Wombat burrow under Steam Train Track
Transport Heritage contacted Wombatised about Wombat burrows under the track as they renovate the abandoned line so Steam Trains can travel to Colo Vale for the tourist industry. I was so happy to hear that the emphasis was conservation and preserving the surrounds of this beautiful remnant track line full of gorgeous native trees (some of them very rare ) and of course grazing marsupials and lots of birdlife.
When we inspected the line we found that only one burrow needed to be removed. The rest were structurally sound … a long way under the ground or out of the way. What a relief !
Firstly we firmly placed shade cloth in the mouth of the burrow to see if anyone was using it. it seemed pretty well occupied so the answer would be yes. We take a photo of the shade cloth firmly placed in the burrow entrance and if it’s moved then we know someone’s using it. It’s a sure way to prove someone is using it especially without cameras. This was Andy Mcleod ‘s ingenious invention.
Sure enough and this is what we expected. It’s quite a significant place for Wombats. A place we call “Family Chambers” where the Burrows do join up and we suspected a baby because of small scats and it’s a great nesting site. A torch revealed the direction of the burrow and you can see by the photograph that the burrow was way too close to the rail and would be caved in with the weight and movement of the train passing over.
On the third visit the men came with their incredible machinery and gently sliced the earth from the other side of the track where we knew the burrow went.
Amazingly we came across a wombat baby’s nest which was pretty old. Lucky because the baby is old enough to move to a safe place. This factor was so fortunate because babies are wired to stay in their nest and wait for Mum to come home. Mum brings nesting material for food and comfort to the baby and bub waits patiently for Mum to return for milk, company warmth and all the things that make a safe family.
Of course other Wombats use this area as well and being an abandoned line for so long it has some beautiful heritage trees, lovely fodder and the perfect place for Wombats and Wildlife.
Transport heritage were generous, kind, very professional with lots of expertise. The cost of digging out the burrow, the machinery and their generous donation was well appreciated!
Now we can buy some good wildllife cameras.
Thank you, Wombat Care Bundanoon for referring this job to us. John Creighton is such a great advocate for community and working together. He is a call centre him self. The amount of work he gets for Wombats and we share the load.
