Drinking stations for thirsty koalas
Named “Blinky Drinkers” after the iconic character Blinky Bill, the water stations have cameras to record the wildlife that come to the drinking stations. A monitoring system can identify individual koalas by their microchips.
A sulphur crested cockatoo, a feathertail glider, a rosella, a brushtail possum and kestrels have also been spotted using the drinkers.
Dr Valentina Mella, animal behaviour researcher at the University of Sydney, said the water stations were not only used in summer.
“Our study has shown that they still used the drinkers extensively in cool months too, often drinking for up to 10 minutes at a time,” said Dr Mella.
The stations were designed by local farmer Robert Frend.
The program is funded by the NSW Government’s Saving our Species (SoS) program through a collaboration with University of Sydney, local landholders and a landcare group.