Land for Wildlife Western Australia

... and sometimes, a short flurry of intense effort and extra resources!

FrogSong Farm would like to invite you to a community planting day on Thursday 9th July and/or Saturday 11th July 2020. (See post below for more details.)

Well done and thanks to (Land for Wildlife member) Frogsong Farm on winning this grant and working to improve the habitat value of bushland on your property for Western ringtail possums and many other species - fauna, flora and fungi.

This is the stuff landscape rehabilitation is made of - slow and careful observation and adjustment, progressively adding to the diversity of habitat types...

No I did Not know echidnas could swim - wow!
I'm used to seeing these charismatic creatures on dry laterite country here. I knew they also occurred in other habitat types, but seeing this and imagining the beak poking out like a snorkel has brightened my day 🙂
Thanks for sharing Cassowary Coast Wildlife Sanctuary

Did you know Echidna's can swim?

Not only can they swim but they enjoy swimming!

5 Fast facts -
1. Echidna's lay a small leathery egg
2. Echidna's spines are actually a form of hair
3. Echidna's can live 40+ years
4. Echidna's don't have teeth
5. Echidna babies are called puggles

Have you seen one of these magnificent monotreme's? 🦔 if so post below 👇

📷 unknown

Some fantastic photos and information here about nocturnal native birds, from the well-known boobook to the less-often seen masked owl - definitely worth a look!
It includes information about how to identify them and also how to protect them.

OWLS IN THE SPOTLIGHT Amy Beaton and Boyd Wykes Photo J Ghirardi Amy Beaton and Boyd Wykes. Photo J Ghirardi DENIZENS OF THE NIGHT Venture out after dark with a headlamp along Margaret River’s extensive forest paths and you may encounter not only abundant possums

This article gives great information about the common and widespread golden orb weaver spider - what a beauty, and maker of very strong webs!

The spider that weaves gold | Western Australian Museum

An interesting piece about grass trees which mentions their huge value as shelter and food to small animals.
(Links in the article go through to more detailed information.)

Grass trees aren't a grass (and they're not trees) Grass trees are wonderfully odd. They fit no neat definition, and can live up to 600 years.

Hope everyone is doing well out there!
This video (5 1/2 mins) is a terrific story by Rangelands NRM about Gnaraloo Station and its range of important wildlife habitat, registered as Land for Wildlife in 2019. The station lies adjacent to the Ningaloo coast, and has a strong history of turtle conservation, feral animal control, sustainable grazing and tourism. Gnaraloo Wilderness Foundation

Gnaraloo Station - A Land for Wildlife Property Gnaraloo Station (through the support of the Gnaraloo Wilderness Foundation) was recently assessed and registered as a 'Land for Wildlife' (LFW) property by ...

There are many frog species native to WA - if you'd like to know more about the species that live near you, have a look at this link.

Frog calls are available to listen to here... http://museum.wa.gov.au/research/collections/terrestrial-zoology/herpetology-reptiles-and-frogs-collection/frog-calls

.. and people interested in creating a frog pond on their property will find useful information here https://thewetlandscentre.org.au/blog/all-about-a-backyard-frog-pond/.

Frog Regions | Western Australian Museum

As detailed below, mistletoe is great native habitat, until it is out of balance because browsers are absent. Mistletoe birds and others really benefit from its presence in bushland. If the total load seems high and you want to act, aim to reduce rather than completely remove it. (It will be easier to achieve anyway!)

Animals such as ring-tailed possums will eat the leaves of mistletoe, thereby ensuring that trees are not overburdened. Where arboreal mammals are absent or not abundant enough or trees have been left isolated and inaccessible in cleared paddocks, mistletoe can become a problem for trees that are compromised by other stresses (such as the compaction of soil by stock or being ploughed too close to the trunk). By re-vegetating around remnant trees to create wildlife corridors and erecting possum boxes the possum population can be increased and mistletoe abundance brought back to a tolerable level. In healthy bush the presence of mistletoe can boost the diversity of birds, mammals and invertebrates.
* More details in an article on the ABC website http://ab.co/1vfAB2o
* A CSIRO paper on mistletoe and species richness by in the Emu Austral Ornithology journal http://bit.ly/1vfy6Nu

Photo by David Cook, https://flic.kr/p/3UYTXm
Copyright: Creative Commons (some rights reserved)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/