Flying Fox Colony at Yarra Bend Park (Kew)
.jpg "Flying Fox Colony at Yarra Bend Park (Kew)")
Grey-headed flying-foxes are an important part of Melbourne's wildlife. They used to roost in the Royal Botanic Gardens but their presence there was not sustainable due to the sensitive nature of the vegetation. The colony was relocated to Yarra Bend Park in 2003 which is now the permanent roost site.
The flying-fox colony is best viewed from Yarra Boulevard or Bellbird Picnic Area where there is a path to the flying fox viewing platform.
The flying foxes, which number more than 10,000, are best viewed just after sunset.
Access for Dogs:
Dogs must be on a leash.
Review:
You can either park at the Bellbird Picnic Area which is at the end of Bellbird Road (which is off the Yarra Boulevard) or park in the small carpark at the corner of Wills Street and Redmond Street, Kew and walk down the hill, across Yarra Boulevard and down to the Bellbird Picnic Area. This area has great views of the Melbourne CBD skyline and a water tap with bowl for dogs.
A quirky find just down the hill from the Wills Street carpark was an extensive cubby hidden in the trees.
The Bellbird Picnic Area has toilets, shelter, picnic tables and canoe ramp.
This area has the Flying Fox viewing platform but if you follow the river to the north you will see thousands of flying foxes nesting in the trees on both sides of the Yarra River. The track passes through the Flying Fox Conservation Area. In this area please keep noise to a minimum and do not disturb the bats. Penalties apply for harassing or causing injury to wildlife, or damaging their habitat.
There are some information panels about the flying foxes in the area. Some of these were:
Sanctuary by the river - Riverside trees are ideal roosting sites for flying-foxes. The river makes navigation easy, and the flowing water moderates the climate, preventing frosts in winter and keeping the bats cool in summer. It is not surprising that the colony is occupied throughout year: lovely river, tall trees and the safety of living in a park. On warm days you may be lucky enough to see Grey-headed Flying foxes taking a high-speed belly-dip in the river. This aeronautical feat allows them to cool down and get a drink by licking the water from their fur.
Meet the bats - Grey-headed Flying-foxes (Pteropus poliocephalus) are mega bats and the largest of Australia's four types of fruit bat. Their range is along Australia's south-east coast, from central Queensland in the north to Melbourne and Adelaide in the south. They navigate by eyesight, scent and sound, not echolocation. Their senses are so sharp that a mother can always find her baby amongst the thousands of other bats in the colony, flying directly back to them after a night's feeding.
Did you know?
- Flying foxes can see better than humans and their night vision is as good as cats.
- Bats hang by their feet because it's very energy efficient.
- The bats will cruise at speeds of up to 25 km/h, navigating their surrounds with their excellent eyesight and sense of smell.
- Their favourite food is the nectar and pollen of Australian eucalyptus, banksias, melaleucas and rainforest fruit.
- Bats are the only mammals capable of sustained flight.
- Grey-headed Flying-foxes are pregnant for six months, giving birth to a single baby around October.
- The young will cling to its mother's fur for the first few weeks, and be suckled until around 5 months of age.
- Young bats will start to fly short distances after 3 months, heading out with the rest of the colony once they are a year old.
- With enough food and habitat, a flying fox will survive in the wild for up to 15 years.
As the bats lose their food source, the trees lose one of their most important pollinators. Without the bats, many of Australia's indigenous plant and animal species would be under threat. It is vital that this and other colonies are protected.
Like to help? - Whenever possible plant local native trees and shrubs for the bats to feed on. If you don't have your own garden join a conservation volunteer group. Only use wildlife friendly nets, with flywire sized holes, on your fruit trees. Keep cats inside at night. Become a bat advocate by joining the Friends of Bats & Bushcare Inc. and take practical steps to help this precious species.
Bats during Summer - Summer is when the colony is at its largest. In late summer, there may be as many as 50,000 individuals roosting along the river, with numbers swelling around February as the young bats born last spring start to become independent. Summer is also the season when the bats are most vulnerable. Exceptionally hot days, or a series of days over 35 degrees C, can cause the bats to overheat and in the worst case, die. In the worst years, they have died in their thousands.
Flying Gardeners - Grey-headed Flying-foxes, despite being called fruit bats, prefer to eat nectar and blossoms. They travel as far as 40km to feed in a night, before returning to their roost before dawn. By pollinating native plants and dispersing seeds during their outings, the bats help natural regeneration. Numerous plants and animals rely on them doing their nightly job as 'gardeners'. If we lose bat species, whole ecosystems will suffer.
Many but few - There are 3,000 - 50,000 bats in this colony, depending on the time of year. Looking around you they may seem plentiful, but their survival is not at all certain. Urban growth, habitat destruction, disturbance, heat stress and fruit net entanglement have all taken their toll. 95% of the Australian population has been lost over the last century, and the species is now listed as threatened. There are few permanent colonies of this size left. Maintaining this site is of national importance.
Photos:
Location
Bellbird Road, Kew 3101 Map
