KOALA BEACH
WILDLIFE & HABITAT
NEWSLETTER
OCTOBER 2012
Contacts
TSC Rangers
02 6670 2400 (a.h. 1800 818 326)
TSC KBWHMC contacts
Mark Kingston Tanya Fountain (02) 6670 2593 02 6670 2787 Pamela Gray
02 6670 2778
Tweed Valley Wildlife Carers
24 hour wildlife hotline 02 6672 4789
Friends of the Koala
24 hour wildlife hotline 02 6622 1233
Koala Beach website
http://www.tweed.nsw.gov.au/
KoalaBeach
5th December 4:00pm at the Koala Beach Sportsfield ALL WELCOME.
Volunteer rehabilitators operate a 24 hour rescue service for sick, injured and orphaned koalas.
Koalas are cared for in home care or at the Koala Care Centre at Lismore. Critically ill koalas are transferred to the Australian Wildlife Hospital.
All rehabilitated koalas are returned by Friends of the Koala to the location they were found.
This is vitally important as koalas have a complex social structure with koalas living within a network of overlapping home ranges.
Returning a rehabilitated koala to a different area, even though it may provide the right feed trees for the koala, can be detrimental to the animal.
For more information go to www.friendsofthekoala.org
THE BUSH-STONE CURLEWS ARE
NESTING!
Koala Beach Wildlife & Habitat Newsletter October 2012
Friends of the Koala is a non-profit community group run by volunteers dedicated to conserving koalas in the Northern Rivers region.
Cover photo courtesy of Steve Holland.
Thank-you National Tree Day volunteers!
The Bush-stone
Curlews are nesting!
What can you do?
• Do not disturb nests and please keep your distance from nesting birds and parents with young chicks. Binoculars are great to view nesting activity from afar without disturbing birds.
• Please report any birds to Council Officers Tanya Fountain (02 6670 2787) or Pamela Gray (02 6670 2778).
• Report any disturbances of nest sites to the Council Officers listed above or to Council Rangers.
• Watch for Curlews on the road, particularly between dusk and dawn.
• Report any sightings of foxes or wild dogs to the Council Officers listed above.
Koala Beach Wildlife & Habitat Newsletter October 2012
The Bush-stone Curlews are nesting!
The Bush-stone Curlew is a threatened ground-nesting bird that inhabits the open forests and woodland edges of Koala Beach.
The Bush-stone Curlew is unlikely to be confused with any other bird at Koala Beach. It has long gangly legs, large yellow eyes, and grey and white streaked body.
One of the most well-known features of the Bush- stone Curlew is its call. You can hear them calling from dusk, well into the night, with their drawn out and eerie ‘wer-looo’ call.
When disturbed they will crouch down and freeze rather than fly away, a defence against predators. This works well for predators that hunt using motion like eagles, but not for predators that use scent to hunt like dingoes, foxes and monitors.
Bush-stone Curlews are now extinct in many locations and only occur sparsely on the Tweed Coast.
The Bush Stone-curlews at Koala Beach and on the Tweed Coast are currently nesting. Bush-stone Curlews nest in bushland with a sparse cover of trees, a low, sparse grassy understorey with lots of fallen branches, and litter of leaves, sticks and tree bark.
They need your help to ensure their chicks survive. There have been no records of Bush Stone-curlew chicks surviving through to adulthood at Koala Beach for many years.
Bush-Stone-curlews nest on the ground in a small scraped area or small bare patch. If you see a Bush- stone Curlew crouching on the ground for an extended period at this time of year it is most likely sitting on eggs.
Threats to Bush-stone Curlews at Koala Beach
• Fox predation of eggs and chicks.
• Disturbance of nesting birds by humans.
• Vehicle strike of adult birds and chicks. At Koala Beach street lights are non-insect attracting so birds are not drawn to the road to feed.
How to identify a sick, injured or orphaned koala and what to do
A number of residents have recently reported koala sightings at Koala Beach, including in the planted koala feed trees along street edges. This article will help you identify a healthy koala, but also a koala which may be sick, injured or orphaned and may need care.
A healthy koala:
• Has a thick, grey coat with white markings;
• Responds when startled;
• Spends most of its time high in trees;
• Has bright alert eyes;
• Has a rounded, full belly;
• Moves and climbs well;
• Has no discharge from eyes, nose, mouth, ears or cloaca; and
• Will bite and scratch if handled by a human.
A sick, injured of orphaned koala may:
• Have red swollen, pussy or crusty eyes;
• Have fur loss around the eyes, face or body;
• Have a brown stained rump;
• Have dry brown or matted fur;
• May be touched without responding;
• Be low to the ground or on the ground, apart from when moving between trees;
• Have an abnormal or uneven gait;
• Have poor body condition;
• Remain in the same tree, without moving for more than a few days;
• Be disorientated or walking in circles;
• Have discharge from mouth, ears, eyes or cloaca;
• A koala smaller than a soccer ball when curled up may be an orphan and needs to be assessed by an experienced koala rehabilitator;
• Pouch or back young koala orphans where the mother has been killed by a dog or car need to be placed with an experienced koala rehabilitator immediately.
If you see a koala that appears to be sick, injured or orphaned contact Friends of the Koala on (02) 6622 1233.
Bush-stone Curlew with chick.
Photo by Peter Wilk.
When disturbed they will crouch down and freeze
rather than
fly away.
Watch out for Bush-stone Curlew. Photo by TBO Member.Bush-stone Curlew nesting.
Photo by Tanya Fountain.
