Wildlife more at home in custom nestboxes

Hundreds of nesting boxes are helping Eurobodalla’s wildlife recover from the bushfires thanks to generous donations from up and down Australia’s east coast.

Since February Eurobodalla Council has worked with local landholders to install about 400 of the boxes, some of them providing shelter to wildlife within a week of installation.

Council’s natural resource officer Courtney Fink-Downes said there had been humbling offers of help from far and wide – including from her own hometown in Victoria’s Macedon Ranges.

Between bushfires and COVID, she and her two boys flew to Victoria to see family and brought home nesting boxes on the plane instead of usual luggage.

“Council has had the support of a WIRES grant, and we’ve also been helping local community groups construct nesting boxes,” she said.

“The Narooma Men’s Shed has been absolutely tenacious with their efforts to provide large numbers of perfectly-constructed nesting boxes.

“Our local Landcare volunteers spent countless hours painting the boxes, which will protect them from the weather for decades to come.”

While natural hollows are by far the best nesting option for native wildlife, Courtney said that due to the severity of the fires, they’ve needed a helping hand.

“The boxes are designed to certain specifications to meet the needs of various animals from small gliders to a range of bird species,” Courtney said.

“There are still nesting boxes available for rural landholders who have either unburnt bushland near burnt areas, or have burnt bush where wildlife are starting to return.”

If you think you have the right property to provide new homes for wildlife, please contact Council’s Courtney Fink-Downes at Courtney.fink@esc.nsw.gov.au or 0427 401 036, or for more information about nesting boxes visit nestboxtales.com

Above: Eurobodalla Landcare volunteers paint nestboxes to protect them from the weather.

Above:James Riccard has helped install 21 nestboxes adjacent to bushfire-affected property at Mogendoura.

Above: A brushtailed possum tries to access a small nestbox entrance. Photo: Susan Rhind.