"Val Ford" <> To: <> said
and asked
<I have been carrying out a 3 monthly bird survey on a property at Baxter on
the Mornington Peninsula, southern Victoria for the past 12 months. On 2
occasions 24/8/06 (my change from 07 as I don't believe in being able to
foresee the future!) and 24/5/07 Flame Robins, red and brown birds, were
recorded and in numbers greater than 20. Flame Robin come to the Mornington
Peninsula usually late autumn and leave again before the summer. I don't
know if it is known if the birds come across from Tasmania or from the
Victorian Alps - or a mixture of both.
The question - As I usually only see flame robins in ones and twos in other
areas did I just happen to see the birds as they were getting ready to leave
[24/8] and had just arrived ]24/5] or are they often seen in large numbers?>
From my experience of Flame Robins on several predominantly wetland
sites between Mordialloc and Frankston, i.e. near and just north of your
Mornington Peninsula Baxter site closer to Melbourne, is that they arrive
almost precisely on 1st April. Occasionally but rarely see one last week of
March but it would be unusual if not here by first week of April. Numbers
are high by early May. So your 24 May date is too late by some three to
seven weeks to be influenced by their autumn migration. Conversely, 24
August is close to the end of their stay with us so couldn't be sure what's
happening then but I doubt it is a pre-migratory assembly.
You don't say how large is the site you are surveying. I suspect it is
quite large (well over 100 hectares) and prime habitat for the species.
Seaford Wetlands, I guess only some 10-20 km distant, attracts numbers in
excess of twenty at one time.
HANZAB says there is no conclusive evidence of trans Bass Strait
migration. But I still think there could be some passage from Tasmania.
Mike Carter
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