Beware before burning off

 It’s time to don my beanie on these crisp mornings! The bushland is so busy. It’s as though everyone is foraging and feeding as much as they can to get through the impeding winter. It’s very dry for this time of year and the landscape could do with a decent drink. The moonlit nights have seen us busy with kangaroos, possums and tawny frogmouths hit on roads.We have also attended a few more entanglement cases. A grey-headed flying fox caught in barbed wire at Hunters Rural and Hardware in Shepparton and a poor little corella who was well and truly bound tight to a branch, high up in a tree overhanging the creek in Cohuna. Both critters were lucky to survive their injuries and are recovering at Bohollow. It’s the time of year that many people are burning off. Not just stubble paddocks but many people burn those piles of branches, etc that they’ve been waiting for the cooler weather to provide a safe burning time. If you are doing any work or cleaning up around the place, please be vigilant for any wildlife who may have taken up residence in a pile intended for burning. The cooler weather means that reptiles in particular are seeking refuge spots to stay safe and protected from the cold and predators while they ride out the periods of which they are in winter torpor. Microbats, lizards, snakes, antechinus and other critters can all use these burn piles to set up home in and each year many critters are burnt when they are set alight. The safest way to burn a pile which has been sitting there for awhile is to pull it apart bit by bit and burn in a new pile off to the side. This way, you ensure critters have more possibility of being found or moving on themselves before their home is suddenly an inferno. I had a call yesterday for a wombat who had decided to build its den underneath a large burn pile. The advice we gave was that mentioned above. Break the pile up and burn to the side. This gives the wombat the choice to decide to move on and dig another den elsewhere if the disturbance is too much..... or it may even stay, but the end result is that the wombat won’t risk getting burnt or injured in the process. We cannot move a healthy wombat to another area as that could also be a death sentence due to wombats being territorial. There are always ways we can do things with less or minimal impact on our wildlife and surrounding environment. If you have some areas in your garden where you can place some logs or landscape rocks, these are great habitat additions for your garden to give reptiles, frogs, insects and other critters a safe place to over winter. Think about the plants in your garden. It’s a great idea to plant indigenous species such as acacia (wattle) which flower in the colder months and provide much needed energy for species such as our gliders and possums. Plants like these are a bonus for us also as a bit of winter colour cheers us all. One last thing, keep an eye out for our slithering friends. This time of years snakes are no exception to our other reptiles and are now choosing their winter abodes. These can be a hole in the ground, under timber or under a dwelling slab or building. During the cold weather our snakes, like all of our reptiles, will still venture out to soak up some sun and even feed on a warmer day right in the middle of winter. As they are much colder and slower due to the temperature drop, they tend to not roam far from their chosen place of shelter. They may be a lot more slower to move out of your way. If you spot a snake in your yard or around your home at this time of year, it means its winter home is in the very close vicinity. If you wish for it to be removed, please call us and we can get a snake catcher out there. Let’s all cross our fingers for rain while we enjoy this fresh autumn weather.

And finally

Thank you to all of the wonderful people who attended the GM Landcare and GV Tree Group event in Tatura. It was a pleasure to speak with so many enthusiast people who have genuine interest in our wildlife and native plants. It was a great day for all involved.