BIODIVERSITY SURVEYS IN PILLAR VALLEY

Two weeks of fauna surveys undertaken recently as part of the federally funded Upper Coldstream Project at Pillar Valley, has again confirmed the high concentrations of native species that occur there.

Already more than 900 native plants, including 43 rare or threatened species, have been found, and this latest survey has brought the total number of threatened fauna recorded by the project team to 27.

As Project partners with the Nature Conservation Council, Clarence Environment Centre volunteers have been assisting highly experienced ecologists undertaking the survey, which involved the use of a variety of traps for safely capturing the animals which turned up some exciting finds.

Along with the more common Antechinus, Bush Rats, and Melomys species, were the rare New Holland Mouse, and possibly a Pale Field Rat. The latter, whose range has diminished greatly over the past century would be a significant find, should hair samples confirm its identification.

Night time call play-back and spotlighting identified Powerful Owls, Yellow-bellied and Squirrel Gliders, Brush-tailed Phascogale and Rufous Bettongs, all listed as threatened.

Also a number of microbat species were caught and identified before release, including threatened Little Bentwing, and the Eastern Long-eared Bats.

Call play-back and spotlighting begins soon after 8pm and often continues until midnight. Then, to ensure the well-being of any captured animals, all traps are checked in the early morning, before the sun heats up, so the ecologists and some of the volunteers camped on-site rather than lose another hour's sleep driving home.

It was a great learning experience for the volunteers and landowners who chose to be involved. For example, play-back of recorded calls of nocturnal species over a loud-speaker, do not always achieve the expected response. At one site, playing Yellow-bellied Glider calls failed to get any response, but playing a Powerful Owl call minutes later resulted in multiple glider calls as the animals reacted with warning calls to the perceived danger. Then a few minutes later, an ecologist spotted a Powerful Owl silently flying in to check out what it believed was an unwelcome interloper.

Another survey is planned for next year.

- John Edwards


 NOTE: The Coldstream River flows into the Clarence River between Ulmarra and Maclean.  Pillar Valley is a rural area to the east of Grafton.

LAND FOR WILDLIFE PROJECTS IN CLARENCE VALLEY HELPING EMUS AND KOALAS

 In 2013 the Clarence Environment Centre (CEC), local provider of the national Land for Wildlife program, initiated what has become known as the Emu Gully re-vegetation project. In partnership with a private landowner near Pillar Valley, the previously cleared, mown gully has now been landscaped and planted by volunteers, creating a corridor containing specific feed species for our embattled Coastal Emus as well as other wildlife.

Nine months later shrubs and young trees, helped by recent rains, are well over head height, and  significantly the landowners have recently reported seeing an emu with 5 chicks. Amid speculation that Emu numbers have fallen to well below the previous estimate of 100 birds, this is great news indeed.

However the CEC is not getting too excited about the chicks at this stage. As Emus lay upwards of 15 eggs there should be an expectation of at least 10 chicks surviving, but wild dogs, cats, foxes and feral pigs are having a negative impact on their survival, and ultimately on the survival of the Coastal Emu.

A further positive note is that, with land-use changes in the Pillar Valley in the past 30 years, Koalas might potentially be reintroduced, or naturally disperse back to the area. In 2012 the CEC identified fresh Koala scats and scratches throughout the Sandy Crossing travelling stock route, near Wants Lane, and botanic surveys have since revealed considerable tracts of suitable habitat over many  properties in the area.

Now, with some help by the National Parks & Wildlife Foundation under the Private Land Conservation Grants program, CEC's Land for Wildlife assessor, Peter Turland, has embarked on two other local projects. One, dubbed Koala Gully, again undertaken largely by the landowners, is focused on re-establishing a forested corridor with koalas' preferred feed trees, particularly Forest Red Gum, Grey Gum and Tallowwoods.

The third project, probably the most ambitious, is aimed at restoring a 2 hectare site with Subtropical Coastal Floodplain Forest, along river flats adjoining Chaffin Creek that were previously cleared for agriculture.

Well done Land for Wildlife, and well done Pete.

- Patricia Edwards 

This post was originally published in the VOICES FOR THE EARTH column in The Daily Examiner on Monday 22    September, 2014.