Packed With Pollinators – Canowindra’s Flying Fox Camp

The trees surrounding Canowindra’s swing bridge on the banks of the Bleubula river and currently teeming with Grey Headed Flying Foxes – it really is quite a feast for the senses.

This dramatic swelling in numbers is temporary, caused by ‘tourist’ bats stopping to take advantage of our bountiful box gum blossom as they make their way north on their annual autumn migration.

These fascinating creatures play a key role in pollinating and re-generating our forests, spreading seed across large distances as they make their way through the landscape. It’s fair to say that they are among the most efficient Land Carer’s we have on our team!

That said, when camp numbers swell dramatically like this, the change can make some people nervous about disease, the health of the trees they are roosting in and even the noise and smell around the camp.

While these concerns are understandable, many of the scripts we’ve internalised about bats are either unfounded or completely overblown, especially once you understand these animals a little better.

Mid Lachlan Landcare have started assembling a local ‘Bat Brigade’ to help our communities live well with these beautiful animals – a protected species here in NSW. We want to do our bit to help secure a happy and healthy future for the bats so they can continue to help us grow our Box Gum grassy woodlands.

We will be sending out more information about our Bat Brigade over the coming months. In the meantime, if you have any questions of a bat nature, do get in touch, preferably by email to us at midlachlanlandcare AT gmail DOT com.