NUMBAT SURVEY

A section of road running along the boundary fence.

On the 23rd December I did my last rounds looking for numbats before packing the car and headed out of Scotia. Seventeen numbats were released, in the end ten of these had collars. By the end all were tracked and I knew roughly where to find them. It had taken some time for them to find an area to settle in, and some time for me to locate where these areas were. It was a real exercise in problem solving and patience. Using the telemetry was rather like fishing: sometimes you were lucky, sometimes you were not but it was always peaceful and better than mowing the lawn. I was asked several times 'was I having fun yet?' Well I'm not sure that you would call it fun but it was very satisfying. 

Mulga parrots looking for water on top of the water tank.

Conditions here were hot and dusty, however you were here to do a job and this always seemed the focus. Staff here, and the other volunteers, were always very good. They were always friendly and helpful. In the heat my favourite food became 'Super Doopers', if you don't know what they are ....well they are ice-blocks and they were very cool when it was hot.

Splendid wren.

My vehicle stopped on the track.

The experience was amazing. I saw animals I had not seen in the wild before: bilby, mala, numbats, bridled wallabies and the wyolie. I took pictures of some of these, but alas not good ones of the bilby nor the numbat in the wild. I did get a fleeting shot of a bilby running down the road at night; and my shots of numbats were mostly when they were being released. I think the best part was that I now know more about these animals and just how endangered they are.

I did get opportunities now and again to take other photographs. The mulga parrot, southern boobook owl and the splendid wren were just a few special ones, and sand goannas and various honeyeaters were almost a daily photo opportunity. I managed a glimpse of a mallee fowl but a photograph of one of these shy and endangered birds will have to be another project.

It was an experience to live and work in a different part of the country, if only for a very short time.  The mallee and spinifex country I had driven through before but it is a different experience to be in the countryside and move about. AWC have other reserves in other places; I have already visited Bowra in south-west Queensland and I now look forward volunteering at other sanctuaries.

So concludes my fruitless search for the wild ferret In the future I may write more about volunteering experiences. If anyone wants to volunteer with Australian Wildlife Conservancy then they should visit their website:                     
                http://www.australianwildlife.org

If you'd like to read about volunteering in South Africa then go to:
                http://eatenbylions.blogspot.com.au

Or just about travel and unusual things then try:
                 http://arthurstace.blogspot.com.au