In early January a mixture of Waterways and Land Officers, NRM crew and volunteers visited two grasslands in the northern suburbs to learn about the ecology and survey methods for the threatened Golden Sun Moth. David de Angelis of Abzeco led this work and decent numbers of the moths were observed at the reference site, giving staff a great opportunity to see these animals up close and become familiar with their behaviour.
The second site at Greenvale Reservoir hasn’t turned up any sun moths yet, but with continued effort in future seasons we may find these and other important grassland species to help inform the land management practices in a protected area.
Building up the identification and survey skills of our staff and volunteers increases our chance to identify other potential populations on the land we manage, as well as builds our capacity to monitor Golden Sun Moths over a longer term and help determine if our land management is protecting and benefiting these threatened species.
It was a fun day to be out looking for critters, and great to organise this training between the Waterways & Catchment Services and WaterWatch teams.
