Travelling Possums

by Shelley Clarke

A rescue call came through as: "Very large, red/brown-coloured possums found in warehouse. Not injured and are healthy but very scared and hiding. MOP opened boxes delivered from Canberra that had come from Melbourne yesterday and 3 possums ran out: male, female and baby. Possums are very large and red. Male is the size of a poodle. Will have been in boxes for about 3 days.”

Liz Spiller and Sheryl Steele went to assess the warehouse in Batemans Bay and were told the machines in the boxes came from India, via Melbourne and Canberra. We were led to believe they could be exotics from India!!

A number of traps were set to catch the possums overnight. The Department of Primary Industries was on standby for a potential biohazard situation.

The possums turned out to be beautiful brushtail possums. Thank you, Sheryl, Liz, Dave, Janelle and Caz, for a well-oiled operation👍 You just never know what that next call will be😉

Saving Migrating Birds

Australian biologist Sacha Dench has won an International Fund for Animal Welfare award for her research into migratory birds, particularly the Bewick’s swan.

Using a paramotor, a motorised glider, she has followed the migration of these endangered swans from the Russian Arctic, across Europe and through 11 countries, to the coastline of the UK (7000km). Along the way she spoke to locals on the ground, persuading them not to hunt the swan and to help to save them.

She has also "accompanied the osprey on its autumn migration from the UK to Guinea to gather data on the threats facing the bird of prey, and other migratory species along the way”.

Sacha is the chief executive and founder of Conservation Without Borders and United Nations Ambassador to the Convention on Migratory Species.

Ref: Alisdair McDonald, Biologist Sacha Dench wins International Fund for Animal Welfare award for work to save migratory birds, ABC News, 26 October 2023.

Wombat Citizen Science

The citizen science project WomSAT that allows “wombat warriors” to report sightings of wombats, their burrows, and even their cube-shaped poops was launched in 2015.

The 23,000 sightings by citizens have been analysed and provided insights into the two main threats to the bare-nosed or common wombat found in this area: Australia’s wombat roadkill hotspots, and the worst areas for sarcoptic mange (a disease related to scabies). This will help to target measures to reduce these threats.

Upgrades to WomSAT will allow it to include GPS location data embedded in smartphone photos.

"Another new feature on WomSAT will assist wildlife carers to directly monitor and record treatment of wombats with sarcoptic mange in the field. In the past, treatment regimes have rarely been recorded. This will benefit the wider wildlife care network by highlighting areas where wombats are currently being treated, as well as new areas where wombats require treatment.

Ref: Julie Old and Hayley Standard, 2 biggest threats to wombats revealed in new data gathered by citizen scientists, The Conversation, 24 October 2023.

Yellow-bellied Sea Snakes Wash Up

An unusual number of yellow-bellied sea snakes washed up along the south coast in November. The first was found in Pambula and taken to Mudgeroo Emu Farm and Animal Refuge at Jervis Bay

Belinda Donovan from the Refuge said it was in poor condition with parasites and a wound, and it had been left on the beach for 48 hours.

The second snake was rescued at Broulee by Kay Mallitt and was very small (about 25cm), not much larger than a new born snake. It was fit and healthy and just needed a couple of days to recover from being thrown around in the surf, which they are not used to.

A third snake was rescued at Bingie by Dave Clarke and Rachel McInnes. Others have washed up along the south coast but not survived. They are highly venomous.

Belinda Donovan thinks the yellow-bellied sea snakes have been carried south on an unusually warm ocean current and then washed ashore. They are not adapted to the land and when they are washed up they can’t move far and can’t feed.

"Their fragile bodies are unable to support themselves out of the water. Well-meaning passers-by who toss them back into the surf can unknowingly cause fatal injuries."

Refs: Zoe Cartwright, Yellow-bellied sea snakes wash up all along the South Coast this week, About Regional, 26 November 2023;

Causes of Muttonbird Deaths

The short-tailed shearwater or slender-billed shearwater, commonly known as the muttonbird, is the most abundant seabird species in Australian waters. In the last couple of months hundreds of emaciated mutton birds have been washing up on the east coast beaches of NSW. Mass deaths of seabirds are referred to as “seabird wrecks”.

Millions of muttonbirds migrate from Australia in April each year flying to the northern sub-Arctic summer, and back in spring, travelling up to 35,000 km (see map).

Those that are not strong enough to make it tend to wash up on the beaches in mid-October and November. The main cause of their weakness is starvation as a result of not getting enough to eat on the North Pacific Ocean.

There are two main reasons for this. One is the market for pink salmon. Billions of salmon fry are released into the ocean to meet soaring consumer demand. Salmon numbers have more than doubled in recent decades and consequently zooplankton populations, which both salmon and mutton birds feed on, have declined.

Global warming is also affecting zooplankton, "causing shifts in where and when zooplankton occur, and how large they grow.” When the mutton birds arrive, they may have missed the annual zooplankton bonanza.

Storms and strong winds blow muttonbirds onto the beaches when they are already weak from starvation.

The recent November seabird wrecks of the Tasmanian short-tailed shearwater on the east coast of Australia don’t seem to be related to their migration as that was completed six weeks earlier. Jennifer Lavers, a seabird ecologist, thinks it may have been caused by food scarcity from warming oceans near Australia. Whilst disease is a possible cause, it is unlikely and they have been tested for avian flu.

Refs: Lauren Roman, Why are dead and dying seabirds washing up on our beaches in their hundreds? The Conversation, 10 November 2023; Ashleigh Barraclough, A 'seabird wreck' is happening on Australia's east coast, and researchers say they're becoming more common, ABC News, 16 November 2023.

Birds of Australia STORYBOX

The Birds of Australia STORYBOX is an interactive outdoor exhibition that showcases Australian birds and will be on display at the Bay Pavilions, Batemans Bay from 29 November 2023 to 17 March 2024.

It is based on a digitised version of the large-format, limited edition volumes of John Gould’s The Birds of Australia published from 1840 to 1848. These volumes are now available online here.

"Published in London in eight volumes, they contain over 680 plates and lyrical descriptions of Gould’s collecting experiences from his two-year Australian expedition with his wife Elizabeth in 1838. Each plate was one drawn by his team of artists, lithographed and then individually coloured in brilliant colour by Gould’s skilled colourists. Only 250 copies were printed.

"Visitors can enhance their experience by downloading an accompanying app, allowing them to engage in various captivating activities. The exhibition features moving digital imagery, narration, music, and captivating stories that truly capture the beauty of our avian friends."

Stop Work for Flat Rock Forest

State-owned Forestry Corporation (FCNSW) has been ordered to stop logging in parts of Flat Rock state forest, near Ulladulla (see map). This was because the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) identified an endangered greater glider den tree within 30m of logging operations. It is supposed to keep at least 50m from den trees.

Recently the Forestry Corporation was ordered to stop logging in the Tallaganda forest for the same reason (see this newsletter September 2023 and November 2023).

“The EPA alleges that FCNSW has not conducted detailed and thorough searches necessary to identify all greater glider and yellow-bellied glider den trees within the Flat Rock state forest compartment.”

This latest breach has prompted renewed calls for an end to native forest logging in NSW as will happen in Victoria at the end of this year. The NSW Minns government has said it will not end native forest logging.

Ref: Lisa Cox, NSW forestry agency given another stop work order after EPA identifies endangered greater glider habitat, The Guardian, 15 November 2023

Long-Footed Potaroo Spotted

A long-footed potaroo has been sighted in NSW for the first time. It was recorded by an infrared motion sensor camera in Bondi State Forest near the Victorian border, south of Bombala.

The long-footed potoroo has been more commonly sighted in Victoria's East Gippsland region since the 1960s and the remote Barry Mountains.

The Bondi Forest sighting was in an area burnt out during the Black Summer bushfires. The species is known to survive bushfires fairly well in Victoria.

Forestry Corporation of NSW has suspended planned logging in three sections in the south-east corner of the forest while ecologists "monitor the area to determine the species movements and population.”

"The holy grail moment of detecting them is because they have been such an elusive species,” ecologist Rohan Bilney said. "It's been this mythical creature that we weren't sure whether or not it existed."

Ref: Adriane Reardon, Long-footed potoroo seen for first time in NSW as infrared cameras capture images in Bondi State Forest, ABC News, 11 October 2023.

WIRES Christmas Coffee and Cake

Eurobodalla Botanic Gardens picnic area next Sunday, 10th December, from 10am. ALL MEMBERS WELCOME! Let's have some Christmas cheer and share our year that was. Grab a coffee on your way through and we'll set up at the tables beyond the cafe under cover picnic area next to the kids playground (partners and kids welcome too!)!