MJB
Well-known member
In November 2016, I visited a tiny but important nature reserve, Fernglade, which is on the Emu River on the southern edge of the coastal town of Burnie, northwest Tasmania. It has an active support group, Friends of Fernglade (http://friendsoffernglade.weebly.com/) who look after possibly the most reliable site for seeing duck-billed platypus, even in the middle of the day. Considering that despite many attempts in mainland Australia, including Eungella, I had never succeeded in that aim - indeed, I must hold some kind of record for turning up just too late or leaving just too soon - and so after about three hours on site in near-continuous rain without any sign, suddenly over a 20-minute period, I had 25 sightings of what appeared to be up to four animals. Perhaps there were two pairs, or two adults and two immatures, sometimes only one in sight, sometimes all dived at the same time. The Tasmanian populations are much larger animals than on the mainland, males being up to 60cm long.
The main drawback was that after torrential rain upstream over the previous 18 hours, the river was in spate, opaque with mud. Such events are problematical for platypus, because foraging for food is more difficult, food becomes scarcer until conditions ameliorate and fast-flowing water is energy-sapping and threatens to displace animals from their territories. Indeed, not only did the terrible floods in Tasmania throughout 2016 cause much mortality amongst platypus, an iconic species, they also wreaked high mortality among the IUCN endangered Tasmanian giant freshwater crayfish Astacopsis gouldi, the world's largest freshwater crustacean, now found reliably only in NW Tasmania below 400m asl (There is a translocated population in the Derwent River catchment).
The giant crayfish (also known as giant lobster) had no bag limits until the 1990s, but imposition of tight restrictions had little effect on plummeting populations. The crayfish is renowned for its dangerously spiny carapace that is difficult to remove for what is effectively a tiny amount of fairly tasteless meat, but is regarded as a sport trophy by those who regard such an achievement as far more important than conservation of an endangered species.
Recently the Fernglade reserve was covertly raided by poachers seeking to catch the giant crayfish in lobster pots. Now they may have caught some, but the bycatch was three drowned platypus.
I know this tale does not involve birds or bird conservation directly, but I can be pretty sure that those who acted with disregard for wildlife at Fernglade will not think twice at the casual destruction of birds, should it take their fancy.:C:C:C Doubtless you can think of similar events affecting bird conservation.
Should you intend to visit Tasmania, please if you can visit Fernglade and contact the Friends of Fernglade. Put fernglade tasmania into Google Maps and you can see the outline of this jewel of a reserve.
MJB
The main drawback was that after torrential rain upstream over the previous 18 hours, the river was in spate, opaque with mud. Such events are problematical for platypus, because foraging for food is more difficult, food becomes scarcer until conditions ameliorate and fast-flowing water is energy-sapping and threatens to displace animals from their territories. Indeed, not only did the terrible floods in Tasmania throughout 2016 cause much mortality amongst platypus, an iconic species, they also wreaked high mortality among the IUCN endangered Tasmanian giant freshwater crayfish Astacopsis gouldi, the world's largest freshwater crustacean, now found reliably only in NW Tasmania below 400m asl (There is a translocated population in the Derwent River catchment).
The giant crayfish (also known as giant lobster) had no bag limits until the 1990s, but imposition of tight restrictions had little effect on plummeting populations. The crayfish is renowned for its dangerously spiny carapace that is difficult to remove for what is effectively a tiny amount of fairly tasteless meat, but is regarded as a sport trophy by those who regard such an achievement as far more important than conservation of an endangered species.
Recently the Fernglade reserve was covertly raided by poachers seeking to catch the giant crayfish in lobster pots. Now they may have caught some, but the bycatch was three drowned platypus.
I know this tale does not involve birds or bird conservation directly, but I can be pretty sure that those who acted with disregard for wildlife at Fernglade will not think twice at the casual destruction of birds, should it take their fancy.:C:C:C Doubtless you can think of similar events affecting bird conservation.
Should you intend to visit Tasmania, please if you can visit Fernglade and contact the Friends of Fernglade. Put fernglade tasmania into Google Maps and you can see the outline of this jewel of a reserve.
MJB
