During December and January a number of intense storms have delivered rainfall across the far west of New South Wales and surrounds. Big rainfall totals of 50-100+ mm have been recorded around the district, but unfortunately not at Wild Deserts. Some more modest and highly localised falls have delivered up to 20-30 mm in some parts of the Wild Training Zone, while other areas have had no rain whatsoever. This patchy rainfall is a feature of desert ecosystems and many wildlife species are well equipped to respond, by ranging over large areas to seek out the best conditions.

 

With plenty of ground cover from the substantial rainfall in 2020-2022, we wait in hope for some further falls.

Biannual track counts inside the Thipa and Mingku Exclosures show continued high activity of bilbies in both exclosures, increasing golden bandicoot activity in the Thipa Exclosure and exceptionally high crest-tailed mulgara activity in the Mingku Exclosure.

Mulgara tracks were dominated by those of small individuals, with late Spring the time when young become independent and begin moving more widely from their den sites.


Image: Golden bandicoot and dusky hopping mouse tracks dotting one of the 1 m wide, 1 km long track transects in the Thipa Exclosure in early December 2023.

Wild Deserts staff, students and management committee members were well represented a at the 3rd International Conservation Translocations Conference in Freemantle in November. Katherine Moseby, Reece Pedler, Rebecca West, Dympna Cullen and Brianna Coulter all presented on work undertaken at Wild Deserts.

Wild Deserts staff chaired the UNSW sponsored Australian Practitioners Workshop following the conference, which was attended by around 80 delegates. This event was very valuable in increasing knowledge sharing and networking on specific issues related to monitoring methods, predator thresholds and first nations engagement and reintroductions.

Honours student Josh Magro investigated woma python (Aspidites ramsayi) interaction with the Wild Deserts conservation fencing during 2023. Since he finalised his thesis in November, work has continued in radiotracking tagged snakes and also testing prototype fence portals designed to allow woma entry through fences, but to exclude rabbits. 

Significant electric fence upgrades to the Thipa exclosure have been recently undertaken as a response to cat incursions during 2022 and 2023.

Work by project staff and the Rotary Club of Frankston involved assembling 7,000 insulators and installing around a quarter of them. Figure 8 contracting completed the remainder, ran wires and commissioned the energiser in November.

It is hoped that this extra investment will further reduce the incidence of cat incursions, although the team are realistic that no fence is 100% cat proof and continued surveillance and removal of cat incursions will be an ongoing task.

The Felixer cat grooming trap trial continued, with the addition of three new Artificial Intelligence units.

Additionally, a pest contractor was engaged to successfully control cat numbers in the Wild Training Zone in preparation for the potential release of bilbies and western quolls to this area in 2024. Further intensive cat control work is planned throughout 2024.