Council crusaders go in to bat for Lake Mac flying foxes

Published on 02 June 2022

A Lake Macquarie City Council revegetation project is providing new roosting and feeding sites for thousands of flying foxes, luring the noisy mammals further away from nearby properties.

The project at Blackalls Park began in 2019 on what was once a citrus orchard off Fennell Crescent, overgrown with weeds and home to an estimated 5000 flying foxes during peak times.

Senior Natural Assets Officer Dominic Edmonds said the lack of established trees in the centre of the 7ha site meant the flying foxes tended to roost closer to homes along the perimeter, prompting complaints about the noise and smell.

“We figured that if we cleared out the weeds and planted suitable habitat and feeding trees in the middle of the site, we might eventually encourage the flying foxes to shift further away from the edge,” he said.

“It takes time for these trees to get tall enough to achieve those goals, but we’ve been really excited in the past few weeks to see the first bats already taking up residence in them.”

Warm, wet weather has accelerated the growth of the 20,400 plants and trees Council officers planted in 2019 after clearing the site of weeds.

Some now stand more than 6m tall, and concerted efforts mean estimated weed coverage is just five per cent.

“Flying foxes are a much-maligned species because of their unusual aroma and their tendency to squabble noisily during the day,” Mr Edmonds said.

“But they are misunderstood. They’re actually beautiful animals – intelligent, gregarious and an important part of our ecosystem, spreading seeds through their droppings and pollinating native plants.”

“They’re also a protected species in NSW and face threats on multiple fronts, including loss of habitat, heat stress from our increasingly extreme weather and accidental death due to entanglements in garden netting, power lines and fences.”

Manager Environmental Systems Karen Partington said that with World Environment Day just around the corner, it was important to recognise and celebrate Lake Mac’s flora and fauna, and the ecosystems that supported them.

“We’re so fortunate to have such a diversity of wildlife on our doorstep here in Lake Macquarie,” she said.

“We need to preserve it wherever we can.”