What's happening at Mulligans Flat? ELSIE PERCIVAL, WOODLANDS AND WETLANDS TRUST Bush Stone-curlews strolling the suburbs If you live near Mulligans Flat you may be familiar with the melancholic night-call of the Bush Stonecurlew. Recently there has also been sightings of their unmistakable silhouettes striding swiftly down Gungahlin streets. The vulnerable birds, absent from Canberra for 40 years, have now returned to grace our backyards once again. Although venturing beyond the safety net of the fox-proof fence, they are clever animals. Our curlews appear to be roosting in the sanctuary during the day, and venturing out at night to gobble up clusters of insects attracted to suburban street lights. Photo by Julie Clark
If you are a local – please drive slowly in the streets surrounding the Sanctuary, and be sure to keep your cat contained at all times.
Photo by Anthony Li Chang
Exciting developments The President of the Woodlands and Wetlands Trust, Alison Russell-French, welcomed the ACT Government's funding announcement for our forthcoming visitors centre at the Sanctuary. At the moment we have architects engaged, and will have concepts ready to present to the community in the coming months. Funding will also go towards eradicating rabbits from the extended sanctuary – a vital step in tripling our protected environment, now that the fence is complete. It will still be a few years of hard work removing ferals before we can reintroduce bettongs, quolls, curlews and other special wildlife.