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Monitor Wildlife in Your Garden

Where and What is the Wildlife in Your Backyard?

... Want to discover what uses your backyard?
... Want to see the big picture or the bird’s eye view?
... Be part of Pittwater Council’s Wildlife Watch and Fauna Monitoring volunteers!

Three ways you can become involved are:

Doing Wildlife Watch Observations
Installing Hair Tubes in your backyard
Monitoring of sandplots in the bushland reserve adjoining your property to record fauna activity

Wildlife Watch Observations

Keeping a record of the wildlife activity in your area can give an accurate picture of the needs of the local fauna, and the changes over time due to negative or positive impacts. This information is extremely helpful in managing bushland and wildlife corridors to help conserve our native wildlife.

Wildlife watch observations involve recording observations of animals, bird and animal calls, and signs of disturbance (scratch marks, diggings, mulch disturbance etc) in your backyard or in the local area. All records, once verified, will be sent to the National Parks and Wildlife Service.

Observation Sheets should be returned to:

The Coastal Environment Centre
PO Box 882
MONA VALE NSW 1660

Or fax to 9970 1398

Hair Tubes

These are small tubular traps that catch hair from the animal coming to the feed placed inside the trap. The tubes collect hair on double-sided tape, which is then analysed to identify the animal.Tubes are installed in your yard, on the ground in a protective area away from domestic animals.

Hairtubes can loaned to residents for a period up to 2 weeks from Natural Resouces Unit at Council.
If interested please contact the Bushcare Officer on 9970 1363.

Directions
1) Put *bait in lid (unscrew compartment place bait inside and re-screw tightly.
2) Remove one-side of double-sided sticky-tape and stick onto upper side of opening(s). Remove the second cover from tape when trap is ready to be placed.
3) Place traps in areas likely to be visited by fauna (these are ground traps. Tree traps are available upon request). Ensure the tube entrance is flush with the ground. Keep dogs and cats inside at night to ensure a good record of ground dwelling wildlife.
4) Check for hairs within the week. Leave longer if no hairs (replenish bait if necessary). If hairs present remove double sided tape and stick onto paper or cardboard and cover with grease-proof paper.
5) Return trap and hairy tape (in envelopes) to Natural Resouces at Council.
6) Council will send hair samples for analysis and let you know what type of animals were recorded in your hair tubes.

*Bait = peanut butter rolled oats and honey (or golden syrup) mixed together rolled in ball (~2cm diameter) and placed in lid.

Sandplot Monitoring

This method is often employed when ascertaining if feral animals are impacting on an area, in particular fox activity. But it also can be a good record of the native fauna in an area.

1. An area of about 0.5m square is cleared of ground litter and sand is laid and flattened on the site.
2. Free feed is buried or left close to the site
3. Site is monitored each morning and record of the type’s footprints are identified and recorded.
4. If fox prints are recorded over a week period with no other fauna accessing the bait station, a fox control program can be instigated. However, in Plateau Park, the size of the reserve and proximity to urban dwellings would not allow for fox control in this situation.

For further information regarding either sandplot monitoring, Wildlife Watch Observation sheets or the loan of hairtubes, please contact the Bushcare Officer on 9970 1363.