Thank you to everyone who has donated so generously. This
money has been and will be used for a number of different projects aimed
at understanding and conserving the Gouldian finch. To donate, please go
to our Donations page.
Current Projects
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Nest-box Project
Wild Gouldian finches desperately need more hollows for breeding. After successful research, we have recently begun using artificial nest-boxes as a management strategy. The more boxes we can build, the more ‘homes’ we can provide for Gouldian finches, and the more we can boost both the population numbers and increase their range. All donations are invaluable and will go a long way to reversing the decline in this endangered species. Please help us to help the Gouldians.
For more details and to sponosr a nest-box, please see our Nest-box Project page
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Wyndham Conservation Research Centre
The Save The Gouldian Fund has just negotiated a
21-year lease with the Wyndham Shire for the old Wyndham Town Hall.
This is a heritage listed building which had basically fallen into
disuse and was currently being used for storage. Our intention is
to convert the building and to provide facilities and accommodation
for up to 20 scientists.
Wyndham is situated in the eastern Kimberley of Western
Australia, and is Australia’s northern-most town and port (and
a great place to see saltwater crocodiles up close and personal!).
This area is also home to large populations of Gouldian finches (and
other finches) and Dr Sarah Pryke, James Brazill-Boast and other scientists
and volunteers have been working hard there for the last two years
- getting very important data on the ecology and breeding biology
of these birds.
We will keep you up to date with these developments.
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Past Projects |
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Transponders for monitoring behaviour
To understand what birds get up to and how they interact
each day, scientists are using the latest technology to record daily
behaviours, such as feeding, roosting, nest building and chick feeding.
To do this, Dr Sarah Pryke at the Gouldian finch research facility in
Martinsville has given each bird a specialised and unique pit-tag (i.e.
similiar to microchips used for domestic pets), which together with
magnetised antennae and decoders records every movement the bird makes.
This has produced some very interesting data, which would not have been
possible by simply watching birds (see Research
page). Many thanks to everyone, and especially the Hunter Valley Club
(of the Australian Finch Society) for their generous donations. |
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Field vehicle for research in Wyndham
Dr Sarah Pryke and scientists at Wyndham now have
a vehicle available for their research. This fully-equipped 4WD with
extra springs, winches and bull bar, has been a huge asset to work
in the field and has enabled scientists to effectively get to the
breeding Gouldian finches throughout the eastern Kimberley. Thanks
to everyone who donated so generously at the 2007 Save The Gouldian
Fund Open Day.
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Fire Management funding at AWC Mornington Wildlife Sanctuary
Year after year wild fires sweep through the Kimberley,
devastating huge areas of land. To counteract this, AWC pioneered the
formation of Fire Management Groups by contacting their neighbouring
land owners to form a co-operative approach to fire management. Dr
Sarah Legge of AWC now supervises fire management across
the 13 different properties of the ECO FIRE GROUP, covering an area
of approximately 13 million acres. STGF contributed $100,000 to costs
during the set up of this project. |
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Fencing funding at AWC Mornington Wildlife Sanctuary
Clearing the land of feral animals and then fencing
out destructive cattle was an important step for restoring AWC's Mornington
Wildlife Sanctuary, and fundamental for promoting populations of Gouldian
finches. Cattle and feral donkeys preferentially remove the seeding
heads of grasses, which the Gouldians rely on during the wet season,
causing a gap in the food chain. To assist AWC in this process, STGF
donated $50,000 toward fencing costs.
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Research assistant for AWC Mornington Wildlife Sanctuary
Field work is not possible without the support and
backing of good-quality field assistants. The Save The Gouldian Fund
funded a half-time salary (AWC made up the other half) for a research
assistant to Dr Sarah Legge, so that it was possible for Sarah to attend
to her other responsibilities at Mornington. This has substantially
helped the quality and quantity of data that was collected during 2006-2007.
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Multi-purpose vehicle for AWC Mornington Wildlife Sanctuary
One of the main problems with Gouldian finch research
in the wild is the wet season in the tropical north - a time when the
rivers, roads and pretty much everything else floods. In order to facilitate
getting researchers to the Gouldians, Mike Fidler and Gary at Argo ATV
Australia came up with a perfect solution - the 8-wheeled amphibious
vehicle. Thanks to the generous support of ATV Australia and Autosmart
Australia, together with a contribution from Queensland Finch Society,
this vehicle means that no river is unpassable and the Gouldian finch
work can continue through the wet season.
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