A South Australian program which monitors vulnerable malleefowl has won more funding to continue its work into next year.

^{AWLB Ecologist Brett Backhouse talks about mallee fowl with a group of Year 12 students on a field trip. Photo supplied.}

The federal government extended funding for the Alunytjara Wilurara Landscape Board (AWLB)’s malleefowl project to continue until 30 June 2024.

Malleefowl, or Nganamara in Pitjantjatjara, are ground-dwelling birds that are known for their nest mounds.

The mounds can be more than a metre high and several across, and the adult birds maintain incubation temperatures within by adding and removing fallen leaves and soil.

The birds are under threat around the country, with introduced predators like foxes and wild cats and introduced plants like buffel grass encroaching on their ecosystems.

Ecologist Brett Backhouse said the funding extension allows the AWLB to continue its long-term work with the species.

“Short-term projects don’t really give a lot of ecological benefit, while a longer project is more robust and gives much better results for the species,” he said.

Backhouse has been working with the AWLB for seven years and has been on the malleefowl project since it first secured federal funding in 2018.

The funding allows the board to monitor the vulnerable birds as well as threats to the species.

Planes fitted with Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) equipment first record detailed imaging of the area’s topography.

“The imaging gets put through an algorithm which helps us to identify potential mounds, and when we find one that’s the right shape we can walk out there and have a look,” Backhouse said.

AWLB staff visit the potential mounds, supported by local Anangu ranger teams, and categorise them as active or non-active.

Backhouse said malleefowl generally live in relatively soft sand, which helps when tracking the bird’s footprints.

“If you’re seeing lots of footprints then at least you know the birds are there,” he said.

“If we’re getting birds at those mounds, you can assume that you’ve got eggs in there.”

A range of monitoring and management techniques are then employed across active malleefowl mound sites.

The AWLB has been trialling automated devices called Felixers, which use AI to identify animals passing in front of them.

These units are used to target and remove cats and foxes while preserving native species.

“We have the benefit of being outside the dog fence, so we’ve got the native dingo which helps keep cats and foxes suppressed a bit,” Backhouse said.

“We want to keep those dingos in place, so we don’t want to do aerial baiting where you can potentially harm a lot of things.”