July was another busy and exciting month for the Trust, the ranger team and awesome volunteers with two outstanding achievements. Firstly there was confirmation of active use of burrows by Grey Faced Petrels on Bream Head. Secondly, I am very pleased and proud to announce that the entire 800ha Bream Head Scenic Reserve is now under intensive predator control (as per the five year restoration plan objective), there is no area for pests to hide. As our former patron Sir Edmund Hillary once said, we knocked the bugger off!
Okay, so it’s not quite as important to the world as the conquering of Everest, but in the world of community planned, implemented and monitored ecological restoration projects the completion of the installment of an intense predator control and monitoring system by Bream Head Conservation Trust is very significant indeed! The trust has now successfully met the major objective of its first five year strategic plan to develop an intensive control and monitoring network over the entire 800ha Bream Head Scenic Reserve.
At least three Grey Faced Petrels have been clearly photographed by our infra-red camera outside the entrances to ground burrows. Next on the list is to very carefully inspect the burrows for any sign of eggs. We are also installing extra traps and bait station around this site to further protect the adult birds and any eggs that may be present.
Read the July 2015 Rangers Report (1.3MB pdf) for more details on this and other stories.