Mammal Watching Report – December 2022

Mammal Watching Report – December 2022

Every month, we here at Treeswift Wildlife & Nature try to compile a report of all the mammals we have recorded across our various tours and outings. Below is the summary of tours in December 2022 that had notable mammal sightings, all of which took place in Victoria, Australia. Feel free to skip right to the end for a simple summary of total species (20x species)

Round Robin Tour (9x species)

A 4 day tour around Victoria (Approximately itinerary included Toolangi, Bendigo, Terrick Terrick, Colac, Otways, and the Surf Coast) with the aim of seeing every species of Australasian Robin (9x species) in Victoria. We travelled 1450kms and visited 46x sites, finding and photographing each all robin targets as well as spotting some iconic Australian mammals along the way. 

Mammal Summary:

  • 12x Swamp Wallaby
  • 32x Eastern Grey Kangaroo
  • 6x Common Brushtail Possum
  • 2x Common Ringtail Possum
  • 1x White-striped Free-tailed Bat
  • 3x Krefft’s Glider
  • 2x Yellow-footed Antechinus
  • 1x Short-beaked Echidna
  • 1x Koala

Nocturnal Leadbeater’s Possum Tour (8x species)

A private nocturnal spotlighting tour for 3x people, with focus on finding the critically endangered Leadbeater’s Possum. Not only were we successful in locating a Leadbeater’s Possum, but we also had some great encounters with other mammals such as Southern Greater Glider, Yellow-bellied Glider and Mountain Brushtail Possum.

Mammal Summary:

  • 1x Leadbeater’s Possum
  • 1x Southern Greater Glider
  • 1x Yellow-bellied Glider
  • 2x Mountain Brushtail Possum
  • 2x Kreff’s Glider
  • 1x Sambar Deer
  • 1x Swamp Wallaby
  • 10~ microbat sp. 

Western Treatment Plant Bird Photography Tour (3x species)

As with November, we regularly led tours to the Western Treatment Plant (of international fame due to its outstanding bird life). Though the focus was always on the birds, our guides regularly observed the following mammals (listed in summary here, rather than per individual birding tour):

Mammal Summary:

  • Eastern Grey Kangaroo
  • European Rabbit
  • European (Brown) Hare

Nocturnal Photography Class (3x species)

A nocturnal photography class for 6x participants in Healesville designed for photographers to elevate their nocturnal photography skills. 

  • 2x Yellow-bellied Glider
  • 14x Southern Greater Glider
  • 2x Samba Deer

Wildlife Photography Course (5x species)

A 4x day photography course for 3x participants across 4x different locations. We focused on photographing wildlife in a variety of locations.

Mammal Summary:

  • 22x European Rabbit (abundant)
  • 50x Eastern Grey Kangaroo
  • 2x Common Ringtail Possum (drey)
  • 1x Red Fox
  • 4x Swamp Wallaby (possibly same pair twice)

Greater Glider Nocturnal Fundraising Walk (5x species)

A walk for 13x participants through the Yarra Ranges in search for Southern Greater Glider and other incidental nocturnal wildlife. 50% of sales from our Greater Glider tours are donated to conservation organisations such as WWF and Kinglake Friends of the Forest.  

Mammal Summary:

  • 20x Southern Greater Glider
  • 1x Common Brushtail Possum (juvenile climbing tree, starting at head height just on side of the road)
  • 1x Common Ringtail Possum (observed amongst dense foliage) 
  • 1x Yellow-bellied Glider (shriek heard in distance)
  • Unidentified microbat sp.

Private Sunrise Birding Tour (4x species)

A private birding tour from 2am-10am around the Yarra Ranges and surrounding areas. Primarily birding focused, but we did bump into some mammals along the way.

Mammal Summary:

  • 14x Common Ringtail Possum 
  • 3x Common Brushtail
  • 1x Red Fox 
  • 5x Swamp Wallaby

Private Half Day Birding & Spotlighting Tour (10x species)

A private birding and spotlighting tour for an international client who has recently moved to Melbourne. A birding tour that turned out a large range of iconic mammal species as well! 

Mammal Summary:

  • 4x Swamp Wallaby 
  • 6x Eastern Grey Kangaroo 
  • 1x Southern Greater Glider (dark morph)
  • 2x Koala (1x well seen, 1x heard)
  • 12x Yellow-bellied Glider (spectacular views of an adult feeding in full view of our spotlights less than 15 metres away)
  • 2x Common Wombat (both with mange)
  • 8x Eastern Grey Kangaroo
  • 3x Swamp Wallaby
  • 4x House Cat (1x adult with 3x kittens)
  • 2x Red Fox

Melbourne By Night Tour

A private Melbourne by Night Tour for a group of 5x participants at Banyule Flats. A great evening focussing on education, wildlife watching ethics at night and featuring a variety of great birds, mammals and frogs.

Mammal Summary:

  • 15x Common Ringtail Possum (seen increasingly in pairs, including adult with juvenile at the end)
  • 2x Common Wombat (observed just off the path foraging)
  • 1x Red Fox (near the bridge in the dense bushes)

Private Half Day Birding & Spotlighting Tour 

A private birding and spotlighting tour around the Yarra Ranges. 

Mammal Summary:

  • 1x Krefft’s Glider
  • 2x Common Wombat
  • 1x Eastern Grey Kangaroo
  • 5x Swamp Wallaby

Total Mammal List – December 2022 Tours:

  1. Short-beaked Echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus)
  2. Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus)
  3. Common Wombat (Vombatus ursinus)
  4. Yellow-footed Antechinus (Antechinus flavipes)
  5. Leadbeater’s Possum (Gymnobelideus leadbeateri)
  6. Yellow-bellied Glider (Petaurus australis)
  7. Krefft’s Glider (Petaurus notatus)
  8. Southern Greater Glider (Petauroides volans)
  9. Common Ringtail Possum (Pseudocheirus peregrinus)
  10. Mountain Brushtail Possum (Trichosurus cunninghami)
  11. Common Brushtail Possum (Trichosurus vulpecula)
  12. Swamp Wallaby (Wallabia bicolor)
  13. Eastern Grey Kangaroo (Macropus giganteus)
  14. European Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus)
  15. European Hare (Lepus europaeus)
  16. White-striped Free-tailed Bat (Austronomus australis)
  17. Gould’s Wattled Bat (Chalinolobus gouldii)
  18. House Cat (Felis catus)
  19. Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes)
  20. Sambar Deer (Rusa unicolor)

If you’re interested or have enjoyed reading our Mammal Watching October Report, please feel free to get in touch by emailing us at info@treeswiftwildlife.com or calling us on (03) 7018 2302. Alternatively, you can learn more about our mammal watching tours at this link. 

Treeswift Wildlife & Nature is a bird and wildlife watching organisation, committed to bringing people closer to the natural world. Founded in 2019, Treeswift has grown into a respected wildlife and ecotourism agency, conservation organisation, and online resource, and currently runs over 100+ trips each year. With highlight tours from Australia, Vietnam, Singapore, and North America as well as our top-ranked website of trip reports, photography, and other resources, Treeswift is an industry leader for birders, mammal watchers, herpers, nature-lovers, and to all those who seek the wild.

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