Fabulous phascogales with Baringhup Landcare – 20 November 2022

Posted on 9 November, 2022 by Ivan

Our friends and volunteers at Baringhup Landcare Group are delivering a fascinating November 2022 excursion to check nest boxes at a property in Baringhup VIC. They hope to find the elusive Brush-tailed Phascogale in the next boxes, and increase awareness of this threatened species. Baringhup Landcare are a community group that aims to provide knowledge to help sustainably manage our land, resources and environment. They encourage active community participation in environmental improvement and protection. Please read on for more information from Baringhup Landcare Group.

Fabulous Phascogales event: survival in a modified landscape

If you live in or around Baringhup, you may have been lucky enough to encounter the elusive Brush-tailed Phascogale, or Tuan. This medium-sized marsupial has a large, black, bottlebrush tail and is listed as ‘threatened’ in Victoria.

For our November excursion, we will join Connecting Country’s Jess Lawton in checking nest boxes at a property in Baringhup. We will meet at the Baringhup Supper Room (Baringhup Hall, Cnr Alfred St and Willis St, Baringhup VIC) on Sunday 20 November 2022 at 9.30 am, where we’ll travel in convoy to a property nearby in the hope that we can find a Brush-tailed Phascogale at home!

Jess will explain the monitoring process and discuss how landscape attributes influence Phascogale occurrence. On return to the Supper Room we’ll hear from Jess on the biology and ecology of the Brush-tailed Phascogale, her research on the occurrence of this species in a modified environment, and how you can help this threatened species to persist.

Brush-tailed Phascogale (photo by Jess Lawton)

Please bring sunhat, block-out, hand sanitiser, water and wear stout walking shoes (as there will be some walking over uneven ground).

All welcome! Tea and coffee provided. RSVP would be appreciated on the numbers below. The trip will be cancelled in extreme weather conditions.

Connecting Country has installed 450 nest boxes to provide habitat for the Brush-tailed Phascogale through the Mount Alexander Shire. The boxes are monitored every two years, and volunteers are being sought to assist with continuing this important collection of data on the species’ occurrence. More information on Connecting Country’s nest box program – click here

For further info contact Baringhup Landcare’s Kerrie Jennings (0400 102 816) or Diane Berry (0403 020 663). RSVP welcomed to help with planning.

Baringhup Landcare Group