Shelley, our New Secretary

Shelley Clarke is our branch secretary as well as one of our valued shooters. Shelley grew up on a farm, in a bush community outside of Canberra. When she and her husband Dave Clarke, joined WIRES in August 2019 they were both experienced shooters.

Shelley, who had always done volunteer work saw WIRES as a natural fit, since she loved wildlife and could see that our branch was in desperate need of shooters. Too many animals suffered long delays waiting for the police to be available.

However the process for becoming a WIRES endorsed shooter is long and arduous. Dave was already a licensed shooter when the summer bushfires started. Realising another humane shooter was going to be crucial, Shelley managed to push through Dave’s accreditation as a WIRES shooter in record time so he was ready in late December to help put badly burned animals out of their misery.

Shelley’s accreditation took over 8 months from being endorsed by the branch. She thinks that requiring wildlife humane shooters to meet professional shooter standards is not only intimidating but unnecessary as professional shooters are required to be able to use high velocity rifles and shoot distances over 80m.

Shelley works full-time with a government emergency services agency, having retired as an ambulance officer, and Dave works full time as a fire fighter. They have been together 30 years and have much experience with community groups so they make a strong team. They learned how to build up a supportive and cohesive group when they were part of a mountain bike group in Broken Hill and Shelley hopes that as part of the new WIRES MSC executive she can do the same for us. She is also passionate about mentoring new members and she is available to advise and help them, especially with rescues.

Bird Apps

Rachel used youtube to find and play the magpie call. However there are a number of apps for your smart phone or tablet that can be used as well. For example:

• Pizzey and Knight Birds of Australia digital edition, Apple $49.99 and Google Play $30.99
• Morcombe & Stewart Guide to Birds of Australia, Apple $29.99 and Google Play US$18.99
• Australian Birds and Sounds, Apple, free and Google Play, free

Why Wombat Poo is Cube-Shaped

A study published in the scientific journal Soft Matter has found that the wombat’s cube shape poo is formed in the intestine rather than as it exits the wombat. The intestine muscles have two stiffer regions and two more flexible regions and together with rhythmical contractions, sharp cornered cubes are created.

These droppings have the advantage of not rolling away and it is thought that wombats, which have an excellent sense of smell, might communicate with each other by leaving piles of poo. The researchers were based at Taronga Zoo.

Ref: Natasha May, Box seat: scientists solve the mystery of why wombats have cube-shaped poo, The Guardian, 29 January 2021.

Tree Hollows for Wildlife

Many native species, including birds, gliders, microbes, possums, pythons and frogs, depend on natural tree hollows. However these hollows take over a hundred years to form and cannot be replaced by freshly planted trees.

Unfortunately such tree hollows are becoming scarce as older trees are increasingly cleared and cut down.

Even if a tree is dead, its hollows can provide valuable habitat for a number of species. “Hollows in fallen trees are equally important for species such as the echidna, quoll, bandicoot and many lizards and reptiles".

Ref: Tree Hollows for Wildlife, WIRES, accessed 2 Feb 2021; High Density Living: Birds using tree hollows, Land for Wildlife, accessed 2 Feb 2021.

Numbats Returned to the Wild

Numbats, which were once found around the country, had been presumed to be extinct. There are now two known populations, totalling around 800, in Western Australia. Numbats feed on termites during the day.

In an effort to boost numbers of the threatened species, eleven were released last December into the Mallee Cliffs National Park in far south-western NSW. Other species to be released at Mallee Cliffs include the red-tailed phasgocale, the bridled nailtail wallaby, the burrowing bettong and the Mitchell's hopping mouse. Fifty bilbies were released there in 2019.

Ref: Peter Hannam, Once thought extinct in NSW for a century, the diminutive numbat returns to the wild, Sydney Morning Herald, 2 December 2020.

Nina, the Black Swan

Nina, the black swan cygnet (left), mistaken by a local for a duckling, was delivered to Zora on 19th November. She searched for Nina's parents for several days without luck.

As Nina was very stressed without other swans around, Clare Hamer’s husband, Reece, transported her to Katrina Saxton in Sydney (WIRES South). Katrina already had 5 swans in care and had been Zora’s swan-raising mentor for 4 years. She sends regular photos to Zora to show Nina’s development. Below is Katrina’s photo of Nina in January, two months later.