UGLN Nest Box Project (Part 2)

An important part of our nest box project is the monitoring, maintenance and record keeping of all nest boxes we've installed.

Emerald College students inspecting boxes at Marysville

Of the 475 nest boxes we've installed as part of this fire recovery project we annually monitor 373 often with the assistance of Scouts, TAFE and school students.
The other 102 boxes are monitored by the landowners who occasionally send me reports.

Yea HS students inspecting nest boxes at the Yea Wetlands

Recently we have been finding different native birds using the boxes including Eastern and Crimson Rosella's and the White-throated Treecreeper.

Eastern Rosella at Kinglake West

White-throated Treecreeper at Kinglake West

To check the nest boxes we use a nest box inspection camera which saves us lugging a ladder around the bush and is less intrusive to the animals inside the box.

Ringtail Possum at Yea Wetlands

Brush-tailed Possum at Yea Wetlands

Approximately 2/3rds of all our boxes have been used by wildlife including the following species:
Ringtail Possum, Brush-tailed Phascogale, Sugar Glider, Agile Antechinus, Brush-tailed Possum, Crimson Rosella, Eastern Rosella, White-throated Treecreeper and Owlet Nightjar.

Sugar Gliders at Strath Creek

The monitoring is also a good chance to remove any unwanted residents and carry out any maintenance that may be needed to the boxes. Over the last few years we have had 2 active bee hives which I have asked a local bee keeper to remove and so far only 2 nests of the introduced Indian Myna, which were removed and the contents provided a good meal for the local Kookaburra and Magpies.

UGLN Nest Box Project

As usual November and December has been a busy time for our nest box project installing nest boxes with the Scouts and high school students.

Yea HS students at Limestone

With the help of teacher Ken Aitken and the Yea High School Junior Landcare Group we installed 24 boxes that the students built on properties in Limestone, Kinglake and Strath Creek.

Yea HS students at Strath Creek

With the Kinglake Scouts Junior Landcare Group we put up sugar glider nest boxes that the Scouts built on a property in Castella.

Kinglake Scouts at Castella

Emerald College students at Marysville

We've also had help from Emerald College who built many Feather-tail Glider boxes which we installed with the students along the Taggerty River in Marysville.
And a couple of the local primary schools have also been involved. Flowerdale PS students had an afternoon painting nesting boxes built by the Alexandra Cub-Scouts and we installed 6 nesting boxes at Buxton PS with great help from the kids.

So with another almost 50 boxes installed over the last couple of months this takes our total to 475 nest boxes built and installed by volunteers on properties throughout the Upper Goulburn region since 2010.
Stay tuned for the next post which will feature some of the exciting findings discovered recently as part of the monitoring component of this project.

Alexandra Cubs Nest Box Project

We recently had night with the Alexandra Cub-Scouts building nest boxes for small native mammals including Sugar Gliders, Brush-tailed Phascogales and Agile Antechinus.

Alexandra Cubs with Cub leader Jude.

The Cubs did a great job and built 12 nest boxes which we will install on trees in the nearby McKenzie Reserve in Spring.

Alexandra Cubs showing good carpentry skills.

The boxes will provide much needed nesting sites for our small arboreal mammals.
This important activity also helps the Cubs to earn their Landcare award.

Alexandra Cubs with Kinglake Venturer Sam

Thank you to Cub leaders Jude and Beck for their assistance and also the Kinglake and Alexandra Venturers who helped the Cubs with their carpentry skills.

Greater Glider recovery project

Thanks to funding provided by Landcare Australia the Upper Goulburn Landcare Network has been able to provide alternative nesting sites for the Greater Gliders living along the Number Two and Number One Creeks at Kinglake.

Kinglake Rover Sam helping to install the nest boxes.



The Greater Glider Petauroides volans

Twelve specially built nest boxes were purchased from Latrobe Wildlife Sanctuary and installed in the creek reserves amongst the tall Mountain Ash forest.

Greater Glider habitat along the Number Two Creek.

These areas were burnt in the 2009 fires, and while they are regenerating very well many of the large old habitat trees containing hollows that the Greater Gliders used were destroyed.
During spotlighting as part of a fauna survey along the Number Two Creek in November 2011 members of the Kinglake Landcare Group were lucky to observe a Greater Glider gliding from tree to tree. Since then more have also been observed at the nearby Kinglake East Flora Reserve.

Kinglake Rover Karly with two of the nest boxes.

The project has been well assisted by Rover Scouts from the Kinglake Scouts Junior Landcare Group who helped with the installation of the boxes.

Chris Cobern

More help from the Scouts

The Kinglake Scouts recently helped us to build and paint another 14 nest-boxes. These boxes were designed for Brush-tailed Phascogales and Sugar Gliders and will be installed on properties throughout the Kinglake Ranges and King Parrot Creek Valley.

Kinglake Scouts building nest-boxes.

Team work - an important part of Scouting.

The great work by the Scouts also helped them to achieve their Landcare award.

Painting the nest-boxes.

More Agile Antechinus in our nest boxes

Agile Antechinus

These nest boxes were the first lot we installed as part of our fire recovery nest box program. They are on the King Parrot Creek in Kinglake West and were installed by the Kinglake Scouts in December 2009. They contain a family of at least four Agile Antechinus.

Of the eight boxes we recently checked here four had Agile Antechinus present or their nest and two had Sugar Glider nests.

Agile Antechinus

Grouse house for marsupial mouse

This nestbox may seem a rather large for these little fellows, but its a safe haven, at least. This and several other nestboxes were installed in July 2011 at Happy Valley in Flowerdale, as part of our UGLN nest box project. These boxes are actually designed for Sugar Gliders (Petaurus breviceps) and were built by volunteers from Rotary, South Australia.

Agile Antechinus (Antechinus agilis) are carnivorous marsupials related to quolls, devils and thylacines. You’d know it too, if you were ever to hold one in your bare hands, as they have a mouth full of sharp teeth used to catch and eat invertebrates. Their bite hurts, but rarely draws blood!

These two are last years babies. Either they’re just visiting, or they haven’t yet begun making a nest in this box. At this age, they’ve only recently been weaned and this could be two animals looking for a new home. Sexes are similar so its not possible to tell the sex of these two. In a recent study here in the Strathbogies, dispersing Antechinus travelled between 400m and 1750m (straight-line distance) from their mother’s home range!!, so these fellas might be strangers in town and very grateful to find an empty hollow.
By Bertram Lobert.

A HOME AMONG THE GUM TREES

When I saw the bare blackened trees that were left standing after Black Saturday, I wondered what had happened to the possums, birds and other small mammals that had once lived there.

Of the many who lost their homes on Black Saturday, our smallest and neediest.
have required more help than others in finding and rebuilding a new home. The destruction of so many trees in the 2009 fires meant the loss of sanctuary to many of our native wild life. Those animals who miraculously survived the flames soon found themselves in greater danger from predators because of the loss of their homes in the trees.


A dedicated group of people from Upper Goulburn Landcare Network have set about providing new homes for some of our furry and feathered friends. They have embarked on a project to set up nesting boxes by attaching them to the blackened trees, providing new homes for these animals. The boxes, made from timber, have different sized entry holes through which the creatures can access the warmth and safety they provide. Larger marsupials, like ringtail or brushtail possums, need a larger access hole than the smaller feathertail or sugar gliders.

The Landcare network has received help from many varied groups of volunteers, including Kinglake Scouts, students from Yea High School and Christ Church Grammar, Shepparton Mens’ Shed and ANZ volunteers. These people have donated their time and skills to make and locate the nesting boxes where needed. The boxes are attached to the trunks of trees, at varying heights near branches so that the animals can get to them easily.

We have several boxes at our place and the other day I received a big surprise when I went to check to see if it was being used. I slowly lifted the lid so that I wouldn’t frighten any new inhabitant. As I looked in, I saw two sleepy, golden eyes peering up at me inquisitively. Nestled in some dried grass at the bottom of the box was a ringtail possum who seemed puzzled by the intrusion. His little round face seemed to be asking: Who’s interrupting my sleep? Don’t you know what time it is? When he was satisfied that I presented no danger, he rustled around a little in his bed and curled up again to dream his possum dreams.

It’s heart-warming to see the return of our native wildlife, and to know that they have a safe place to live once again.

Kathy Stewart
http://open.abc.net.au/posts/tags/kathy%20stewart

Bunnings support UGLN nest box program

On Saturday 5th November we held a nest box building day at Bunnings in Shepparton.

Volunteers from the local community, Shepparton Mens Shed and Uniting Care built 68 nest boxes for Sugar Gliders, King Parrots and Owlet Nightjars.

Bunnings kindly donated $4,000 worth of timber, hardware and paint as well as providing a marquee, cold drinks and staff to assist Karen and myself on the day.


The nest boxes will be installed on properties throughout the fire affected areas of Murrindindi Shire.

Phone Chris on 0413 855 490 for more information or if you'd like some nest boxes for your property.

Local kids build homes for wildlife

Students from Yea High School and the Kinglake Scouts have been building nest boxes for wildlife which we have been installing on properties in Flowerdale, Junction Hill and Kinglake.

Due to the loss of many hollow bearing trees in the area as a result of the fires, we are providing artificial homes for the animals that generally nest in hollows in the trees. Suitable hollows can take many decades to form.

Recent inspections of boxes that we installed last year have discovered that they are being used by Ringtail Possums, Brush-tailed Phascogales and Sugar Gliders.

This is the second year that the students and Scouts have been involved with our fire recovery nest box project. Installing the boxes involves more than just nailing them to a tree. The kids record on a data sheet the height of the box, tree type, nest box and entrance aspect using a compass and they also GPS the location so we can find them later to inspect.

Christ Church Grammar School

On Friday 15th July students from Christ Church Grammar School in South Yarra returned to Kinglake to volunteer again with the UGLN fire recovery program.
This time the students takled a variety of diferent tasks.

They started the day installing nest boxes at a local landcare members property.

After lunch at the local bakery they got stuck into some tree planting at a bushland reserve in Pheasant Creek and then finished off the day cut & painting small holly bushes that are invading another section of the reserve.

Teacher Gay Wales and the kids did a great job and we appreciate them taking time out of their school holidays to help us.

Another Chilly Day at Heathcote Junction with the ANZ

May 3rd 2011
18 ANZ volunteers at Tevor & Jane Youngs place in Heathcote Junction .
Clearing regrowth from fencelines along the gully in preparation for the fencing crews.
Very cold day with wet and muddy condition under foot , hard work cutting , painting and heaping blackwood wattle regrowth.
Chris took volunteers to check the nesting boxes that have been installed around the property.
Thanks guys for persisting at this tiring job for the entire day.

ANZ Landcare Fire Recovery Week

Another very succesful week of volunteer work carried out with volunteers from the ANZ bank.
Throughout the week 96 volunteers assisted us with fencing, weed control, nest boxes and tree planting at fire affected properties at Kilmore East, Pheasant Creek, Strath Creek, Heathcote Junction and Narbethong. The team did a great job despite at times having to battle steep slopes and thick scrub with leeches and prickles.

Strath Creek Nest Boxes

While checking nest boxes provided by the UGLN fire recovery program David and Laurie Wakefield from the Strath Creek Landcare Group were delighted to find a Brush-tailed Phascogale curled up in one of the boxes. Phascogales would have been hit hard by the Black Saturday fires, due to loss of tree hollows, ground cover and food sources. The Wakefield's and others in the district, have also found Sugar Gliders and an antechinus in nest boxes installed after the fires.