Threatened Species Day highlights five species across the Tweed
03 September 2019
Did you know there are Lyrebirds in the Tweed?
As part of Threatened Species Day on 7 September, Tweed Shire Council is putting five of its iconic native species in the spotlight.
The Tweed Coast koala population is one of three koala populations listed as endangered in NSW. To protect these threatened species, more than 25,000 koala food trees have been planted since 2015.
Council’s Senior Program Leader – Biodiversity, Scott Hetherington said despite the huge challenge of recovering the coastal koala population, by working with the community and volunteer groups, we are seeing improvements.
“Nearly 350 new sighting records have been contributed by the community from sites throughout the Tweed, since launching our online database in 2017,” said Mr Hetherington.
“Spring is when koalas are on the move and at risk from dogs, cars and can end up in strange locations. It’s also when mums have their joeys with them so it’s important to drive with care, especially in koala zones,” he said.
Call Friends of the Koala on 02 6622 1233 to report a sick or injured koala or report koala sightings at www.tweed.nsw.gov.au/koalas
Did you know there are Lyrebirds in the Tweed? Despite being recognised as vulnerable to extinction, very little is known about Albert’s Lyrebird in the Tweed region. Council has received funding through the NSW Saving our Species Program to increase lyrebird habitat, reduce threats to their survival through fox monitoring and control programs and increase our knowledge of the population through surveys and citizen science.
“There will be opportunities next winter to be a part of this important project as a citizen scientist. We will be looking for people to record where lyrebirds are occurring and to participate in surveys,” said Mr Hetherington.
Spring is in the air and our resident pair of Beach Stone-curlews at Hastings Point are getting ready to breed again.
Council’s Program Leader - Pest Animals Wildlife Protection, Pamela Gray said the chick from the last breeding season is almost fully grown and still ‘at home’ with mum and dad.
“We are now working with volunteers about how to keep this family of birds safe for the upcoming breeding season, from September to March. With the success of last year, hopefully they nest at Hastings Point again,” said Ms Gray.
Dogs are not permitted at the mouth of Cudgera Creek, Hastings Point which should help these birds survive. There are plenty of places to walk your dog, see www.tweed.nsw.gov.au/WalkMyDog
Council has been awarded a grant by the NSW Environmental Trust to work on a project to conserve Glossy Black-Cockatoo and Bush Stone-curlew populations. This project will focus conservation efforts on the Tweed Coast by managing known key threats including habitat loss and disturbance, and predation (seeking out eggs and nests) and disturbance by domestic pets and feral animals.
“Bush Stone-curlew chicks are hatching now and they can be on the roads. Be aware and slow down and please be respectful of them,” said Ms Gray.
Contact Tweed Valley Wildlife carers to report any injured birds and for more information, visit www.tweed.nsw.gov.au/CurlewCockatooConservation
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Caption: One of our local Pottsville koalas captured on the move between trees through our remote camera monitoring program.