August 14th 2008

Winter is well and truly here at Forthside.  From the top of the hill we can see snow on the mountains, and early in the morning, we look down on thick frosts in the Don Valley below the house.        

Even though we have had lots of wind and rain, some flowers such as the wattle, epacris and leucopogens are flowering and giving some welcome colour to the bush.

Winter is supposed to be a quiet time for animals, but we are still receiving about two calls a day.  Amongst the injuries there has been a kookaburra caught on a barbed wire fence and a boobook owl hit by a car.  Some unfurred pademelon joeys are slowly trickling in, but it won't be long before that turns to a flood.  We are also getting regular calls about nesting plovers (masked lapwings), who cause havoc with their screeching and swooping tactics which is their way of protecting territory, nests and chicks.

This year we will continue the 2007 campaign to target local Primary Schools and ask children not to hurt the birds.  Every year we get a small number of shocking stories of chicks being squashed or hit by various blunt instruments such as cricket bats or sticks.  Parent birds also receive a battering and come in with broken legs and wings from being hit as they swoop past.

We encourage children to see that the birds' behaviours are heroic attempts to defend their families and that they should admire the courage shown by these birds in taking on a 'predator' many times their size.   Most plovers are lucky to get one chick to maturity as many are eaten by kookaburras, cats, dogs and raptors such as Marsh Harriers, which synchronise their return from the north with the plover hatching. Chicks also fall down storm water grates, get hit by cars or simply get separated from panicky parents and die from exposure. 

Last year we were called out by a concerned resident to rescue a plover family in Ulverstone.  The mother was desperately trying to protect a dying chick in the stormwater gutter.  The father bird was just running about screaming his head off and another chick was crying out on the inside of the fence trying to keep contact with its parents, obviously stressing out and getting cold.  The residents had stopped traffic in the quiet suburban road in order to prevent the birds being hit, so there was great commotion and high drama.  Once the dying chick was removed, the mother took off after the second baby, and father calmed down and came back to join his family.  Cars moved off, residents returned to their homes and all was calm again.  The sick chick died shortly afterwards, cradled in Alastair's hand.

CVGT Green Corps:  The team held their project launch in July and many friends and family members came along to learn more about what they would be doing for the next six months.  The poor weather hasn't had much impact on the team, who have been busy constructing various enclosures, getting us ready for the spring rush.  They have completed a possum pen, and are finishing off the new masked owl aviary and a devil pen.  Work will soon begin on the demonstration garden for the our Backyard Goes Wild project which has been funded by Latrobe Council through their Community Assistance Fund. 

Rescue Centre:  The work on the rescue centre has also been moving along and thanks to new volunteer member, Tony, we now have two windows to lighten up our lives!  Another window will shortly be installed, and thanks to funding from the Tasmania Community Fund, we hope to connect electricity, sewerage and water very shortly.  Watch this space!!!

Devonport City Council has funded our latest flyer 'Helping Native Wildlife' through their Community Assistance Fund, and we would like to thank Richmond Concepts and Print, for their genourous support with both this project and the Backyard Goes Wild.

Coming Events:

The Green Corps Team will be hosting a Public Open Day on Thursday September 4th to mark Threatened Species Day (September 7th).  The Centre will be open from 10am to 3pm and will give the Green Corps team experience in public speaking, leading small tour groups etc.  We hope that people will drop in and have a coffee and a chat. 

For more details on the event or other topics related to wildlife rescue, please drop us an email