‘Transit lines’ are for the birds
E
VER
wondered about
the nesting
boxes scattered
about in trees
near the road
to the Close
Training Area
at the back
of Lavarack
Barracks?
There
are more
than 200
of them,
and they
were originally
installed to provide temporary
housing for birds and animals
displaced by construction of
Hammett Road and the facilities
in the 3RAR precinct.
Defence environment officer
Allan McManus (pictured) said
about 70 trees suitable for nesting
animals had to be removed
during the construction.
“The trees we identified
either had hollows suitable for
nesting, or would soon have
hollows [because of branches
likely to break off ],” he said.
Following a three-for-one
guideline, established after
environmental research in Victoria,
more than 200 nesting boxes in a
variety of sizes and configurations
were made and located in trees
close to the construction site.
“We tried to cater for everything
from micro bats through to
lorikeets and cockatoos, right up
to possums and kookaburras who
needed the biggest nests,” he said.
While the boxes have not been
formally monitored, Allan
said he spotted a pale-headed
rosella in one of the boxes not
long after they were installed.
There are rub marks and other
evidence some of the other
boxes have also been used.
So now you know... the
boxes are a temporary lines
facility for transiting fauna!
SEPTEMBER 2016 | 33