Another year has passed and the Refuge continues to be a hive of activity, with plenty of comings and goings. Current residents include several Wedge-Tailed Eagles, a White-Bellied Sea-Eagle, 3 Swamp Harriers, an Australian Hobby, two Tasmanian Masked Owls and a Brown Falcon.
Nine new slatted aviaries have now been completed, with more needed in the near future to house the continuous stream of injured guests. These aviaries are proving to be a wonderful facility, and the water catchment plan is highly successful, providing a much needed resource for the Refuge.
Construction of our Education Centre is well underway. Aurora Energy recently put forward $10K towards the centre but more sponsors are needed. Once the facility is built we hope to accommodate interested school groups. As people become more aware of the disappearing habitat of Tasmania’s unique wildlife, this facility will be an invaluable asset for the education of the next generation.
The new enviro-friendly toilet has recently been decorated with eagle paintings on the exterior walls by talented Year 12 Hutchins School students. Thank you Hutchins!
A breeding program for rats and mice was started in October 2009. This will provide essential food for the small raptors, as they cannot catch this natural food for themselves while in rehabilitation.
Our third massive flight aviary is under construction. This will increase flight facilities considerably, we now have an in-house policy not to mix Sea-Eagles with Wedge-Tailed Eagles, so more flight space desperately needed. These birds need a lot of care and often considerable time for rehabilitation. This aviary will be significantly larger than the two existing ones, which are currently the largest in the Southern Hemisphere.
The planting and mulching of many native trees and shrubs has been a major project during the last couple of months. This will provide a more natural bushland setting and privacy for the animals.
Releases in 2009 included:
Masked Owl, Swamp Harriers, Brown Falcons, Collared Sparrowhawk, Tawny Frogmouths,
These releases represent just a few of the lucky souls that have passed through he Refuge, needless to say there are a large number that have not made it and there are still birds here in Rehabilitation mode, so as we grow as our facilities grow and as we develop as an entity, we can only progress to help and nurture more of Tasmania’s unique and very special wildlife.
The Raptor & Wildlife Refuge of Tasmania Inc has been established by Craig Webb on a 20-acre property overlooking Kettering and the D’Entrecasteaux Channel.
The Refuge is an incorporated association as the community wanted to be involved and as such we currently have over 150 members. In 1997 Craig returned to his birthplace of Tasmania after many years in the Kimberly working as a veterinary nurse and involved in all facets of wildlife care, he registered as a licensed wildlife carer with Nature Conservation branch of DPIPWE.
This inspiring Refuge clearly reflects Craig’s dedication to caring and protecting Tasmania’s natural wildlife, and the proximity of this Wildlife Refuge to the birds and animals natural habitat is a great advantage to rehabilitation.
The outstanding feature of this facility is two of the largest raptor flight aviaries in the southern hemisphere, purpose built to flight train Wedge-tailed eagles , Sea eagles and other birds, during their recovery from injury.
Along with the two huge flight aviaries there are a number of slatted aviaries currently under construction to house many and varied species of raptors, with one bank of aviaries built solely for quarantine purposes. The macropod enclosure is at last completed as a HALFWAY house for injured and orphaned wallabies and roos before eventual release back to the wild.
We aim to provide the best possibly care for not only raptors but all manner of wildlife, from snakes to frogs, birds to possums and everything in between that needs some TLC, and to be a focal point so as members of the public have help/care/advice at any time of the day or night. We are proud to have Dr James Harris as our contractual vet as he is one of the leading Vets in the avian field.
Volunteers are important in the operation of the Refuge as are our wonderful sponsors, with whom we have developed a great relationship. Please look at our sponsors page to see the wonderful contribution these people and companies have made.
Last year we were successful in obtaining a grant from The Tasmanian Community Fund, this money has been invaluable and has increased our facilities to world class standards.
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