Robin Sinclair
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Robin Sinclair
@robinssci.bsky.social
2.2K followers 750 following 250 posts
Field Ecologist with the Australian Wildlife Conservancy in Australia's Top End. Living in Garramilla/Darwin on Larrakia Country.
He/they.
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Robin Sinclair @robinssci.bsky.social · Feb 26
I'm the subject of this month's "People of AWC" article.
Click through to learn a little about me, my work and my background in conservation.
www.australianwildlife.org/meet-the-peo...
Meet the people of AWC: Field Ecologist Robin Sinclair
Get to know Robin Sinclair, Australian Wildlife Conservancy's Field Ecologist based at Mt Gibson Wildlife Sanctuary in WA.
www.australianwildlife.org
Reposted by Robin Sinclair
michaeldahlstrom.bsky.social
Over five years after cameras were set up within a sprawling Western Australian landscape, an elusive “chuditch” has been filmed for the first time.
au.news.yahoo.com/camera-captu...
Camera captures rare Aussie predator believed extinct across 70km landscape
A $5 million project has helped change the region, allowing for the animal's return.
au.news.yahoo.com
November 5, 2025 at 8:26 AM
Reposted by Robin Sinclair
rohanfisher.bsky.social
Talked to ABC country hour today about the big fire season in the NT through October. The chat became short but neat story about the last few weeks of action. The hottest October on record, nowhere near the biggest fire year but still pretty big.
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11...
Eight million hectares burnt during record hot October in NT
Last month nearly 8 million hectares were burnt in the Northern Territory, an area bigger than the entire state of Tasmania.
www.abc.net.au
November 5, 2025 at 8:02 AM
robinssci.bsky.social
A rather gregarious Rainbow Pitta (Pitta iris) looking resplendent among the leaf litter at Binybara/Lee Point in Darwin.
#WildOz
A rainbow pitta standing upright on a patch of forest floor. It has moss green wings with a neon blue patch at the shoulder, a small cap of red on its head and a velvet black head and front.
November 5, 2025 at 5:56 AM
robinssci.bsky.social
A northern rosella (Platycercus venustus) spotted during bird surveys at AWC's Wongalara Wildlife Sanctuary on Rembarrnga and Ngalakan Country.
#WildOz
A northern rosella perches on a bare branch with a grey sky in the background. It is looking at the camera with a glint in its eye. It has blue wings, with yellow and black feathers on its front giving a scalloped appearance, red on its rump and a black and white head.
November 3, 2025 at 3:35 AM
robinssci.bsky.social
One of several buff-sided robins (Poecilodryas cerviniventris) which live around the homestead at AWC's Pungalina-Seven Emu Sanctuary. These insectivorous birds are generally found in densely vegetated habitat by streams and rivers across much of northern Australia.
#WildOz
A buff-sided Robin perched on a twig. It is a black, white and grey bird with a buff patch under its wings. It is holding its wings down and its tail is cocked.
November 2, 2025 at 3:02 AM
robinssci.bsky.social
Ghost bats (Macroderma gigas) are Australia's only bat species that feeds on large vertebrates. On a recent fieldwork trip to AWC's Pungalina-Seven Emu Sanctuary, we visited one of their feeding caves where we found remains of owlet nightjars and rainbow bee-eaters caught by bats 😮. #WildOz
A pile of colourful feathers plucked from a rainbow bee-eater and discarded by a ghost bat. The two detached wings of an owlet nightjar sitting on a cave floor.
November 1, 2025 at 2:50 AM
Reposted by Robin Sinclair
sandyhorne.bsky.social
A jacky winter at Hattah-Kulkyne National Park.
October 31, 2025 at 7:09 AM
robinssci.bsky.social
A highlight of a recent fieldwork trip to AWC's Pungalina-Seven Emu Sanctuary was seeing my first Gouldian Finches.
We only got a brief look at a group of 6 on sanctuary (thrilling nonetheless) but then on the way back to Darwin we had ~130 of them visit our campsite in Limmen National Park.
#WildOz
Six Gouldian Finches, five sat on a lawn with a sixth coming in to land, it's wings outstretched behind it. There is one dull grey-green juvenile bird and five colourful adults. The adults have a yellow belly, purple chests, green back and bright blue on their tail and ringing their faces, which are either red or black.
October 31, 2025 at 3:57 AM
Reposted by Robin Sinclair
wa-moths.bsky.social
Another #spider for the end of #Arachtober 🕷️

Meet the incredibly handsome Banksia Peacock spider (Maratus mungaich). He’ll use those amazing colours on his abdomen to try and impress the lady spiders
#ausinverts #wildoz #arachnids #inaturalist #nature
Picture of a small spider with a dazzlingly colourful abdomen in greens and reds
October 31, 2025 at 12:52 AM
Reposted by Robin Sinclair
kristiellingsen.bsky.social
Sorry spider haters, but this was just the most beautiful beast & I knew (nearly everyone) would need to see it 😉. It sat frozen, up on its toes, on the edge of Leeman (WA) salt lake while I took pics. Unfortunately it was too big (body length 1.4cm) for my lens. #spider #Lycosidae #Tetralycosa
Most of a wolf spider, taken from directly above. The last segments of a few legs have been cut off by the frame. It is standing on holy salty sand, so the background looks like a solid slab of black specked beige. The spider is a mainly soft grey body with four black eyes showing. The abdomen is marked with a grey line and black rimmed blobs all over it. This made it incredibly hard to see if you weren't paying close attention. The legs are a more pinky white with diffuse black barring. If it was big enough people would be wearing the "pelt" as luxury coats. It's gorgeous. The same spider taken from a low angle, looking at the face slightly angled. This shows the female palps and the entire set of 8 black eyes. It also showed how the spider was right up on its "toes" ready for a fast get-away (or maybe the blinding white salt was hot to stand on). There is a bit of a shadow from the intense sunlight. Spider description is on the other photo.
October 30, 2025 at 2:30 AM
robinssci.bsky.social
"Please may I have some hash brown?"

A little friarbird interrupting my breakfast down at East Point in Darwin a little while ago.
A little friarbird perched atop a picnic table with a tree, some mulch and the ocean in the background. The friarbird is pale grey, with darker grey fings and tail feathers. It's face is masked with bare, black skin and it has a slightly downcurved, pointy black beak.
October 30, 2025 at 6:51 AM
robinssci.bsky.social
Do people still use this app?

Anyway, here's a pheasant coucal in the botanic gardens in Darwin. A truly stupendous bird.
#WildOz
A large bird sites in a chain link fence. The bird has a dark head, large somewhat menacing bill, speckled dark brown wings and a long dark tail feathers with light brown barring.
October 29, 2025 at 12:13 PM
robinssci.bsky.social
This morning I caught up with one of the Woylies we recently released outside the feral-predator free area at Mt Gibson Wildlife Sanctuary. It seems to be doing well two weeks post-release.
📍Badimia Country
#WildOz

⚠️ Animal handled for monitoring purposes with required training and permits
July 16, 2025 at 8:35 AM
Reposted by Robin Sinclair
euanritchie.bsky.social
Honoured and humbled to join such a stellar group of people!

From Environment Centre N.T.

"A powerful gathering of changemakers shaping the future of Country and climate in the North.”

Tickets 👉 environmentcentrent.company.site/Australias-G...
July 14, 2025 at 8:49 AM
robinssci.bsky.social
It's always a good day when you see a numbat ☺️

📍Mt Gibson Wildlife Sanctuary, Badimia Country
July 13, 2025 at 8:46 AM
Reposted by Robin Sinclair
pezoporus.bsky.social
Hovea chorizermifolia is always one of the first wildflowers to start on our block and heralds the start of flower season.
July 12, 2025 at 4:49 AM
robinssci.bsky.social
Yesterday I caught up with Arasari the Chuditch, who is doing well 8 months post-release at Mt Gibson. He came from the Taronga breeding program and was released as part of our reintroduction of quolls to the sanctuary.

⚠️ Handled for monitoring purposes with the appropriate training and permits ⚠️
July 12, 2025 at 12:24 AM
robinssci.bsky.social
Last week we conducted the first intentional releases of Woylies (Brush-tailed Bettongs) OUTSIDE our feral-predator free area at Mt Gibson Wildlife Sanctuary. I'm incredibly proud to have been a part of this project which has been years in the making.
au.news.yahoo.com/aussie-resea...
Aussie researchers excited as rare native creatures released outside high-security outback fence
In a cautious sign of optimism, the elusive mammals will once again be released into the Aussie wild.
au.news.yahoo.com
July 8, 2025 at 10:38 AM
Reposted by Robin Sinclair
danielbowen.au
🐝Why do 5 #Melbourne trams have a bee logo? Because back in 2008 during a patronage surge, the government leased 5 surplus trams from Mulhouse in France. They were shipped over and put into service in their original yellow livery, for which they were nicknamed “Bumblebees”.
Melbourne tram with a bee logo
March 19, 2025 at 7:22 AM
robinssci.bsky.social
With (in)appropriate animal handling in the news this week, I prepared these graphics to explain why and how me and my colleagues handle wildlife.
🧵
(1/5)
A note on animal handling.
March 16, 2025 at 12:40 AM
Reposted by Robin Sinclair
drdevildave.bsky.social
Nothing better than a box of quolls!

Spent yesterday at one of the sanctuaries that make up the Tasmanian Quoll Conservation Program, helping conserve both eastern & spotted-tailed quolls in the wild
@utas.edu.au @tasland.bsky.social
A group of quolls denning together in a nest box at a wildlife sanctuary
March 3, 2025 at 8:53 PM
robinssci.bsky.social
A tiny, bouncy Bilby friend 💚

Caught this morning as part of a monitoring survey at Mt Gibson Wildlife Sanctuary on Badimia Country.
#WildOz
March 4, 2025 at 3:58 AM
robinssci.bsky.social
Early morning trapping surveys have their perks 😊
Acacia shrubland with a sandy track running through it, off towards a gorgeous orange sunrise.
March 4, 2025 at 3:42 AM
robinssci.bsky.social
I'm going to restart my thread of posts using Badimia language from over on the other site. The words will primarily come from the Badimaya Dictionary published a few years ago.
A copy of the Badimaya Dictionary with the subtitle "An Aboriginal language of Western Australia". The cover depicts a pencil drawing of a red dirt and rocky landscape with a large blue-green snake moving through it.
March 1, 2025 at 4:14 AM
robinssci.bsky.social
The Badimia word for chicken is "dyugi" which is derived from the Australian-English "chook".

(The 'dy' gets pronounced somewhat like the 'j' in 'jump')
March 1, 2025 at 4:10 AM