Arid Recovery Open Day

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The Roxby Downs Arid Recovery project aims to help threatened desert species recover. The large property is divided into two sections; one helps species re-adapt to being released once their numbers have built up sufficiently, while the other section is much more secure and is for small populations to live and slowly build up their numbers before the re-adaption process. https://www.facebook.com/AridRecovery



Normally access is restricted, so the open day was a treat. Various activities were offered and we were eager to do as much as we could in the time available.



Out first activity was “radio tracking”. The ranger had an antenna connected by a cable to a UHF handheld radio. Each radio collar has its own frequency, so the radio is tuned to that frequency and the antenna is slowly rotated until a faint signal is detected. As you walk in that direction the antenna is swept from side to side so you can get closer to the target. Eventually beeps can be heard and then you find the animal. In our case this was a stuffed bilby toy animal. But we did get the see the radio collar up close. Fascinating. Our ranger was fantastic. The antenna and radio were handed over to two young children, who had a wow of a time. Mind you as they turned the antenna quickly, we half expected somebody to get poked in the eye.



The second activity was “tracking”. This time we followed the ranger up into the red sand dunes where animals leave nice clear tracks. It turned out that the area was heavily populated with bilbies and their tracks were everywhere. We learnt how to tell their tracks apart from the betong’s’. We also found good examples of hopping mice tracks. Greg has always had an interest in animal tracks, so this was right up his alley.



We had a look at a stunning collection of flaked stone cutting points, found by the local indigenous heritage group.



Finally, it was time for “Bugs and slugs” – lots of creepy crawlies. 15cm long centipedes are definitely creepy. Over the years, when camping, we have found them under our sleeping bag in the morning, far too many times, where they crawl for warmth. Not a nice discovery. The giant earthworm was the star – easily 30cm long and the thickness of a sharpie. Very rare and hard to find, little is known about them.



There were also night activities, but we had a Father’s Day

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Photos

Our radio tracking target.
Kind of stuffed. :-)

Here is a good place to find animal tracks.
The raw beauty is a bonus.

A Bilby track in detail
From the LHS: First two alternating tracks of the front paws, then the pair of hind paw tracks as the Bilby finishes with a hop. Note how the middle claw on each foot is dragged forward - this is typical for a Bilby.

An active Bilby burrow
I wonder if it is at home.

A stone on the track
Note how it has formed its own depression as vehicles hit it.

A nasty stone on the track with sharp edges.
Easy to see how you loose tyres out here.

Comments

[Milly]

Photo copies
Hi to you both, I am so glad you enjoyed your visit to Arid Recovery, we loved seeing so many visitors able to learn about our activities. I wonder if you would be able to share with us your photos for us to use (referencing you as photographers), in particular the photo of Gen using the tracking equipment. Gen is usually very camera shy so it would be great to have these images. Many thanks and safe travels. We look forward to seeing you next time. Milly