12.1.3.Habitat — what lives in your vegetation?

Native fauna need areas for feeding, roosting, migration, nesting and rearing of young.
Habitat includes:
• hollows in trees (including dead trees)
• fallen logs
• leaf litter
• understorey shrubs
• native grasses, rushes and sedges
• wet or damp areas
• watercourses
• flowering trees and shrubs
• rocks and boulders
• caves and overhangs
• seasonal cracks in the soil.

Hollows are used by birds, bats and arboreal (tree-dwelling) mammals for roosting and nesting. Native grasses, rushes and sedges are important shelter and feeding areas for small ground-dwelling reptiles and mammals. Understorey shrubs are important feeding areas for some birds and mammals.
Information about creating habitat for wildlife can be found at fauNature.

Boxed section:
CASE STUDY - PARROTS IN THE PINK (but small birds still struggling)
Ron Hartwig of Trungley Hall in southern NSW is doing his bit to reverse the trend of habitat loss and encourage native parrots to breed on his farm by providing nesting boxes. The reason, Mr Hartwig says, is the low numbers of old trees with hollows left in the area.
His nesting boxes are simply a section of hollow limb from trees that have blown down on the farm, wired up to a fence strainer post. Modifications include an observation hatch to determine if it is occupied, with a similar hatch at the bottom of the hollow to remove debris following the nesting season, or to remove unwanted visitors such as sparrows or starlings.
The entrance hole is designed to be big enough for the parrots to enter, but too small for a goanna or crow to get in. Other additions are a perch at the entrance to assist take-off and shrubs planted near the nesting box as protection from hawks and falcons.
The dozens of boxes Mr Hartwig has produced are occupied by Red-Rumped Parrots and Eastern Rosellas.
Unfortunately, the nesting situation is less rosy for other species such as smaller birds and bats, due to a lack of understorey plants. According to the Department of Land and Water Conservation’s Chris Slinger of Wagga Wagga, these provide harbours and food sources.
“These smaller species, such as bats, wrens, pardalotes, warblers, flycatchers and robins, are insectivorous and provide an essential cleaning service, effectively ‘vacuuming’ insects off the surface of trees and shrubs, particularly eucalypts.
“Where there is a lack of suitable understorey, it would be worth thinking about planting these species and/or providing nesting boxes for these smaller but important species.”
Source: VegNotes — NSW Department of Land and Water Conservation
Rural Production and Native Vegetation Conservation, Notes for Landholders.
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