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Scarlet Robin (Petroica boodang)

The Scarlet Robin is a small, ground-foraging woodland bird of south eastern and south western Australia. It is vulnerable in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, and clearing or degrading open eucalypt woodland can remove breeding habitat, foraging substrates and movement links.

Conservation status

New South Wales, Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016: Vulnerable.

Australian Capital Territory, Nature Conservation Act 2014: Vulnerable.

Breeding season

Timing varies across the species' broad range. The following pattern is based mainly on ACT and south eastern Australian records, with the winter movement pattern applying most clearly to mainland populations.

Month values are ordered January to December: 0 means not typical, 1 means occurs, and 2 means peak or highest risk.

  • Breeding: Breeding mainly occurs from July to January. Recent ACT breeding onset has often been in August or September.
  • Young: Nestlings fledge about 17 days after hatching, and pairs may raise two or three broods. Dependent young may therefore be present through much of the breeding period and into early autumn.
  • Movement and winter dispersal: In autumn and winter, birds may move to lower altitude woodland, peri urban woodland, paddocks with scattered trees, gardens and parklands, and may join mixed flocks. Some dispersing birds reach the eastern fringe of the inland plains.
  • Highest clearing risk: Clearing or intensive disturbance is most likely to harm the species from July to January, when pairs defend breeding territories, nests may be active and dependent young may be present. January remains a risk because breeding can continue until then.

Identification

The Scarlet Robin is a compact passerine that is usually quiet and unobtrusive. It is often detected when it drops from a low perch to pounce on prey on the ground or a log.

The species is 12 to 14 centimetres long and weighs about 13 grams. The adult male has a red breast, black head and upperparts, white forehead and white wing markings. The female is mainly brown, with a red or orange wash on the breast and a white forehead. Juveniles resemble females but have streaking on the breast and upper body.

Identification: Similar red breasted robins

The white forehead helps separate the Scarlet Robin from other red breasted robins. Unlike the Flame Robin, its red breast does not extend up the throat to the bill. The male lacks the Red-capped Robin's scarlet cap, and the female lacks that species' dull reddish forehead wash.

Identification: Field signs

Look for a bird feeding singly, in pairs or occasionally in small family parties from fence posts, low branches, trunks, logs or the ground. It may join mixed flocks of small insectivorous birds in autumn and winter. The supplied documents describe the call as distinctive but do not provide a call transcription. No diagnostic tracks, scats, sloughs or eyeshine are described.

  • Search the ground layer, fallen timber and low perches rather than relying only on canopy observations.
  • Inspect forks in trees and dead branches on live trees for an open cup nest made from plant fibres and cobwebs.
  • Treat a nest, adults carrying food, copulation, display or dependent young as evidence of breeding activity.

Distribution: Australian range

The Scarlet Robin has a broad but discontinuous distribution across southern Australia. The supplied documents do not provide a national population estimate, but they record declines in several monitored regions.

The species occurs from extreme south eastern Queensland through New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory, Tasmania and western Victoria to south eastern South Australia. A separate western form occurs in south western Western Australia. In New South Wales it occupies open forests and woodlands from the coast to the inland slopes, with dispersing birds sometimes reaching the eastern edge of the inland plains in autumn and winter.

  • Relevant broad regions include the south eastern Queensland tablelands and ranges, the New South Wales coast and inland slopes, the ACT, Tasmania, western Victoria, south eastern South Australia, the Mount Lofty Ranges and south western Western Australia.
  • In the ACT, records are widespread in eucalypt woodlands and dry open forest, with seasonal use of lower altitude woodland, paddocks with scattered trees, gardens and parklands.

Distribution: Regional strongholds and trends

The Mount Lofty Ranges are an important regional area for the species in South Australia. Within that region, the spine of the ranges and the southern agricultural area are identified as the most important subregions. The species is uncommon and geographically isolated there.

In the ACT, the species has shown a strong decline in abundance over long term woodland surveys and is classified as an urban avoider. The ACT conservation advice reported a 2016 to 2017 reporting rate that was 27 percent below the ten year average and 45 percent below the 30 year average.

Mount Lofty Ranges reporting rate: Declined from 65 percent before 1980 to 29 percent after 1995

ACT 2016 to 2017 reporting rate: 27 percent below the ten year average and 45 percent below the 30 year average

ACT 2016 to 2017 records: 1,877 sightings and 26 breeding records

National population size: No estimate is provided in the supplied documents

Distribution: Conservation status

The Scarlet Robin is listed as Vulnerable in New South Wales and the ACT. In South Australia, the eastern subspecies is listed as Rare and the western subspecies is listed as Vulnerable. It is not listed under the EPBC Act in the supplied status information.

Habitat: Habitat types

Scarlet Robins use open eucalypt forest and woodland with a functioning ground layer and multiple vegetation strata. They can occur in mature or regrowth vegetation, but generally avoid areas where trees have been removed.

Preferred habitat includes dry eucalypt forest, grassy woodland, heathy woodland and heathy forest. The species also occurs in open forest and woodland near wetlands, and may use peri urban woodland, grazed paddocks with scattered trees, gardens and parklands during autumn and winter.

In the ACT, birds are generally absent from open areas where no trees remain. In warmer months they are more often found at higher elevations in foothill open forest and shrubby habitats, then move to lower altitude woodland and other open habitats in cooler months.

Typical forest structure: Open eucalypt canopy with shrubs, native grasses and a developed ground layer

Important ground features: Leaf litter, logs, fallen branches and coarse woody debris

ACT seasonal elevation pattern: Higher foothills in warmer months and lower altitude woodland in autumn and winter

Habitat: Habitat thresholds and condition

The species is less common in habitat patches smaller than 30 hectares where there is no tree cover within 200 metres and less than 2 percent tree cover within 1 kilometre. It is also less common where surrounding land is grazed and was absent from sites surrounded by cereal cropping in the cited study.

Habitat quality is associated with tree canopy cover, shrub cover, ground cover, logs, fallen branches and litter. Firewood collection, rough pasture tidying, mowing, slashing and overgrazing can remove these features.

  • Retain mature and regrowth eucalypts, shrubs, native grasses, leaf litter, standing dead timber and fallen timber.
  • Avoid reducing a connected woodland patch to isolated trees or narrow remnants.
  • Retain habitat links between woodland patches, particularly where the species is recorded in both breeding and winter periods.

Foraging habitat: Diet and feeding sites

The Scarlet Robin is primarily a ground pouncer. It uses low perches to locate prey, then drops to the ground, a log or another substrate.

The diet consists of small insects and other invertebrates. Birds forage from fence posts, low branches, tree trunks, logs and the ground, and sometimes take prey in shrubs or the canopy.

Foraging behaviour changes seasonally. In winter the species is predominantly a ground pouncer. In summer it more often snatches prey and hawks from the canopy.

  • Retain leaf litter, fallen logs, branches and patches of open ground beneath trees.
  • Retain low perches between the ground and shrub layer, including suitable fence posts and dead branches where these occur naturally.
  • Avoid unnecessary removal of coarse woody debris or intensive mowing and slashing in occupied woodland.

Foraging habitat: Foraging area

The supplied documents do not give a national foraging range or daily movement distance. Pairs hold year round territories, and territory size varies with season and habitat. In the Mount Lofty Ranges, sedentary breeding territories averaged 3.2 hectares and expanded to an average of 6.6 hectares outside the breeding season. Birds using grassland only outside the breeding season had territories averaging 9.3 hectares.

Breeding territory in the Mount Lofty Ranges: Average 3.2 hectares for sedentary pairs

Non breeding territory for sedentary pairs: Average 6.6 hectares

Seasonal grassland territory: Average 9.3 hectares for birds using grassland only outside the breeding season

Breeding habitat: Breeding biology

Breeding pairs defend a territory in open forest or woodland, usually where trees, shrubs and ground layer features are retained. Nesting habitat is especially vulnerable to clearing, firewood removal and disturbance during the breeding season.

Pairs usually remain together throughout the year and defend a breeding territory. The open cup nest is made from plant fibres and cobwebs and is commonly placed in a fork more than 2 metres above the ground. Nests may be in a dead branch on a live tree, or in a dead tree or shrub.

Both sexes feed nestlings and fledglings. The supplied documents do not state an age at first breeding or a species specific lifespan.

Breeding season: Mainly July to January; recent ACT onset has often been August or September

Broods per season: Two or three broods may be raised

Clutch size: 1 to 4 eggs, usually 2 or 3

Incubation: Not stated in the supplied documents

Nestling period: About 17 days from hatching to fledging

Age at maturity: Not stated in the supplied documents

Lifespan: Not stated in the supplied documents

Breeding habitat: Nesting habitat

Critical habitat is defined as breeding habitat in open forest and woodland. Breeding sites are associated with eucalypts, shrubs, native grasses, logs, coarse woody debris and a structurally diverse ground layer.

The nest is often concealed in a tree fork or dead branch. Retaining dead trees, dead branches on live trees and dense but not excessive shrub cover can preserve potential nest sites.

  • Before clearing, inspect suitable woodland for adults carrying food, alarm behaviour, display, copulation, nest building, sitting birds and dependent young.
  • Retain trees with forks, dead branches and cavities or other irregular structure where safe to do so.
  • Keep machinery, stockpiles and repeated vehicle movement away from confirmed nests and active territories during the breeding period.

Sheltering habitat: Cover and resting structure

The Scarlet Robin does not use dens, burrows or hollows as a defining shelter type in the supplied documents. It relies on woodland structure for nesting, cover and resting, with seasonal use of mixed flocks.

Important sheltering structure includes eucalypt canopy, shrubs, native grasses, leaf litter, logs, fallen branches and coarse woody debris. Birds use low branches, trunks, fence posts and logs while moving through their territory.

In autumn and winter, Scarlet Robins may join mixed flocks of small insectivorous birds in dry forest and woodland. They may also move into lower altitude woodland, paddocks with scattered trees, gardens and parklands.

  • Retain connected woodland with a mix of canopy, shrub and ground layers.
  • Avoid removing all fallen timber and leaf litter from occupied habitat.
  • Retain scattered trees in grazed paddocks where they provide stepping stones or seasonal habitat.

Sheltering habitat: Nest refuge

The nest is an open cup in a tree fork, commonly more than 2 metres above ground. It may be attached to a dead branch on a live tree or placed in a dead tree or shrub.

Typical nest height: Usually more than 2 metres above ground

  • Do not remove dead trees, dead shrubs or dead branches in occupied woodland unless safety requirements leave no practical alternative.
  • If a nest is found, establish a site specific exclusion area using the advice of the fauna ecologist or wildlife authority, because the supplied documents do not specify a standard setback distance.

Threats: Clearing and fragmentation

The main development risk is the loss and degradation of open woodland used for breeding and foraging. Fragmentation, removal of ground structure and disturbance during breeding can reduce habitat value even where some trees remain.

Clearing open forest and woodland removes breeding and foraging habitat. Fragmentation reduces patch size and connectivity, while loss of canopy, shrubs, native grasses, litter, logs and fallen branches removes important resources.

Firewood collection, site tidying, pasture improvement, mowing, slashing and overgrazing can remove nest sites, prey habitat and ground foraging substrates. Habitat patches smaller than 30 hectares were less frequently occupied under the conditions described in the ACT action plan.

  • Avoid clearing occupied woodland, particularly patches with connected canopy, shrubs, logs and native ground cover.
  • Map breeding and foraging habitat before construction and retain links between habitat patches.
  • Limit mowing, slashing, firewood collection and removal of coarse woody debris in occupied habitat.

Threats: Fire and vegetation change

Dense shrub regeneration after fire can make habitat unsuitable after a few years, although the species may show a short term increase after fire. The timing of recovery as the shrub layer thins is not well known. Frequent control burns may also reduce leaf litter, perches and other ground foraging resources.

  • Assess post fire shrub density, canopy condition, leaf litter and fallen timber before further vegetation treatment.
  • Do not assume that recent records in burnt areas mean the habitat will remain suitable as regeneration develops.
  • Retain unburnt or less intensively managed woodland habitat where it provides breeding and foraging structure.

Threats: Predators and competition

Nest predation is a major cause of breeding failure. Pied Currawongs, mammals and reptiles can take eggs or nestlings, while cats can prey directly on birds. Noisy Miners can aggressively exclude small and medium sized woodland birds from fragmented habitat.

Predation at failed nests in one South Australian study: Predation accounted for 77 percent of failed nests

Noisy Miner density associated with strong negative effects: Densities of 0.8 birds per hectare or more were strongly negatively correlated with small to medium native birds

  • Manage construction waste, food scraps and other attractants that may increase predator activity around retained woodland.
  • Keep domestic and feral cats away from occupied habitat, particularly near breeding sites.
  • Assess Noisy Miner abundance and habitat structure where a project may increase edge habitat or further fragment woodland.

Threats: Roads, hydrology and disease

The supplied documents do not identify road mortality, hydrology change or disease as specific Scarlet Robin threats. These matters should still be considered where works remove woodland, alter wetlands or increase vehicle access, because such changes can affect habitat condition, movement and predator access.

  • Check for breeding and foraging habitat beside access tracks and road corridors before clearing or widening.
  • Prevent sediment, altered drainage and construction activity from degrading woodland near wetlands or riparian areas used by the species.
  • Apply standard hygiene and wildlife disease controls when handling birds, nests or habitat materials, even though no species specific disease is documented here.

Threats: Climate change

The species has been assessed as having medium sensitivity to climate change. Climate suitability modelled for 1985 was projected to contract southwards by about 50 percent in total area by 2085, while remaining relatively extensive and including the ACT.

Modelled climate suitability change: About 50 percent contraction in total area by 2085 relative to 1985

Climate sensitivity: Medium

Survey methodology: 1. Area searches and transects

Survey the Scarlet Robin in suitable open eucalypt forest and woodland, especially where shrubs, native grasses, logs, fallen timber and leaf litter remain. The species is quiet and unobtrusive, and may occur singly or in pairs, so absence should not be concluded from a brief inspection.

Use early morning area searches or transects through retained open forest and woodland, recording both sightings and calls.

Prioritise breeding and foraging habitat with low perches, tree trunks, logs, fallen branches, leaf litter and an open or grassy understorey.

Search the ground, low shrubs, fence posts, tree trunks, logs and lower canopy because the species ground-pounces on insects and sometimes forages in shrubs and canopy.

The supplied Australian Government survey guideline gives 8 hours over 4 days for area searches or transects for the Norfolk Island Scarlet Robin taxon. This is not a mainland effort standard, so use it as a reference for designing a justified search effort for mainland Petroica boodang rather than applying it automatically.

Typical body length: 12 to 14 centimetres

Typical body weight: About 13 grams

Breeding period: Mainly July to January

Typical nest height: Usually more than 2 metres above ground

  • Conduct searches during the breeding period from July to January where the purpose is to detect breeding use, noting that recent ACT records indicate breeding may start later, in August or early September.
  • Repeat searches in autumn and winter where the project may affect seasonal habitat, because birds disperse to lower altitude woodland, peri-urban woodland, paddocks with scattered trees, gardens and parklands during these seasons.
  • Record the date, start and finish time, weather, observers, route, search area, habitat condition, number of birds, behaviour and any breeding evidence.

Survey methodology: 2. Call and visual detection

Allow quiet observation at low perches, logs, tree trunks and the ground, where the species may remain inconspicuous.

Use calls and sightings together, and confirm identification from the white forehead, red, black and white male plumage, or the brown female plumage with a red or orange breast wash.

Treat a single detection as evidence that nearby habitat may be used, because breeding pairs defend territories and usually remain together throughout the year.

  • Do not rely on spotlighting as the primary method for this diurnal woodland bird unless night work is already required for another fauna assessment.
  • If playback is proposed, obtain the required approvals and use it sparingly under the relevant animal ethics and wildlife rules, recording the method and response.

Survey methodology: 3. Breeding and habitat-use checks

Inspect retained woodland for breeding evidence, including adults carrying food, copulation, display, dependent young, nest building, adults sitting on nests, nests with eggs and nests with young.

Map each detection and any breeding record against trees, shrubs, logs, coarse woody debris, leaf litter and connected woodland patches.

Assess whether the site forms part of a larger habitat patch, because the species is less common in patches smaller than 30 hectares where there is no tree cover within 200 metres and less than 2 per cent cover within 1 kilometre.

Habitat patch indicator: The species was less common in patches smaller than 30 hectares with no tree cover within 200 metres and less than 2 per cent cover within 1 kilometre

Known seasonal movement: Higher altitude foothill and shrubby habitat in warmer months, with more lowland use in autumn and winter

  • Survey both the proposed disturbance footprint and adjoining retained habitat that may receive displaced birds.
  • Increase the search area where the footprint is close to a known breeding site, a habitat patch boundary or a narrow connection between woodland patches.

Survey methodology: Minimum effort and reporting

  • Set the survey effort, timing and search area in a written method statement, and explain any departure from the supplied guideline for the Norfolk Island taxon.
  • Submit confirmed records, breeding observations and survey metadata to the relevant state or territory wildlife database, including the Australian Capital Territory or New South Wales database where applicable.
  • Retain georeferenced photographs and maps of birds, nests, habitat patches, logs, coarse woody debris and other features that informed the impact assessment.
  • Report uncertainty where detection conditions, access, weather or disturbance prevented an adequate search, rather than recording the species as absent.

Before habitat disturbance: Avoid and minimise habitat loss

Plan the work around the Scarlet Robin's woodland habitat, breeding period and low detectability. The main prevention measure is to retain connected, structurally complex woodland and avoid clearing occupied breeding and foraging habitat.

  • Avoid clearing open eucalypt forest and woodland used for breeding or foraging wherever practicable.
  • Retain mature and regrowth eucalypts, shrubs, native grasses, leaf litter, standing dead timber, logs, fallen branches and coarse woody debris.
  • Retain habitat patches and connections between them, particularly where a work area could isolate a patch or reduce a patch below the 30 hectare indicator described for occupied woodland.
  • Do not remove dead branches, logs or rough ground habitat merely to tidy the site, because these features provide nest sites, perches, foraging substrates and ground-pouncing habitat.
  • Do not treat the 200 metre and 1 kilometre habitat figures as automatic statutory buffers; use them to identify whether the work could reduce surrounding tree cover and habitat function.

Before habitat disturbance: Approvals and work planning

New South Wales status: Vulnerable

Australian Capital Territory status: Vulnerable

EPBC status in supplied project information: Not listed

  • Confirm the current conservation status before works commence: the species is vulnerable in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, and is not listed under the EPBC Act in the supplied project information.
  • Obtain any state or territory approvals, licences, scientific permits and animal ethics approvals required for survey, capture, handling, relocation or disturbance.
  • Seek project specific advice if the action could affect a threatened population, breeding habitat or a listed ecological community, even where the species is not nationally listed.
  • Schedule clearing outside the main breeding period from July to January where practicable, and obtain specialist advice before disturbing active nests or dependent young.
  • Stage clearing so that retained woodland and escape routes remain available while each work area is opened.

Before habitat disturbance: Pre-clearance preparation

  • Complete a pre-clearance inspection shortly before works, covering the footprint, access tracks, compound areas and adjoining habitat that may be affected by machinery or altered access.
  • Mark retained trees, shrubs, logs, coarse woody debris, leaf litter areas, nest trees, breeding territories and movement connections on the ground and in the construction plans.
  • Locate and clearly mark active nests, dependent young and any habitat feature that must not be disturbed.
  • Install exclusion fencing where it can protect retained woodland, nest trees, logs, coarse woody debris and low shrub habitat from machinery, vehicles and material storage.
  • Brief machinery operators, supervisors and fauna spotter catchers on the Scarlet Robin's appearance, quiet behaviour, habitat and stop-work requirements.

During habitat disturbance: Daily controls and machinery interface

Use a fauna spotter catcher to control the interaction between machinery and habitat. The spotter catcher must have authority to pause work when a bird, nest or important habitat feature is at risk.

  • Inspect exclusion fencing, retained habitat and marked features before work starts each day.
  • Keep machinery within approved disturbance limits and prevent vehicles, spoil, fuel, wash-down water and materials from entering retained woodland.
  • Use the fauna spotter catcher to inspect each work area immediately before clearing and to remain in a position where the operator can see and obey stop signals.
  • Clear progressively in small stages, directing machinery away from retained habitat and towards safe, connected woodland where this is consistent with the approved method.
  • Stop work when visibility, dust, noise, weather or machinery movement prevents the spotter catcher from safely checking the work area.

During habitat disturbance: Habitat feature handling

  • Treat active nests, dependent young, nest trees and the surrounding vegetation as no-go features until the authorised ecologist confirms the applicable approval and control measure.
  • Retain logs, fallen branches, coarse woody debris, leaf litter, low shrubs and standing dead timber unless their removal is authorised and the fauna management plan specifies how habitat function will be maintained.
  • Do not fell or disturb a tree that contains an active nest without first obtaining the required wildlife approval and direction from the project ecologist.
  • Avoid burning, chipping or burying retained woodland material that provides perches, cover or invertebrate foraging habitat.
  • Use marked exclusion areas rather than relying on a spotter catcher to protect a feature from moving machinery at close range.

During habitat disturbance: Animal encounters and stop-work response

  • Stop the immediate activity if a Scarlet Robin, active nest, dependent young or injured bird is found within the disturbance zone.
  • Allow the bird to leave without chasing, cornering or repeatedly approaching it, where it can do so safely.
  • Only an appropriately authorised and trained person may capture, handle or relocate the bird, and handling must follow the relevant permit, animal welfare requirements and project fauna management plan.
  • Relocate a healthy bird only where authorised, and use nearby retained habitat with suitable woodland structure rather than releasing it into open ground.
  • Take an injured bird to an authorised wildlife carer or veterinarian as soon as practicable, keeping it quiet, secure and minimally handled while transport is arranged.
  • Stop work and obtain advice if an active nest, dependent young, repeated bird activity, injury or an unexpected concentration of birds indicates that the approved controls are not adequate.

During habitat disturbance: Records and incident reporting

  • Record every sighting, capture, handling event, injury, nest, stop-work event, relocation and release location.
  • Record the date, time, location, habitat, activity underway, machinery involved, people present, photographs, outcome and any permit or approval used.
  • Notify the project environmental officer and relevant wildlife authority of reportable injuries, deaths, permit breaches and unexpected impacts within the timeframe required by the approval.
  • Update the site map and daily environmental report so that unresolved habitat risks remain visible to the next work crew.

After habitat disturbance: Post-clearance inspection

After clearing, confirm that controls worked and that retained habitat remains usable. Follow up any active nest, injury, relocation or unexpected loss of woodland habitat.

  • Inspect the cleared area and retained edges for injured, trapped or displaced birds, damaged nests, damaged trees, removed logs and breaches of exclusion fencing.
  • Check that no spoil, mulch, stored material, access track or drainage change has reduced the quality or connectivity of retained woodland.
  • Undertake a follow-up search of retained habitat where a bird was observed during clearing, where a nest was found, or where the work removed part of a breeding territory.
  • Record any change to canopy, shrub cover, ground cover, logs, fallen branches, litter and coarse woody debris.

After habitat disturbance: Monitoring and reporting

  • Monitor occupied or potentially occupied retained habitat during the works and after completion, using the same locations and recording method where possible.
  • Compare post-work observations with the pre-work baseline, including abundance, distribution, breeding evidence and use of retained habitat.
  • Maintain exclusion fencing, signage and access controls until the environmental officer confirms that the risk has ended.
  • Report monitoring results, incidents, corrective actions and database records to the relevant regulator, client and wildlife database where required.

After habitat disturbance: Offsets and corrective action

  • Apply any offset, restoration or compensatory habitat measure required by the approval or state legislation.
  • Escalate corrective action if clearing has reduced habitat connectivity, damaged retained habitat, caused injury or affected an active breeding site.
  • Do not treat an offset as permission to remove avoidable breeding or foraging habitat.

Rehabilitation actions: Restore habitat structure

Rehabilitation should restore the open woodland structure used by Scarlet Robins for breeding, foraging and seasonal movement. Aim for connected habitat with trees, shrubs, native grasses, leaf litter, logs and fallen timber, rather than a treeless or heavily tidied site.

  • Replant locally indigenous eucalypts and shrubs to restore missing structural layers and increase the size and connectivity of habitat patches.
  • Maintain an open or grassy understorey with native grasses, while retaining enough shrub cover to provide habitat structure without creating dense post-fire regeneration that makes the site unsuitable.
  • Reinstate logs, fallen branches, coarse woody debris and leaf litter where they were removed and where this is safe and consistent with the rehabilitation design.
  • Retain or recreate low perches, tree trunks and ground foraging areas because the species pounces on insects from low perches, logs and the ground.
  • Restore connections between isolated woodland patches and protect new plantings from grazing, mowing, slashing and unauthorised firewood collection.

Rehabilitation actions: Manage threats

  • Control invasive plants and replace woody invasive vegetation with locally indigenous species suited to the site.
  • Manage cats and other introduced predators in accordance with local law and the approved fauna management plan, particularly near known breeding habitat.
  • Assess Pied Currawong and Noisy Miner activity when monitoring declining or poorly occupied woodland, and seek specialist advice before any control action.
  • Plan fire management so that repeated burning does not produce dense shrub regeneration or remove logs, leaf litter and standing dead timber needed by the species.

Rehabilitation actions: Measure rehabilitation success

  • Set a baseline map of planted areas, retained woodland, canopy, shrubs, native grasses, ground cover, logs, fallen branches and leaf litter before rehabilitation begins.
  • Monitor Scarlet Robin presence, abundance, breeding evidence and habitat use during the same seasonal periods used for the pre-work assessment.
  • Use the species' known habitat components as success measures: stable or increasing occupied woodland, improved connectivity, retained coarse woody debris and recovery of structurally diverse habitat.
  • Continue monitoring for at least the period required by the approval, and revise planting, weed, grazing, predator or fire controls if habitat remains unsuitable.

Sources