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Wildlife booms in Westernport Water eco-survey

Revegetating Westernport Water’s sites with native plants is starting to reap rewards – with bird and animal sightings more than doubling in some areas.

By Susan Webster - 29th January 2009 - Back to News

A plant census has shown a similar leap in biodiversity.

And a recent photo survey of water corporation sites also captured the first sighting of a rare possum.

The water corporation has funded the work of local Landcare volunteers for several years and Westernport Water staff have also undertaken large-scale revegetation and weed removal.

"Now we’re seeing the results of that work," said Managing Director Murray Jackson. "It’s a credit to the volunteers and to our staff."

Of the 86 birds species sighted at Candowie reservoir, 47 were not listed in the previous biodiversity register and "should be noted as improvements to the biodiversity", according to the report authors.

Mammal numbers at the reservoir have also boomed; four of the nine mammals are first-time sightings, including the bobuck – or mountain brushtail possum – captured for the first time on infrared still cameras.

"This is an exciting find," the report noted.

The swamp skink, listed as a vulnerable species, was a first-time visitor among the reptiles, likewise the pobblebonk frog among amphibians.

The King Rd treatment plant, which had also undergone considerable replanting, saw 16 first-time sightings among its 45-strong bird list.

Animal populations at the Cowes wastewater treatment plant were more stable, although bird-watchers were excited by the inaugural visit of a wedge-tailed eagle.

The Stanley Rd tank at Grantville is home to three endangered birds, the barking and powerful owls and the white-bellied sea eagle, as well as a couple of threatened species, the superb parrot and hooded robin.

The plant list for Candowie had more than doubled since the last census. Of the 72 species found, 37 of them had not existed there previously. At Cowes, 17 of 37 were new arrivals and, at Grantville, 12 out of 36 were newcomers.

Mr Jackson said: "Unlike some other water corporations, our catchment is open. It is not surrounded by a vast buffer zone but by actively farmed land. This has always posed a challenge for us in terms of water quality. It also affects our wider natural resource management, such as weed control."

The report noted the need to tackle weeds across all the land assets held by the water corporation, particularly riverside willows blackberries and thistles.

But it also recorded the wins in the weed battle. Revegetated stretches along the Glen Alvie Rd, for example, show an increase in bird life and a lack of weeds due to the density of the new growth.

The biodiversity report – the second funded by Westernport Water – was compiled by the Bass Coast Landcare Network and included use of a ‘stumpcam’, a solar-powered infrared motion-triggered camera camouflaged in a tree stump, as well as night-time spotlight surveys.

People who assisted in compiling the report included Bessie Tyers of Westernport Bird Observers along with Jan Fallaw, Mike Cleeland, Peter and Ian Hynes, Hamish Hollamby and Moragh Mackay as well as Landcare’s Matthew Stephenson and Joel Geoghegan.

The report authors especially praised Westernport Water’s farm manager Tony Ferres whom they described as "a hard-working and environmentally sound farm manager."

They added: "If Westernport Water can continue the commitment displayed currently to managing their land, then the significance of these properties will improve."

Mr Jackson said: "These biodiversity registers, taken at regular intervals, help us benchmark our environmental performance. You can’t manage what you haven’t measured. And we have every commitment to manage our natural assets as well as we can."

Source: http://gippsland.com/

Published by: susanw@ptarmigan.com.au

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