Another year has passed and the Refuge continues to be a hive of activity, with plenty of comings and goings. Current residents include 5 wedge-tailed eagles, 3 swamp harriers, an Australian Hobby, a magpie 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.

Plans for an Education Centre at the Refuge have recently been approved. This facility will be built as soon as sufficient funding is available. 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 tucker for the small raptors, as they cannot catch this natural food for themselves while in rehabilitation.

Our third massive flight aviary is under construction and should be completed by Feb 2010, 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 TLC, 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.