Wildlife Land Trust / Sanctuaries / NSW / Bunnoo River Community

Janine Taranto, Julie Newton, Stewart Tyler, Graham Beston & Renate Wiseman are the owners of the Bunnoo River Community, a property located approximately 60km south-west of Port Macquarie. The property is a wildlife-friendly sanctuary and it is the owners’ intent for it to continue to be used for conservation and wildlife protection. The owners wish to protect and enhance habitat values by protecting & re vegetating the land for the benefit of the local environment.

Bunnoo River Community covers 238 hectares of riparian rainforest, wet and dry sclerophyll forests and rocky outcrops. The sanctuary contributes to the Bunnoo River with approximately three kilometres of river frontage. Vegetation includes but is certainly not limited to Blackwoods (Acacia melanoxylon), Thorny (Desmodium acanthocladum) and Red Coral (Kennedia rubicunda) Peas, tallowwoods (Eucalyptus microcorys), small-fruited Grey Gums (Eucalyptus propinqua), Blue Gums (Eucalyptus saligna), Brush Boxes (Lophostemon confertus), a variety of Fig Trees (Ficus spp.), Rosewoods (Dysoxylum fraserianum) and Red Cedars (Toona ciliatavar).

Wildlife species seen on the sanctuary include Common Brushtail (Trichosurus vulpecula) and Ringtail (Pseudocheirus peregrinus) Possums, Grey-headed Flying Foxes (Pteropus poliocephalus), Short-beaked Echidnas (Tachyglossus aculeatus), Koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus), Swamp (Wallabia bicolor) and Brush-tail Rock (Petrogale penicillata) Wallabies and Spotted-tailed Quolls (Dasyurus maculatus). Among the 98 species of bird that have been identified at the sanctuary are Wedge-tailed Eagles (Aquila audax), Yellow-tailed (Calyptorhynchus funereus) and Glossy Black (Calyptorhynchus lathami) Cockatoos, Tawny Frogmouths (Podargus strigoides), Crimson Rosellas (Platycercus elegans) and Swift Parrots (Lathamus discolour). Frog species known to inhabit the sanctuary include Tusked (Adelotus brevis), Green-thighed (Litoria brevipalmata), Green Tree (Litoria caerulea), Lesueurs (Litoria lesueuri) and Red-eyed Tree (Litoria chloris) Frogs. Other reptiles present include Eastern Water Dragons (Physignathus lesuerii), Eastern Water Skinks (Eulamprus quoyii), Lace Monitors (Varanus varius), Diamond Pythons (Morelia spilota), Red-bellied Black (Pseudechis porphyriacus) and Green Tree (Dendrelaphis punctulatus) Snakes.

In addition to the above, koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus), sugar gliders (Petaurus breviceps), catbirds (Ailuroedus crassirostris) and superb lyre birds (Menura novaehollandiae) have been heard in the forest. Recently, southern forest dragons (Lophosaurus spinipes), small-eyed snakes (Cryptophis nigrescens), night tiger snakes (Boiga irregularis) and Burton’s legless lizards (Lialis burtonis) have also been spotted.

To see some of the insects, spiders & other critters that inhabit the land go to #comboynewildlife on Instagram.