Bushcare goes Batty

An elusive microbat population, including one threatened species, has been discovered living in Ashfield to the great excitement of the local bushcare community.

The discovery which was the result of work undertaken by Ashfield Bushcare volunteers who wanted to find out if the mysterious microbats were using the habitat provided by their revegetation works.

During March 2014 Ashfield Council commissioned a microbat survey at Cadigal Reserve in Summer Hill. With microbats almost impossible to identify with the naked eye echolocation equipment was used to record these cryptic nocturnal creature's calls.

The survey utilised two 'Anabat' recorders which were placed at Cadigal Reserve, Summer Hill for two nights. Anabat is a system designed to help users identify and
survey bats by detecting and analysing their echolocation calls.

Analysis of the Anabat data revealed the presence of three species of microbat within Cadigal Reserve, including one threatened species listed under the NSW Threatened Species Conservation Act, 1995(TSC Act) -

• Gould's Wattled Bat Chalinolobus gouldii
• Southern Forest Bat Vespeduelus regulus
• Eastern Bentwing-bat Miniopterus schreibersii oceanensis (Vulnerable, TSC Act)

The results provide a unique insight into Ashfield's nocturnal wildlife and
demonstrate the importance of habitat corridors in an urban environment and
will be added to a regional microbat monitoring program to refine our knowledge
of bats in urban environments and to influence future land management actions
in the area.

Cadigal Reserve in the Ashfield Council area is part of a designated GreenWay, an urban green corridor in Sydney's Inner West that stretches from the Cooks River in
the south to Iron Cove in Sydney Harbour. The Reserve is situated alongside
Hawthorne Canal, and is strongly influenced by the surrounding urban
environment, including the railway and associated infrastructure, and canals
and pipelines intersecting the Reserve.

Pictured: Goulds Wattled Bat (Chalinolobus gouldii) rescued in Marrickville December 2012.