by ANNE WILKINSON
The arrival of spring is greeted with mixed feelings by many people. Hot,blustery and short on useful rain, this can be a harsh season, so there is all the more reason to care for the creatures that can help humans get through it, then cope with the following rainy season in comfort. One pest that is beginning to make its presence felt is the mosquito. No one welcomes mosquitoes, so attracting those insects that can help control them seems like a good idea. Planting for insect eating birds and attracting lizards and frogs will go a long way to reduce the numbers of these pests that breed so rapidly and are so unwelcome.
Having a pond in the garden is the first step most people think of when they wish to attract frogs but it is only part of the story since most frogs once they have made the transition from tadpoles for which water is vital, spend most of their time on land. They hide by day and emerge to hunt at night. So to attract and keep frogs in the garden it is necessary to provide plenty of shelter and a reasonable degree of moisture.
Shrubs whose branches sweep the ground, soft mulch that will also attract insects (frog food) and provide safe hidey-holes, cool holes in tree roots, shady places where moisture can linger and they can hide, all these frogs love.
One frog lived for years in a bromeliad on our patio, coming out at night to hunt the insects flocking to the lighted window. Bromeliads, hanging baskets in the shade house, piles of mossy bricks and potted plants all make excellent frog homes. I have purchased pot plants and found frogs nestled in the plants- wonderful additions to the garden!
Even tufts of grass left along the edges of the lawn, or substituting mondo grass, for example, for the mown variety, will endear one to frogs, they just don’t want their home to be too tidy, too hot and exposed or too closely manicured. I have been told leaving a light on in the garden will provide food for frogs, because this will attract insects, but this may also attract frog predators of which there are many. Predation is the name of the game in the wild world.
At Wildwatch, during the dry weather, we put out out big shallow bowls filled with water in strategic points in the garden for frogs and birds and this works well, but always remember if in town, use water that has been allowed to stand in the sun to evaporate the chlorine. Frogs are very susceptible to such chemicals which can prove fatal for them.
Even tufts of grass left along the edges of the lawn, or substituting mondo grass, for example, for the mown variety, will endear one to frogs, they just don’t want their home to be too tidy, too hot and exposed or too closely manicured. I have been told leaving a light on in the garden will provide food for frogs, because this will attract insects, but this may also attract frog predators of which there are many. Predation is the name of the game in the wild world.
At Wildwatch, during the dry weather, we put out out big shallow bowls filled with water in strategic points in the garden for frogs and birds and this works well, but always remember if in town, use water that has been allowed to stand in the sun to evaporate the chlorine. Frogs are very susceptible to such chemicals which can prove fatal for them.
Don’t forget ferns too, for they make wonderful, cool, decorative frog shelters, both the epiphytic and ground growing varieties and there are many spectacular types, especially endemic to the rainforest. A naturalist and wildlife photographer friend of mine Desley Clyne famed for more than 20 books on animals, insects and plants, wrote a piece about frogs, which I always think of when I hear the sound of the frogs tuning up for a rainy evening. It was called “A little night music”. How I love to hear it.
Another problem is the thoughts of many wild creatures are turning to love, which means they are wandering and this often causes them to cross roads. For all too many species, roads mean nothing but danger. Turtles are a case in point, for they cross roads slowly. Please keep a watch out for them. We always stop, if possible, pick them up, and help them safely on their journey. Roadsides also present a danger to many creatures when the weather is dry for any length of time.
Due to the roads camber, the roadside grass is blessed with any runoff from slight showers or heavy dew, so with dry grass elsewhere this grass can seems particularly succulent.
Due to the roads camber, the roadside grass is blessed with any runoff from slight showers or heavy dew, so with dry grass elsewhere this grass can seems particularly succulent.
All too many wallabies fall victim to this trap as, startled by the proximity of looming traffic, they panic and , hop into the road, sadly becoming victims. This time of year, with the added peril of the cane harvest in full swing, is a dangerous time for all too much wildlife. All we humans can do is drive carefully, keep a look out and avoid them if possible.
If accidents do occur and the victim – animal or bird – is injured, please contact the veterinary surgery or a wildlife carer.
See below for the number of Mission Beach Wildcare, which covers the Cassowary Coast area.
If accidents do occur and the victim – animal or bird – is injured, please contact the veterinary surgery or a wildlife carer.
See below for the number of Mission Beach Wildcare, which covers the Cassowary Coast area.
We were speaking to Penny from Mission Beach Wildcare only this week and what a busy life these wonderful people have. That day she had travelled to release a wallaby that had been in care, taken in a kookaburra which after rest and care flew, and had been asked to look after a baby dove which had fallen from the nest. With only spikes for feathers, it was on a heat pad and eating well, and with any luck was facing a far brighter future that it would have had if it had not been rescued.
Wildwatch is provided by the Tully branch of the Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland, enquiries to 40 665466 or 40 665650. To contact the emergency 24hour Wildcare hotline phone 40 687272, phone DERM on1300130372 to report concerns about cassowaries and mahogany gliders.
