Flying-foxes in the Clarence Valley

Kids at the school holiday Get Batty Workshop at the Grafton Regional Gallery got to have a look at Bruce, the taxidermy bat, and a chat with Reece Luxton, the Natural Resource Management Coordinator at Clarence Valley Council about the importance of flying-foxes to our forests and ecosystems.

After getting batty, they got arty and made some great drawings of flying foxes that they then transferred onto t-shirts!

We want to know where you have seen flying-foxes roosting (hanging in trees) in the Clarence Valley!

This information helps guide flying-fox management.

Drop a pin on the Flying-fox Camp Monitor map or tell us your story.

Do you have knowledge about the history of flying-fox camps in the Clarence Valley?

Have you noticed a change to an existing flying-fox camp?

We want to hear from you!

Tell us your story - you're welcome to submit a story about anything you think might be relevant or important for us to know.

Our furry flying-fox friends do an incredible job for biodiversity.

Without them, there would be no food and shelter for koalas, no pristine habitat for native birds, and no magnificent forests for us to enjoy.

Did you know:

• Flying-foxes are the largest flying mammal in Australia and use their excellent vision and sense of smell to navigate over vast landscapes at night.
• Flying-foxes are critical pollinators and super seed spreaders, helping to propagate over 100 native tree and plant species.
• In one night, flying-foxes can travel 50 km pollinating native trees and spreading up to 60,000 seeds as they forage.
• Many native trees depend on flying-foxes and have co-evolved with them over the last 25-40 million years. Eucalypts, for example, flower more and produce more nectar at night when flying-foxes forage.

Council acknowledges the difficulty flying-foxes cause when they are camped near your home or feed on your trees, but please remember that by protecting flying-foxes and their habitat, we are protecting other native plant and animal species, supporting our local ecosystems, and maintaining biological diversity in our lovely region.

Flying-foxes are irresistibly cute and play an essential role in healthy ecosystems, but conflict with humans can occur when they set up camp in residential areas.

To help flying-foxes and humans to peacefully co-exist, Council has been working with several partners to rehabilitate natural roosting and breeding habitat, as part of the Susan Island - Restoring to Reduce Conflict project.

The project aims to rehabilitate around 36 hectares of remnant rainforest habitat, which is home to three species of flying-fox, including the vulnerable grey-headed variety. Numbers of flying-foxes on the island during summer can vary from several thousand to in excess of 100,000.

More than 3500 local plants and trees have been planted on Susan Island in the first 15 months of the eight-year project.

More than 500 hours of labour to combat weeds has helped fast-track natural recovery of native vegetation on the island.

In addition to planting and weed control, Susan Island's traditional custodians have hosted public visits to increase awareness of its environmental and cultural significance.

The project is being delivered by Clarence Valley Council in partnership with the National Parks and Wildlife Service, the Susan and Elizabeth Island Recreation Land Manager, and the cultural custodians Nyami Julgaa Women's Group, with funding support from Local Government NSW and the NSW Department of Primary Industries.

Susan Island holds great significance to the Nyami Julgaa group, who are the cultural custodians of the island and have a close and ongoing relationship to the place and its rainforest.

The women in this group have worked hard over the years to support bush regeneration efforts and are now seeing the revival of native plants and animals on the island that have traditionally been used for food, medicine and technology.

Clarence Valley Council has partnered with the Nyami Julgaa Women’s group and the Gumbanggyirr Rangers from Ngiyambandigay Wajaarr Aboriginal Corporation in taking local aboriginal elders and women out to visit Susan Island in 2023 and 2024.

The Susan Island Nature Reserve, with its intact remnant floodplain rainforest, is a seasonal home to grey-headed and little red flying-foxes each year. Flying-foxes are important seed dispersers and pollinators and are intricately linked to the health of our forests, the other wildlife that depend on these forests and the communities that are connected to them.

These women's trips demonstrate the link between flying-foxes and the island’s natural rainforest and significant cultural heritage.

We look forward to creating more opportunities for community engagement with flying-foxes and Susan Island through the Susan Island: Restoring to Reduce Conflict project.

Do you want to get involved in restoring flying-fox habitat on Susan Island?

Join the Friends of Susan and Elizabeth Islands for their monthly volunteer days. Spend the morning learning about rainforest regeneration by liberating native trees from vines or planting new natives. These activities contribute to the overall work Council is doing as part of the new Susan Island - Restoring to Reduce Conflict Flying-fox Project.

Find more information and follow the group at Friends of Susan and Elizabeth Islands or email nick.reeve@icloud.com to register your interest.

In February Clarence Valley Council was excited to partner with The Long Way Home to host a story-filled evening celebrating our local children's creative minds, as part of the Susan Island flying-fox project.

At sunset on the riverbank in Memorial Park, we enjoyed sharing children's batty stories from the 2024 The Long Way Home writing competition, admired the evening sky and spotted flying foxes!

A great evening was had by all.

The 2023 survey of Community attitudes towards flying-foxes in the Clarence Valley has helped understand community attitudes towards flying-foxes and habitat restoration projects in the Clarence Valley.

We received 56 submissions. Thank you to everyone who participated. You can view the whole Survey Response Report, but here are some of the highlights…

KEY STAKEHOLDERS with an interest in flying-foxes are:

• Local residents or community groups; and
• Environmental/conservation organisations.

The community’s general KNOWLEDGE AND AWARENESS of flying-foxes in the Clarence Valley is extremely high. Everyone who took the survey know that flying-foxes live in the Clarence Valley area and have seen or encountered them. A high majority of participants are also already aware that:

• Flying-foxes are a native species protected under legislation;
• Flying-foxes are important seed dispersers and pollinators;
• Flying-foxes contribute to the preservation of native vegetation;
• Grey-headed flying-foxes are listed as a threatened species; and
• Disease from flying-foxes can be prevented by not handling them.

Understandably, there are mixed FEELINGS AND ATTITUDES towards flying-foxes and habitat restoration amongst the Clarence Valley community. 59% of participants are either currently affected by flying-foxes or have been in the past, but more expressed positive feelings (46%) towards flying foxes than negative ones (34%). More participants also described their overall experiences and interactions with flying-foxes as positive (46%) rather than negative (39%).

The top 3 flying-fox topics of most concern or interest are:

1. Smell
2. Flying-fox droppings
3. Damage to vegetation

70% of participants think flying-foxes are good for the environment, with most agreeing that:

• Flying-foxes are environmentally important and should be protected;
• Flying-fox habitat should be protected and restored; and
• Council has a role to play in protecting flying-foxes and restoring their habitat.

More than half of the participants, however, also agree that:

• Flying-foxes are a nuisance that need to be managed;
• Living/working/studying near flying-foxes has its challenges; and
• Council has a role to play in managing flying-foxes.

When asked what role Council should have in flying-fox management when camps occur on public land, some common responses include:

• Community education and information;
• Managing, restoring, and protecting flying-fox habitat away from residential areas;
• Maintaining street trees and vegetation on public land; and
• Relocating flying-foxes when camps set up in residential areas.

Just under half of the respondents showed an interest in participating in community education and/or events about flying-foxes and habitat restoration, with some common suggestions for Council including:

• Educational materials and events for the community, including for school children;
• Promoting flying-foxes positively;
• Creating opportunities for people to see and experience flying-foxes in person e.g. tours/events; and
• Opportunities to participate in bush regeneration and tree planting.

Council will use these results to help inform a Community Engagement Strategy for the Susan Island: Restore to Reduce Conflict flying-fox project. We look forward to sharing this with you soon.

Clarence Valley Council is working to protect flying-foxes and their habitat as well as prevent negative interactions with flying-foxes through a Local Government NSW-funded project ‘Maclean Flying-fox Management’. We are developing the Clarence Valley Council Flying-fox Management Plan. One aspect of the plan development is to decide which flying-fox camp management actions would be best suited for residents that are most affected. To gauge the opinions of community on the matter, we asked the public to complete a Flying-fox Camp Management Consultation Survey.

The survey was available on Flying-foxes in the Clarence Valley from the 9th of January 2020 to the 2nd of March 2020. During this consultation period the survey received 75 valid submissions.

Impacts

With 75 valid submissions, respondents felt that smell, faecal drop, noise and fear of disease were the most concerning impacts from flying-foxes. The respondents favoured flying-fox camp management measures that do not harm flying-foxes and provide a long-term solution, as well as not degrading the ecological values of the site and ensuring that disease transmission remains low.

Management Options

Based on the cumulative preference totals of the top five options of all respondents, revegetation for alternative habitat, and education/ awareness programs ranked highest as the most preferred management options. Research, early dispersal, active nudging, and active dispersal through disturbance were ranked equal third and fourth as preferred management options. This is supported by the finding that the majority of respondents that lived in close proximity of a camp were aware of the flying-fox camp prior to moving in. For a priority action, revegetation for alternative habitat ranked the highest, with education/ awareness programs and active dispersal through disturbance ranking second and third. Level 1 actions were ranked the highest of the priority actions, followed by level 3 actions.

Culling flying-foxes (an illegal activity) was the most preferred management option by several respondents, ranking 5^th overall; with passive dispersal, protocols, artificial roosting habitat, subsidies and advising of property modification without subsidies attracting no priority preferences; and artificial roosting habitat attracting no cumulative preferences.

Subsidies

Subsidising property modifications or subsidising services were not priority management options for the respondents, but was selected when allowed up to five preferred options. Based on the cumulative preference totals of the top five options of all respondents, covering commonly used areas, vehicle covers, and double-glazing of windows ranked highest as the most preferred subsidy options. For a priority subsidy option, covering commonly used areas ranked the highest, with rainwater first-flush diverters and air conditioners ranking second and third.

Interactions with Flying-foxes

The majority of respondents experienced the camp as flying-foxes flew over their residence, business or child’s school and felt extremely positive towards them. Of those that were not directly affected by the flying-foxes, respondents enjoyed visiting them. Respondents that were not directly affected by a camp felt overall extremely positive about flying-foxes, while those that were directly affected by a camp felt overall extremely negative about flying-foxes. Of the respondents that were directly affected by a camp, active dispersal through disturbance was the highest ranked priority management action, while revegetation and management of land for alternative habitat was the highest ranked priority management action for those that were not directly affected.

For more information, DOWNLOAD THE FULL REPORT showing all survey results.

Stay tuned for the one-page infographic summarising the results.