Nest box project for Squirrel gliders
The Squirrel Glider is listed as vulnerable under the NSW Threatened Species Act 1995. The Splitters Creek Catchment Management Plan (2011) identified that the Squirrel Glider, a species known to be present in our area, required programs and public awareness to ensure a suitable habitat and landholder management to ensure its survival.
Our initial project was a nest building workshop in 2014 with financial assistance from the Slopes to Summit (S2S) partnership of the Great Eastern Ranges Initiative and the NSW Government’s Environmental Trust. The workshop involved a local nest box builder partially building the nest boxes. These were then completed by thirty four children and their families at a Little Landcare workshop. The workshop was a great community event with 59 attendees in total. In addition, participants learnt about why it is important to provide nest boxes, where to position and install the boxes, managing threats to the Squirrel Glider and the importance of preserving their habitat.
In 2015 a further 15 residents participated in the Albury Conservation Company Urban Nest Box Program. The nest boxes were installed by Parklands Albury Wodonga. The discovery of a Sugar Glider in a barbed wire fence in Splitters Creek highlighted the threat that barbed wire presents in glider flight paths. In response the Wodonga Green Army team sponsored by Parklands Albury Wodonga replaced the barbed wire with plain wire at this particular site. Splitters Creek now has nest boxes spread across the catchment and the Landcare group continues to raise community awareness on the threats to the Squirrel Glider and regularly monitor the boxes via pole camera. Monitoring has demonstrated the success of the program with many of the nest boxes now being visited by Squirrel Gilders.
The 2022 monitoring showed 10% of boxes with Squirrel glider present, 8 gliders in total. There were juveniles in 2 of the boxes, indicating successful breeding is occurring (Yay!).
• 72% of boxes had evidence of glider use (nesting material, hole chewing)
• 14% had no evidence of glider use • 14% had other species; 1 Rat nest & 2 European honey bee hives
• 07% have active European honey bee hives, another box has evidence of an old hive.