Hi Mike!
Yes, that's how I remember it also. But if they were all brown birds,
that would still be consistent with dispersal of young from other places
in Victoria, and the temporal pattern would fit that too. A Pink coming
down from the mountains could just as well find itself out on the point
as a Pink coming in from the sea.
Re Flame Robins, because of their very different habitat preferences, I
suppose they would be more likely to just fly a bit further and get into
habitats they liked.
Interesting issue, though. Amazing how little we know about such stuff!
Cheers, Chris.
On 06/12/2013 10:08 PM, Mike Carter wrote:
I'd be surprised if Pink Robin wasn't a trans-Bass Strait migrant.
Back in the 1960's & 70's when our seabird observations were
land-based we (including Chris and others) made regular, perhaps
weekly visits to Cape Schanck on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria.
We came to 'expect' to find a brown Pink Robin or two each autumn in
the bigger shrubs the otherwise relatively bare tip of the promontory
in the same sort of place one would look for migrants on a UK
headland. They were also found at Sorrento in rather less bleak
surroundings. Other regular migrants were Silvereyes and Grey Fantails
but strangely I recall few Flame Robins. Vagrants possibly or assumed
to be from Tasmania found there included Olive Whistler and
interestingly, a Boobook. Vagrants clearly from inland Australia
included a Pied Butcherbird, an Elegant Parrot, a Yellow-tufted
Honeyeater and a White-backed Swallow. So the origin of the Pink
Robins is not certain but is highly suggestive.
Mike Carter
30 Canadian Bay Road
Mount Eliza VIC 3930
Tel (03) 9787 7136
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