Flying fox camp area decreasing

The habitat of Batemans Bay’s flying foxes has reduced 60 per cent since mid-April, with experts predicting this natural dispersal will continue as the cooler weather prevails and the food supply reduces.

NSW Office of Environment and Heritage supplied the information to Eurobodalla Council, noting that one of the local eucalyptus species, red bloodwood, has finished flowering and would no longer be providing a food for flying foxes.

Spotted gums are continuing to flower, they say, but this is expected to slow down as cooler weather continues. OEH ecologists have said that the shrinking food supply is likely to influence the natural dispersal of the flying-foxes away from Batemans Bay.

Meanwhile, Eurobodalla Council continues to prepare for a planned dispersal in winter. Vegetation clearing to improve buffers between the roosting habitat and homes around the Water Gardens and Catalina got underway last night and will continue for at least four weeks.