8th September 2023 |

Words by Oldina Landcare Group

Oldina Landcare Group recently acquired a trail camera with the support of Waratah-Wynyard Council’s Community Activation Grants program to assist the Groups’ Feral Cat tracking and management project on the properties of members and other interested farm owners.

The camera has been operated at several locations on a property that received a grant for fencing a dam and a downstream area as part of Round 4 of the 2022 Landcare Action Grants. The goal of this grant application was to remove cattle from the immediate vicinity of the waterway and, in time, promote habitat regeneration.

The camera was operated in the fenced-off area between 15/08/2023 and 28/08/2023 and successfully captured a diverse range inhabitants and transitory fauna, including: Wallabies, with the occasional joey (most days), Brush tailed possums, Bandicoots, Bush Hens and a Pacific Black Duck. A Feral Cat, a Hare and a Blackbird were also observed.

Despite the short time since the fencing was completed and the camera’s brief period of operation the results have shown the benefits of keeping stock out of regeneration areas and the usefulness of trail camera in documenting the fauna present.