'Come Back to the Bush' by Thomas A Spencer.
OUR ANIMALS: COMMON, RARE AND EXTINCT
Animals common to the Borough
Short-Beaked Echidna, Common Bent-wing Bat and Ringtail Possum live in Point Lonsdale. Swamp Wallabies are also found within Buckley Park Foreshore Reserve.
The Short-beaked Echidna ('mon-ngark' in Wada Wurrung language) is the only species of echidna in Australia. It grows approximately 40-55 cm long and you can recognise it by its sharp spines, short legs and long snout. It eats ants and termites and is found in a variety of habitats, for example, it lives in the scrub at Point Lonsdale back beach. The echidna lays eggs and raises its young in its pouch.
See more at: http://australianmuseum.net.au/Short-beaked-Echidna#sthash.XXt6LDFS.dpuf
The Common Bentwing Bat prefers moist environments where it roosts in very large numbers in caves, old mines, stormwater tunnels and occasionally buildings. Forages in forests and woodlands and grassland. It is not very big: 5.2-5.8cms and eats moths and other flying insects. These bats can live up to 18 years old. The caves around Point Lonsdale, like Buckley's Cave, are ideal environments for the bats to live.
See more at: http://australianmuseum.net.au/Common-Bentwing-Bat/#sthash.z0SVe1iJ.dpuf
The common ring-tail possum ('walart' in Wada Wurrung language) lives throughout the Borough's trees. It seldom comes down from the trees and feeds on the leaves, flowers and fruits found in our native and introduced trees. Its body grows to around 30-35 cm and its tail is usually as long as its body again making its full length between 60-70cms. It sleeps in trees during the day and is active at night time (nocturnal). The unusual things about ring tail possums is that the male and female share in the care of the young. It is the only possum in the world to do this.
See more at: http://australianmuseum.net.au/Common-Ringtail-Possum/
The Eastern Pobblebonk or Banjo Frog grows to approximately 7cm in length. It lives in a variety of habitats and has been recorded at Buckley's Foreshore Reserve. It gets its name from its call, which is a 'plonk' or 'bonk' sound. Once one frog starts calling, other male frogs will normally start calling too. These calls can be heard in the Borough throughout the year.
See more at: http://australianmuseum.net.au/Eastern-Pobblebonk-Frog/#sthash.qrjy1RcI.dpuf
Short-Beaked Echidna, Common Bent-wing Bat and Ringtail Possum live in Point Lonsdale. Swamp Wallabies are also found within Buckley Park Foreshore Reserve.
The Short-beaked Echidna ('mon-ngark' in Wada Wurrung language) is the only species of echidna in Australia. It grows approximately 40-55 cm long and you can recognise it by its sharp spines, short legs and long snout. It eats ants and termites and is found in a variety of habitats, for example, it lives in the scrub at Point Lonsdale back beach. The echidna lays eggs and raises its young in its pouch.
See more at: http://australianmuseum.net.au/Short-beaked-Echidna#sthash.XXt6LDFS.dpuf
The Common Bentwing Bat prefers moist environments where it roosts in very large numbers in caves, old mines, stormwater tunnels and occasionally buildings. Forages in forests and woodlands and grassland. It is not very big: 5.2-5.8cms and eats moths and other flying insects. These bats can live up to 18 years old. The caves around Point Lonsdale, like Buckley's Cave, are ideal environments for the bats to live.
See more at: http://australianmuseum.net.au/Common-Bentwing-Bat/#sthash.z0SVe1iJ.dpuf
The common ring-tail possum ('walart' in Wada Wurrung language) lives throughout the Borough's trees. It seldom comes down from the trees and feeds on the leaves, flowers and fruits found in our native and introduced trees. Its body grows to around 30-35 cm and its tail is usually as long as its body again making its full length between 60-70cms. It sleeps in trees during the day and is active at night time (nocturnal). The unusual things about ring tail possums is that the male and female share in the care of the young. It is the only possum in the world to do this.
See more at: http://australianmuseum.net.au/Common-Ringtail-Possum/
The Eastern Pobblebonk or Banjo Frog grows to approximately 7cm in length. It lives in a variety of habitats and has been recorded at Buckley's Foreshore Reserve. It gets its name from its call, which is a 'plonk' or 'bonk' sound. Once one frog starts calling, other male frogs will normally start calling too. These calls can be heard in the Borough throughout the year.
See more at: http://australianmuseum.net.au/Eastern-Pobblebonk-Frog/#sthash.qrjy1RcI.dpuf
Wading Birds common to the Borough
The Borough is home to a variety of migratory wading birds. These are found on the tidal flats of Swan Bay and its surrounds. Many are migratory spending winter in the Borough and flying to Asia during the summer.
The Red-necked Stint mostly forages on bare wet mud on intertidal mudflats or sandflats, or in very shallow water; mostly in areas with a film of surface water and mostly close to edge of water. During high tides they sometimes forage in non-tidal wetlands. The Red-necked Stint usually lays four eggs (sometimes three), and both parents take turns sitting on the nest for around 20–22 days. The female parent leaves soon after hatching but the male remains and usually tends the chicks for 16–17 days until they fledge. The stint does not breed in Australia but instead breeds during the summer in Asia.
For more information: http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/publicspecies.pl?taxon_id=860#names
The Sharp-tailed Sandpiper is a small-medium wader. It spends the non-breeding season in Australia, flying to northern Siberia to have its babies. It prefers muddy edges of shallow fresh or brackish wetlands, with inundated or emergent sedges, grass, saltmarsh or other low vegetation. They forage at the edge of the water of wetlands or intertidal mudflats, either on bare wet mud or sand, or in shallow water. They also forage among inundated vegetation of saltmarsh, grass or sedges. After a rain, the sharp-tailed sandpiper may also forage in paddocks of short grass, well away from water.It eats molluscs, insects, worms and seeds. It sleeps on the edge of wetlands and on rocky/sandy beaches.
For more information: http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/publicspecies.pl?taxon_id=874
The Common Greenshank is a heavily built, wader growing to approximately 30–35 cm in length. Its wingspan is 55–65 cm and both male and female birds can weigh up to 190 g. The common greenshank's bill is long and slightly upturned and its legs are long and yellowish-green. It is widespread in coastal areas, including the Borough. It does not breed in Australia but instead travels to Eurasia to have its young. The Common Greenshank is found in a wide variety of inland wetlands and sheltered coastal habitats of varying salinity. It likes the tidal flats of Swan Bay. It eats molluscs, crustaceans, insects, and occasionally fish and frogs.
For more information: http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/publicspecies.pl?taxon_id=832
The Borough is home to a variety of migratory wading birds. These are found on the tidal flats of Swan Bay and its surrounds. Many are migratory spending winter in the Borough and flying to Asia during the summer.
The Red-necked Stint mostly forages on bare wet mud on intertidal mudflats or sandflats, or in very shallow water; mostly in areas with a film of surface water and mostly close to edge of water. During high tides they sometimes forage in non-tidal wetlands. The Red-necked Stint usually lays four eggs (sometimes three), and both parents take turns sitting on the nest for around 20–22 days. The female parent leaves soon after hatching but the male remains and usually tends the chicks for 16–17 days until they fledge. The stint does not breed in Australia but instead breeds during the summer in Asia.
For more information: http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/publicspecies.pl?taxon_id=860#names
The Sharp-tailed Sandpiper is a small-medium wader. It spends the non-breeding season in Australia, flying to northern Siberia to have its babies. It prefers muddy edges of shallow fresh or brackish wetlands, with inundated or emergent sedges, grass, saltmarsh or other low vegetation. They forage at the edge of the water of wetlands or intertidal mudflats, either on bare wet mud or sand, or in shallow water. They also forage among inundated vegetation of saltmarsh, grass or sedges. After a rain, the sharp-tailed sandpiper may also forage in paddocks of short grass, well away from water.It eats molluscs, insects, worms and seeds. It sleeps on the edge of wetlands and on rocky/sandy beaches.
For more information: http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/publicspecies.pl?taxon_id=874
The Common Greenshank is a heavily built, wader growing to approximately 30–35 cm in length. Its wingspan is 55–65 cm and both male and female birds can weigh up to 190 g. The common greenshank's bill is long and slightly upturned and its legs are long and yellowish-green. It is widespread in coastal areas, including the Borough. It does not breed in Australia but instead travels to Eurasia to have its young. The Common Greenshank is found in a wide variety of inland wetlands and sheltered coastal habitats of varying salinity. It likes the tidal flats of Swan Bay. It eats molluscs, crustaceans, insects, and occasionally fish and frogs.
For more information: http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/publicspecies.pl?taxon_id=832
Small birds common to the Borough
The Southern Boobook (mopoke) is the smallest and most common owl in Australia. It is identified by its plumage, which is dark chocolate-brown above and rufous-brown below, heavily streaked and spotted with white. It is primarily nocturnal but may also feed in the late afternoon/early mornings.
It eats insects, small mammals and other small animal species. It nests in tree hollows and normally has 2-3 babies per year. In the Borough, the owls can be found in the habitat surrounding Point Lonsdale back beach.
See more at: http://australianmuseum.net.au/southern-boobook-owl#sthash.kvGoN5mw.dpuf
Spotted Pardalote is one of Australia’s smallest birds. It builds its nest in a long horizontal tunnel dug into the soil of creek banks, the embankments of railway cuttings, quarries or similar suitable sites, and sometimes they even excavate tunnels in rabbit burrows, or potted plants in gardens. The nest itself is spherical, made from strips of bark, and built in a chamber at the end of the tunnel. Pardalotes are usually seen foraging in the crowns of eucalypt trees eating insects. These birds like the Borough's environs and Queenscliff even has a street named after this bird.
The Southern Boobook (mopoke) is the smallest and most common owl in Australia. It is identified by its plumage, which is dark chocolate-brown above and rufous-brown below, heavily streaked and spotted with white. It is primarily nocturnal but may also feed in the late afternoon/early mornings.
It eats insects, small mammals and other small animal species. It nests in tree hollows and normally has 2-3 babies per year. In the Borough, the owls can be found in the habitat surrounding Point Lonsdale back beach.
See more at: http://australianmuseum.net.au/southern-boobook-owl#sthash.kvGoN5mw.dpuf
Spotted Pardalote is one of Australia’s smallest birds. It builds its nest in a long horizontal tunnel dug into the soil of creek banks, the embankments of railway cuttings, quarries or similar suitable sites, and sometimes they even excavate tunnels in rabbit burrows, or potted plants in gardens. The nest itself is spherical, made from strips of bark, and built in a chamber at the end of the tunnel. Pardalotes are usually seen foraging in the crowns of eucalypt trees eating insects. These birds like the Borough's environs and Queenscliff even has a street named after this bird.
Endangered: Hooded Plover
The adult Hooded Plover is about 20 cm high, sandy-brown above with a white underside. It lives on sandy beaches and makes its nest in the sand just above high tide level. Normally they lay two to three sand-coloured eggs which they will sit on for around 30 days. The nesting season extends from August to February. The Hooded Plover eats insects, amphipod crustaceans (sandhoppers), polychaete worms and small bivalve molluscs. It will feed during the day and night. The hooded plover numbers are declining because of changes to their habitat, people disturbing their breeding grounds and introduced threats (primarily dogs). The Borough has put sign posts in key breeding ground areas to advise people of the risk they and their pets pose to the plovers. Key sites for the hooded plovers in the Borough are the Point Lonsdale back beach, the area extending beyond Emily's pond and Queenscliff beaches.
The adult Hooded Plover is about 20 cm high, sandy-brown above with a white underside. It lives on sandy beaches and makes its nest in the sand just above high tide level. Normally they lay two to three sand-coloured eggs which they will sit on for around 30 days. The nesting season extends from August to February. The Hooded Plover eats insects, amphipod crustaceans (sandhoppers), polychaete worms and small bivalve molluscs. It will feed during the day and night. The hooded plover numbers are declining because of changes to their habitat, people disturbing their breeding grounds and introduced threats (primarily dogs). The Borough has put sign posts in key breeding ground areas to advise people of the risk they and their pets pose to the plovers. Key sites for the hooded plovers in the Borough are the Point Lonsdale back beach, the area extending beyond Emily's pond and Queenscliff beaches.
Endangered: Orange-bellied Parrot
The Orange-bellied Parrot (OBP) is listed as Endangered under the EPBC Act and the Victorian FFG Act. The OPB utilises habitat in the Borough every winter. The OBP likes to roost in the Borough's scrub. It uses the saltmarshes fringing Swan Bay as a winter refuge and feeding ground.
The OBPs travel (migrate) between the Australian mainland and Tasmania. They spend summer breeding in Tasmania before returning to the Borough for winter. OPBs nest in hollows of gum trees near button grass plains in south-west Tasmania. The OBP is one of Australia's most threatened species, with less than 50 parrots thought to exist in the wild today.
In 2006, the Australian Government, together with other state governments and organisations like BirdLife Australia, committed $3.2 million to protect the OPB.
For more information: http://birdlife.org.au/projects/orange-bellied-parrot-recovery
The Orange-bellied Parrot (OBP) is listed as Endangered under the EPBC Act and the Victorian FFG Act. The OPB utilises habitat in the Borough every winter. The OBP likes to roost in the Borough's scrub. It uses the saltmarshes fringing Swan Bay as a winter refuge and feeding ground.
The OBPs travel (migrate) between the Australian mainland and Tasmania. They spend summer breeding in Tasmania before returning to the Borough for winter. OPBs nest in hollows of gum trees near button grass plains in south-west Tasmania. The OBP is one of Australia's most threatened species, with less than 50 parrots thought to exist in the wild today.
In 2006, the Australian Government, together with other state governments and organisations like BirdLife Australia, committed $3.2 million to protect the OPB.
For more information: http://birdlife.org.au/projects/orange-bellied-parrot-recovery
What animals no longer exist in our Borough?
The Common Wombat, Eastern Quoll, Eastern Barred Bandicoot and Dingo once existed on the Bellarine Peninsula and Breamlea area, but were considered to be extinct by the beginning of the 1900’s. Other species considered to have once lived in the area but were locally extinct by the 1970’s were the Southern Brown Bandicoot and the Brush-Tailed Phascogale.
The Common Wombat ('ngoorr-ngoorr' in Wada Wurrung Language) is also known as the bare-nosed wombat because odf the lack of hair on its nose. Despite it becoming extinct in some areas, such as the Borough, the common wombat is unprotected in Victoria. It likes to live in woodlands, hilly areas and in shrub land. It prefers to make its burrow on sloping ground so its burrow does not fill with water when it rains. Bare-nosed wombats are considered solitary except during the breeding season, but there have been reports that they visit each other's burrows on occasion The Bare-nosed wombat's fur is coarse and thick, bristle-like, with little or no underfur. To the touch, it feels like horse hair. It can weigh up to 60 kgs.
For more information, please see: http://www.wombania.com/wombats/common-wombat.htm
The Eastern Quoll was a small cat-sized marsupial who hunted of a night time (nocturnal). It fed mainly on insects, plants and fruit. At the time of European settlement Quolls were widespread across Victoria in woodlands, grasslands and open forests, and in some places where prey was abundant, their numbers were quite large. At the beginning of the 20th century, however, the populations across the state went into sharp decline from which they never recovered. The last records for any individuals of Eastern Quolls in Victoria was in the 1950s while the last animals seen in mainland Australia were in the 1960s near Sydney. The Eastern Quoll is classified as extinct in Victoria. Tasmania is the only state with a known population of these quolls.
For more information, please see: http://www.viridans.com/RAREAN/extinct.htm or http://www.ausecosystems.org.au/AEFI_projectsquoll.html
The Eastern Barred Bandicoot is a small animal with a long head and pink nose. It has large, ears which stick out and its fur is soft and greyish brown. Across its lower back fur are pale stripes that give the bandicoot its name. Eastern barred bandicoots spend their day resting in nests. These are usually no more than a shallow depression in the ground with a dome of grass pulled over the top. Only one adult bandicoot occupies a nest, although young may share the nest with their mother for a week after they first leave the pouch (the bandicoots are marsupial). After dusk, they emerge and immediately begin foraging for food. Bandicoots prefer to be alone and only mix with others when breeding. They eat grubs, earthworms, berries and fungi. Victoria's eastern barred bandicoots are a threatened species. This means they are close to extinction.
For more information, please see: http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/indeX.aspX?base=4830 or http://www.cv.vic.gov.au/stories/melbourne-zoo-and-you-150-years/13247/fighting-extinction-eastern-barred-bandicoot/
The Common Wombat, Eastern Quoll, Eastern Barred Bandicoot and Dingo once existed on the Bellarine Peninsula and Breamlea area, but were considered to be extinct by the beginning of the 1900’s. Other species considered to have once lived in the area but were locally extinct by the 1970’s were the Southern Brown Bandicoot and the Brush-Tailed Phascogale.
The Common Wombat ('ngoorr-ngoorr' in Wada Wurrung Language) is also known as the bare-nosed wombat because odf the lack of hair on its nose. Despite it becoming extinct in some areas, such as the Borough, the common wombat is unprotected in Victoria. It likes to live in woodlands, hilly areas and in shrub land. It prefers to make its burrow on sloping ground so its burrow does not fill with water when it rains. Bare-nosed wombats are considered solitary except during the breeding season, but there have been reports that they visit each other's burrows on occasion The Bare-nosed wombat's fur is coarse and thick, bristle-like, with little or no underfur. To the touch, it feels like horse hair. It can weigh up to 60 kgs.
For more information, please see: http://www.wombania.com/wombats/common-wombat.htm
The Eastern Quoll was a small cat-sized marsupial who hunted of a night time (nocturnal). It fed mainly on insects, plants and fruit. At the time of European settlement Quolls were widespread across Victoria in woodlands, grasslands and open forests, and in some places where prey was abundant, their numbers were quite large. At the beginning of the 20th century, however, the populations across the state went into sharp decline from which they never recovered. The last records for any individuals of Eastern Quolls in Victoria was in the 1950s while the last animals seen in mainland Australia were in the 1960s near Sydney. The Eastern Quoll is classified as extinct in Victoria. Tasmania is the only state with a known population of these quolls.
For more information, please see: http://www.viridans.com/RAREAN/extinct.htm or http://www.ausecosystems.org.au/AEFI_projectsquoll.html
The Eastern Barred Bandicoot is a small animal with a long head and pink nose. It has large, ears which stick out and its fur is soft and greyish brown. Across its lower back fur are pale stripes that give the bandicoot its name. Eastern barred bandicoots spend their day resting in nests. These are usually no more than a shallow depression in the ground with a dome of grass pulled over the top. Only one adult bandicoot occupies a nest, although young may share the nest with their mother for a week after they first leave the pouch (the bandicoots are marsupial). After dusk, they emerge and immediately begin foraging for food. Bandicoots prefer to be alone and only mix with others when breeding. They eat grubs, earthworms, berries and fungi. Victoria's eastern barred bandicoots are a threatened species. This means they are close to extinction.
For more information, please see: http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/indeX.aspX?base=4830 or http://www.cv.vic.gov.au/stories/melbourne-zoo-and-you-150-years/13247/fighting-extinction-eastern-barred-bandicoot/