Bardwell Valley Golf Club is welcoming spring with a plan to attract more bird life to their course.
Wolli Creek resident Ann Fardell successfully applied for a Bayside Council Community Grant, receiving $2,000 to install nest boxes in trees on the course to encourage bird life to the area.
Ann is a volunteer with the bird survey group Wolli Creek Birdos, part of the Wolli Creek Preservation Society, and her husband, Tony is on the club's board of directors.
On top of the grant, Bayside Council also donated ten sturdy marine ply nest boxes which Ann and Tony then painted a light colour to deflect the heat in summer.
The grant went to the installation of the boxes on trees at the course by two installers from Narla Environment Pty Ltd.
Recently, they spent the day climbing trees and all ten nest boxes are now in place.
"We hope native birds will occupy some of the nest boxes this spring," said Ann who is standing as a Labor candidate for Bayside Council in Ward Two.
"However, it can take some time for local birds to feel comfortable with them so it might not be until Spring 2022 that we see some activity."
Ann said native birds nest in tree hollows including parrots, Kookaburras, most owls, Wood Ducks, Tree Martins, Dollar Birds, some Kingfishers and many other species.
She said the nest boxes are needed because tree hollows can take 50-plus years to form.
"Hollows that are a suitable size for nesting are only found in very, very old trees.
"Unfortunately many of those trees are cut down as residents worry they are unsafe which is usually not the case.
"Powerful Owls, which mate for life, only nest in tree hollows. They also stay in the same territory all their lives. If their nesting tree is destroyed and they cannot find another one in their territory then they cease breeding and they will not move to another territory.
"While the nesting boxes installed on the course are too small for Powerful Owls this shows how important tree hollows are," she said.
"There's always a lot of birdlife around the course because of the remnant bushland.
"The trouble is there's not many old trees left that have hollows in them so we wanted to provide some alternative type of nesting for them to raise a family.
"We can take birds granted but they make us happy to see them flying around,
"Even though we may not be consciously aware of them,they lift your spirits hearing them sing and seeing with their families."
