THERE’S no place like home. But if you were one of 46 native Australian mammals, 81 birds, 31 reptiles or 16 frog species then you would be reliant on tree hollows for shelter or nesting.
Hollows generally form in the trunks or branches of eucalypts. The rate of formation of tree hollows depends on the species of tree, its history and location.
Small hollows, suitable for microbats, take about 100 years to form while medium-sized hollows, suitable for small parrots, take about 200 years and larger hollows for larger birds and animals take even longer!
Eucalypts with a trunk diameter (at about the level of an adult’s chest) of 70-100cm are usually big enough to start forming internal hollows but are usually bigger than this by the time animals can access these hollows.
Hollows form as the tree grows and its heartwood decays and collapses, or is eaten by fungi and invertebrates such as termites. Birds and animals can access these hollows after branches or tree trunks fall off or are broken.
Unfortunately European settlement resulted in most of the large eucalypts being removed from our landscape faster than young eucalypts are growing to replace the older ones.
The result: some important animal species have no “place like home” and few shelters.
The declining populations of hollow-dependent animals such as micro-bats, owls, possums and gliders has upset nature’s balance and is likely to be contributing to various insect plagues and imbalances along the food chain and webs of life that humans rely on for fresh air, clean water and good soils (which incidentally grow our food and fibre).
So, keep every tree you have that has a hollow (even if it’s dead) and nurture all those eucalypts trying to grow. In addition, make sure there are wattles and other eucalypts around where the tree hollows are, as well as a good cover of native grasses and herbs.
Citizens Wildlife Corridors Armidale (CWC) is a voluntary, not-for-profit, charitable organisation that helps landholders care for existing trees and wildlife habitat, identify and manage areas of native vegetation and wildlife corridors, and so care for the wildlife on their land.
CWC helps people restore, conserve or re-create and link areas of wildlife habitat across the New England region – and has been doing so for the last 20 years.
CWC has recently published a booklet on vegetation management for threatened woodland birds. The booklet can be viewed online at http://sunne.com.au/flipbook/CWC20%Book/index.html
CWC can also help with ideas, technical backup, species identification, and access to funding, for you, your land and birdlife. Membership is open to all and includes two newsletters per year. CWC can be contacting by emailing office@cwc-armidale.org.au, or phoning 02 8004 8402.
