Moonlit Sanctuary Moonlit Sanctuary

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@MRJ - what do you get to see on the behind the scenes tour?
I did the evening tour a few weeks ago, was fantastic. Saw my first owlet-nightjar, but the yellow-bellied gliders in the walkthrough were probably the highlight. Saw the eagle aviary, but need to visit again to see it (and the rest of the park) in the daytime.
 
zooboy28 said:
I did the evening tour a few weeks ago, was fantastic. Saw my first owlet-nightjar, but the yellow-bellied gliders in the walkthrough were probably the highlight. Saw the eagle aviary, but need to visit again to see it (and the rest of the park) in the daytime.
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I will never get sick of saying that Moonlit Sanctuary is fantastic. The owlet-nightjar and the glider "aviary" in particular are stand-outs.
 
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zooboy28 said:
@MRJ - what do you get to see on the behind the scenes tour?
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Glad you enjoyed the evening tour, and hope to see you back during the day some time.

Re the "behind the scenes" tour, remember it is aimed at the international tourist after a unique experience. The inclusions are as follows:

"$150 for up to 5 people. A one hour tour with a keeper. Includes; Golden tree snake or Diamond Python, Feeding Tawny Frogmouth, Yellow Bellied Glider and Rainbow Lorikeets. Preparation of Animal Enrichment treat and set up in enclosure. Bookings recommended. Payment must be made in full at time of booking."

I'll make the following offer, if a group of Zoochat members visit at a time I am available, I will be happy to have a chat with them and take the group through off-limits for free. (admission still applies, of course!)
 
Thrilled to announce that four Moonlit Sanctuary orange bellied parrots were released at the Western Treatment Plant, Werribee, on Wednesday morning. They were accompanied by 6 birds from Healesville Sanctuary and one bird that was previously released last spring in Tasmania, recaptured and given a free ride across Bass Strait. This bird also originally came from Moonlit Sanctuary. All birds were males. Pictures show the release aviaries, Life Sciences Manager Lisa Tuthill releasing a bird in the aviary, and Lisa inspecting a bird inside the aviary. Congratulations to our partners Zoos Victoria, Melbourne Water, Orange-bellied Parrot Tasmanian Program, Department of the Environment, Land, Water and Planning. and Birdlife Australia. There are a couple of images in the Moonlit Sanctuary gallery.
 
@MRJ, is this the staging post / pilot for a full release program on Mainland with females to come in when all goes well for the released male birds?

How are they conditioned for release site fidelity and non dispersal?
How are these monitored (GPS, satellite ..., collars) post-release?
 
Kifaru Bwana said:
@MRJ, is this the staging post / pilot for a full release program on Mainland with females to come in when all goes well for the released male birds?
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As I said, this a trial program, or pilot if you will. Another part of the trial was to re-catch birds released last spring and return them to the mainland. Of the birds so trapped, the male was released in this program while the females were retained at Werribee Zoo (a short distance away) in a large aviary for return and release in Tasmania next spring. The idea is to increase the numbers retained in the population each year.

Kifaru Bwana said:
How are they conditioned for release site fidelity and non dispersal?
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No conditioning to keep them at the site, other than the provision of supplementary feeding. The site is one of few that have continually attracted wintering birds over the last few decades so we can presume that conditions there are ideal. It is also hoped that returning birds will encourage them to remain. However this is one of the things we need to understand.

Kifaru Bwana said:
How are these monitored (GPS, satellite ..., collars) post-release?
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Keep in mind these are very small birds, weighing around 45 grams. Finding tracking devices small enough for them is one of the issues which makes it difficult to research them. The birds have a radio transmitter attached to their tails, which it is assumed will fall off after about 3 months. Good news is that 9 of the birds were identified by radio tracking yesterday, so at least 9 survived 24 hours!
 
@MRJ, the tracking devices conventionally produced are all from garage style owned set ups that have (and will) not evolved (evolve) over and above reducing weighting in the devices where this relates to the size of the intended recipient candidate bird species'.

I would concur that it is now really up to conservation cohorte that make that evolution into smaller battery or otherwise operated systems that can be used in the smallest of bird or other wildlife species of small(est) sizes' in order to be able to track them over any meaningful time periods (preferably a 2-3 year aging cycle depending upon the size and battery life of operation and the intervals selected at which locations are logged as per satellite or ground based aerial receiver system!

I do recall that I listened in to some conservationists working on small songbird species and bustard target species' that trial devices with smaller weights and able to be used on small songbirds et al where giving some promising results.

If you like / are interested I might re-check the presentations somewhere and / or ask them to refer to you guys up in Oz (for better field data monitoring)!
 
Please feel free to forward any information you may have. It is not my area but I will forward it to people concerned. I do know from discussions that there is awareness of continuing reduction in size of radio trackers, as is evidenced by their use in this situation. They are usually glued to feathers, which limits their usefulness to the next moult. The reason for this is the chance of harnesses snagging on twigs etc. The tail feathers seem to be the optimum location.

Understand there are great difficulties in radio tracking these birds. Firstly the birds have to migrate about 600km. The first quarter is over wilderness, ie no tracks. The second quarter is over a region with just one road running north-south serving no more than a dozen small communities. The final half is over open ocean, with the possibility of stops on one or two islands. Once on the mainland the birds disperse along a coastal strip about 1000km long. If radio tracking is attempted, monitoring will most likely be in small planes flying over habitat in the hope of picking up beeps.
 
Very positive news coming out of the recent mainland release of orange-bellied parrots. All but one of the birds have been detected since the release two weeks ago. Due to the limitations of the light-weight transmitters on the birds (less than 50 metres in dense vegetation) this is regarded as a very positive result. Birds have been seen feeding on a variety of wild foods and have started forming small flocks. A wild female has arrived at the release site and she has been seen flying and feeding with two of the release birds. This is very exciting as this is exactly what was hoped would happen.
 
Two new encounters are available, kookaburras and orange-bellied parrots. The orange-bellied parrot encounter is pricey, but all money goes to the OBP program.
 
MRJ said:
Two new encounters are available, kookaburras and orange-bellied parrots. The orange-bellied parrot encounter is pricey, but all money goes to the OBP program.
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Are these on the website yet? I can't see them on the encounter page.
 
No not yet but they are available now so though I would give you guys a heads up.
 
that's these kookaburras I think, which I photographed the other week.
full
 
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yep, next to the quolls. Kookaburras on this end of the aviary, rainbow lorikeets to the left end. (As in a double aviary, not a mixed one).
 
Ah yes, thanks @Chlidonias, I know the one now. I think it used to hold a more varied selection of birds - satin bowerbird, superb parrot, couple of others...
 
yes I remember the bowerbirds being in there on my 2014 visit. There have been some bird movements around the park, and there's a very nice new walk-in aviary as well (which you probably would have seen on your most recent visit?).
 
Chlidonias said:
yes I remember the bowerbirds being in there on my 2014 visit. There have been some bird movements around the park, and there's a very nice new walk-in aviary as well (which you probably would have seen on your most recent visit?).
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My most recent visit was at night though, so must not have encountered it, as I don't recall a new walk-in (although maybe a small one that's been there a couple of years with woodswallows, kingfishers, stilts, OBP..., sort of within the kangaroo/wallaby walk area?). Did you see the new eagle aviary?
 
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