Protecting our wildlife

As many of you know, my last place of 165 acres was a gazetted Wildlife Refuge and protected on my deeds (from all but mining!) under a Voluntary Conservation Agreement with the Office of Environment and Heritage. 

My new place is only 5 acres so not eligible for these. However, I was also a member of the Wildlife Land Trust (WLT), and I have now rejoined with this property. The main criterion is that the property be ‘wildlife friendly’ — and that mine sure is.

Once more the Trust’s Evan Quartermain sent me a great sign for the gate, to publicly declare my attitude — and maybe encourage others to join this network of private landowners who care about wildlife and habitat conservation.

Operating under the auspices of the Human Society International, the WLT now has 285 member properties in Australia. It’s free to join, they have a great newsletter and website and can offer advice and help and access to conservation grant applications (as I received at my Mountain for weed control).  

I must say my free listing on their property for sale website page created more enquiries about my Mountain than any other source.

Please take a look at their website or contact Evan on 1800 333 737 or email him.

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I have mentioned that I am seeing many new birds here. I prefer to see them alive.

This beautiful Green-winged Pigeon is the second bird to die by flying into one of the large glazed sliding doors. Obviously this can’t continue, if my WLT claim of ‘wildlife friendly’ means anything.

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I have resorted to a method I learnt from my friends Mike and Sue: feathers stuck in corks and hung outside the windows, to swing and imitate birds, hopefully to warn and divert any avian missiles who can’t see the glass – which they can’t. I know this works, and have passed it on to many. Sometimes I have used side feathers as well on the corks.

My webmaster Fred found this collection of solutions, some of which may suit your situation better.

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I do have another sign, but on my gatepost. Just in case any CSG or other extraction company thinks that not having an actual lock on my gate might mean it’s not locked to them.

Their sort of activity would certainly not be habitat or wildlife friendly.

In fact, almost every gate along this road bears this sign; a tribute to the great local awareness-raising work of Manning Clean Water Action Group (MCWAG), and more generally to Lock the Gate. I am a proud member of both.

2 thoughts on “Protecting our wildlife”

  1. Hi Jenny & Ted,
    Glad you got the rain– or I should say that I wish you got it instead of me.
    Only casualty since the corks went up was on a different door; it was a little finch and fortunately only stunned. It flew off after about half an hour of recovery. I now have corks on that door too.
    All the best to you both in 2015 too.
    Cheers
    Sharyn

  2. Hi Sharyn,
    Catching up with your news and beautiful/sad photos ( do hope there are no more casualties).
    After wonderful rain here we can now enjoy green pastures and fat cattle, and an abundance of wildlife! Unfortunately spring was so hot and dry our wildflowers did not bloom – just a few stragglers in the bush if we look closely.
    Warm wishes,
    Jenny & Ted
    All the best for 2015.

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