Malleefowl Field Day

Field day to showcase local Malleefowl conservation and other opportunities for managing natural areas on your property. 

Murrumbidgee Landcare Inc are holding a field day 15 April at “Selby” Rankins Springs exploring the world of the Malleefowl and opportunities for conservation on farms. 

Malleefowl are one of the few remaining mound building birds. The Riverina was once home to the largest known Malleefowl population in NSW, however due to habitiat clearing and the impacts of predators like foxes, the Malleefowl is rarely seen in the wild and is now considered a threatened species. 

“There is a lot of work going on with local landholders and managers to help protect and restore Malleefowl habitat and to investigate ways to increase Malleefowl numbers. The field day will showcase these efforts” said Murrumbidgee Landcare Coordinator, Jenny Dwyer. 

Hosts for the day and owners of “Selby”, Ron and Andrea Finch will share what they are doing on their property to help the Malleefowl.  Those attending will get to view a Malleefowl mound, learn all about their habitat, diet, lifecycle and what can be done to help protect this fascinating species. 

Guest speakers will include: 

David Kellet from Riverina Local Land Services will outline their 10 year project and the steps that have been taken to save this endangered species in the Riverina. 

Cassie Douglas and Mason Crane from the Biodiversity Conservation Trust (BCT), who will talk about opportunities to partner with the BCT and access support for conservation. They will also demonstrate how cameras are set up to monitor endangered species. 

Mal Carnegie from the Lake Cowal Foundation will share stories from his abundance of experience with the Malleefowl in the field, which has made him an invaluable source of knowledge about the birds.  He will also speak about the Lake Cowal Foundation and the myriad of projects that they are involved in. 

Everyone is welcome to attend this free event and can register by going to the Murrumbidgee Landcare website or facebook page.  For more information call Jenny Dwyer 0408 629 553 or bidgeewest@mli.org.au 

This event is possible thanks to the shared work of the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust and Landcare NSW under the Private Land Conservation Matters project.