit a bird was singing even as I got out of the car. Two birds then gave great views on the secondary track that runs parallel to the dirt road.
Perhaps more interesting today, was watching a cracking male Red-capped Robin (RCR) busily chasing off male Flame Robins from his patch of coniferous reveg on Cotter Road. We had stopped to look at a scattered flock of Flame Robins (~40 birds) along Cotter Road (about 100m before the first right hand turn into Pierce's Creek Forest). Rob soon picked up a male RCR sitting on top of a 5ft high conifer. This bird then proceeded to chase off the nearest male Flame Robin (FR). As the FR flock past through the male RCR's territory, he regularly had to chase off the next male FR to come along. Great action to watch for ten minutes. The RCR was not at all bothered about the female and immature FRs that were also feeding on the ground right beside him. I think RCR are regular in this area as I have now seen or heard them within 200m of this spot on three occasions.
Cheers Dan
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Email from 2009 re. directions to the CRHW site in Pierce's Creek Forest
The site (where Harvey and I failed to find the bird, though
did hear it/them a couple of times) is 400 metres past Concrete Crossing
(that
unlovely picnic area on Pierces Creek) on the road to Vanitys
Crossing.The
track is closed to vehicles and overgrowing, but Alastair has helpfully
marked
it with a plastic bag and red tape on a pole. If you're not familiar
with that
part of hte world, take the road that says 'Vanitys Crossing', about
2.5k along
Paddys River Road from the site of the old Cotter Pub. It's a bit of a
maze,
but follow your nose and the more obvious track in each case and you
should get
to Concrete Crossing. It's easier to find coming from Vanitys (follow
the
newly-coined 'Yellow Rabbit' road from Warks Road) but these days that
crossing
is a bit challenging for smaller vehicles.
good luck
IF
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