Fox captured removing egg!

BBG committee ecologist Andy McCreery visited the block in March to prepare for non-native predator control measures that will be implemented this year. As part of feral cat monitoring cameras were placed in areas where cats were commonly recorded and along landscape features they are likely to frequent, such as open corridors (tracks, granite outcrops, and creeklines). The aim is to detect immediate changes in feral cat activity before and after baiting, with monitoring occurring 6 weeks pre and post baiting.

Unfortunately, analysis of 2025 motion camera data provided the first evidence that foxes are excavating threatened Malleefowl eggs from active mounds. We have been monitoring fox behaviour and frequency on mounds since 2022, and are hoping to see it decline with non-native predator control efforts beginning this year.

Andy also deployed Audiomoths to record bird song during the dawn chorus in the rehabilitation and adjacent shrubland. These, along with avifauna census data and bird banding, will help identify which bird species are currently using the rehab and track the recruitment of birds as vegetation matures.