Our recent fauna survey on our Gondwana Link properties in the Fitz-Stirling region of Western Australia were successful despite really variable weather conditions.
Over the 15-day survey we experienced catastrophic fire weather conditions where we had a total vehicle movement ban, a thunderstorm, cold drizzly days and foggy mornings.
The 260 pitfall traps as well as elliott and cage traps worked hard and we captured honey possums, pygmy possums, bush rats, skinks, geckos, dragons and frogs.
We're also recording all the invertebrates that fall into the buckets in the revegetated areas to see how they change as the habitat changes.
The volunteers were thrilled to see many of the animals for the first time and some were able to see the honey possums being fed on honey water before they were released.
Our inland fish expert was keen to see which species of fish were inhabiting the saline pools so he put fish traps out in some of the pools. He caught spotted minnows and blue-spot gobies.
Native Bush Rats aren't often seen in the Fitz-Stirling. Photo Liz Tanner. 
A hungry honey possum fuels up before being released. Photo Liz Tanner. 
Testing salinity of the pools close to a fish trap. Photo Maureen Francesconi. 
Volunteer, Joe, examines the scales on a skink for identification. Photo Meredith Spencer. 
A wasp drags a paralysed wolf spider down a hole. Photo Maureen Francesconi. 
