Hi Birders,
If Recher is quoted correctly about the status of Red Wattlebirds in Sydney
then I think
that he is wrong! While I left Sydney 11 years ago for the Central Coast, I have
maintained contact with the suburbs of Castle Hill and Pennant Hills and the
RWB appears
to be pretty common there. Here on the Central Coast, they are definately a
common garden
bird in the suburbs of Gosford and Wyong LGAs. They are one of the first
species to
colonise the newly sprouted urban areas, following the plantings of the new
residents's
Robin Gordon & other Grevilleas!
Alan Morris
NSWFOC Records Officer
Andrew Taylor wrote:
> In [1], Recher says this:
>
> "Species, such as Red Wattlebird Anthochaera carunculata, which were
> abundant in suburban Sydney gardens as recently as the 1970s are now rare
> (pers. obs.)."
>
> I found this quote really surprising. I regularly hear and see Red
> Wattlebirds where I live in urban inner-Sydney. Certainly not abundant -
> few native species are in urban Sydney urban areas - but no more or less
> common than I can remember in 17 years of living in this area
>
> The Atlas of Australian Birds says "early this century the species
> was unknown as breeding bird near Sydney where it is now abundant".
> I gather from [2] in the 1930s it was only a winter visitor to Sydney,
> although in large numbers.
>
> I'd be grateful if people from other parts of Sydney could e-mail me
> their estimate of Red Wattlebird abundance in their area and also any
> feeling that have for change in status. As most subscribers presumably
> have very limited interested in Red Wattlebird abundance in Sydney,
> e-mail me only - I'll post to bird-aus a summary of any replies.
>
> Andrew
>
> [1] H. Recher, "The state of Australia's avifauna: a personal opinion and
> prediction
> for the new millennium", Australian Zoologist, 1999
> [2] P.A. Gilbert, The Seaesonal Movement of Birds in Eastern New South Wales,
> Emul Vol. XXXIV, p200-208, 1934
>
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