3. THE FIG TREE RESERVE PART 2
We visited Fig Tree reserve in February, the last month of summer to determine if it could be grazed.
There has been a build-up of long grasses, both native and introduced (Coolatai) so we wanted to “crash graze” the area, to reduce the fire risk.
When we crash graze we place a large number of animals in the Reserve for a short period of time.
However, Eucalyptus saplings and young Hickory Wattle are still only a 0.5metres to 1 metre high, not tall enough to be safe from grazing animals. So, we decided to postpone the grazing until the trees are bigger, risking a fire for the sake of re-growth.
We discovered this little grotto where wallaroos have been sleeping.
The other marsupial present on the Fig Tree Reserve is the swamp wallaby.
This small, stocky wallaby is usually solitary.
It has dark brown fur, often with lighter rusty patches on the belly, chest, and base of the ears.
Like many marsupials, female Swamp Wallabies can suckle two joeys of different ages. The pouch life of each joey is eight to nine months, although they may continue to suckle until 15 months of age
Swamp wallaby
There was plenty of evidence of Echidnas digging out the ant’s nests throughout the reserve.
The Echidna is the totem animal of the Anaiwan people, so they have a strong presence in our woodland.
The resident tribe does not eat their totemic animal, so this species has an opportunity to build up numbers in one area, whilst being hunted in another.
There are also large numbers of ants in this woodland, so the Echidna has an important role to keep the natural balance.
The spines are actually long, tough, hollow hair follicles. These spines are an echidna’s main line of defence when predators strike. When under threat, they will roll up into a ball of radiating spines to protect themselves or dig themselves to safety.
As well as being covered in spines, Echidnas are also covered in shorter fur to keep them warm.
From mid-May to early September, male Echidnas actively seek out females to mate. They form a line known as an ‘Echidna train’, with the female leading the ‘train’, followed by up to ten males.
A smaller, younger male is often at the rear of the line. The male suitors follow the female for long distances until the female is ready to mate.
Baby Echidnas are called ‘puggles’. They stay within the den their mother creates for up to a year before going it alone.
We also caught sight of this beautiful lizard, so well disguised we almost missed him until he moved and gave away his position on the old hollow tree. (Photo credit Save Our Woodlands supporter Maggie King.)
Save Our Woodlands is dedicated to ensuring all these species and more have suitable habitats for their continued survival.
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There is a wedge tailed eagle’s eerie on the mountain, not quite in the Reserve but a bit higher up.
We saw a pair of “wedgies” souring high above the mountain.
Young Wedge-tailed Eagles are mid brown in colour with reddish-brown heads and wings. They become progressively blacker for at least the first ten years of their lives; adults are mostly dark blackish-brown.
Their diet reflects the available prey, but the most important live items are rabbits and hares.
Other food items include lizards, birds, and mammals. Wedge-tailed Eagles will kill lambs, but these make up only a small percentage of their total prey. Wedge-tailed Eagles may hunt singly, in pairs or in larger groups. Working together, a group of eagles can attack and kill animals as large as adult kangaroos.
Established breeding pairs are territorial and live in one area throughout the year, defending around their nest sites from other Wedge-tailed Eagles. (They are also known on occasion to attack intruding model airplanes, hang gliders, gliders, fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters.)
Surrounding the territories are large home ranges in which the birds hunt for food but do not defend. There is usually an overlap between the home ranges of two or more breeding pairs and of non-breeding birds.
The nest is a large structure of dead sticks, usually reused for years, often reaching considerable size. Both parents share in the duties of nest building, incubation and feeding of the young.
To finish off the day among the many wild bird present we noted wattle birds in the Orange Gums and a pair of king parrots feeding their almost fully grown fledglings.
Wattle bird
King parrot and baby
People tend to think that woodlands are “just bush,” consequently, over 85% of the native woodlands in New South Wales, Australia have been replaced by agriculture.
Australia has the worst mammal extinction rate of any country in the world.
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