Biennial Yellow-bellied Glider Census, Daintree National Park.
Census History: A small patch of tall eucalypt forest on the western fall of the Carbine Tablelands, within Daintree National Park,was visited every second year, 1997-2009 inclusive, in order to count Yellow-bellied Gliders within a given area of 246 ha. The purpose of this project is to keep track of glider numbers in a given area, over time. The census site in Daintree National Park was chosen as good glider numbers had been noted in 1987 and again in 1995. The opportunity to commence a census arose in 1997 when 10 Swedish students and their Professor visited Australia and wanted a project in “the field”.
My roles
Drove to a spot near Mt Spurgeon early on Day 1, then
walk for seven hours to reach the census area, where we made camp. The walk was
through trackless forest using a GPS. On the evening of Day 1 I familiarised myself
with the census area and identified tapped trees currently yielding sap. For
the next 4 consecutive nights I counted the number of gliders coming to my
monitoring tree and logged the arrival and departure times as well as direction
of nearby glider calls. Day 6, packed camp and hiked out. Day 7, compiled notes
and tabled data to submit to research coordinator.
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