A lot has been happening, thanks to the growing number of people wanting to be involved in helping the local native wildlife.
 
Thank you to Sally, Jinnie, Dennis, Lewis and Tom who were responsible for the letterbox drops in the vicinity of our recent bat events. Their efforts helped attract many extra people to these events, allowing us to spread even further the word about microbats. Thanks also to Adam and Amy for supporting these efforts through printing and guillotining the leaflets.
 
Much thanks to date must also go to Graham and Geoffrey for designing, modifying, collecting timber and making bat boxes galore. We still need more, but Tom and Lewis supported Graham and Geoffrey last Saturday and added another 6 to our cache — thanks very much. It is hoped the Council will eventually organise to put a number up in our larger parks and bushland open spaces, as discussed with them, so that we can extend our monitoring programme with the endoscopes. 
 
We will definitely meet the requirements of our Norman Wettenhall Grant in respect to community engagement. It is only the surveying around local smaller parks and streets where we are a little behind. The Walkabout Anabat bat detectors, which were due to be released in February, are now not coming on the market before mid-May when it will be probably getting a bit cool to collect good data. To help us along a bit, we are ordering another Express Anabat, which is tied securely and locked up a tree and left for 3 nights at a time.
 
We are looking for volunteers to take turns at putting up this 3rd Express over the next month while the weather is still reasonably warm. Please contact us if you are interested. The other 2 Expresses are already out gathering data in various locations.
 
Anne and Paul are continuing with additions to the website and analysing bat calls. There will be calls for more support in those areas over the next months. Any ideas or suggestions are most welcome.
 
Grant has finished recordings along the foreshore clifftop in lit and unlit areas. This project required setting up an Express Anabat in lit and unlit areas at 3 different locations in Sandringham, Black Rock and Beaumaris over 4 months which required quite a lot of time and effort, plus analysing results. I think we will have some interesting results to look at as Anne and Grant are setting up comparisons and collating information. A huge task, so start practicing with AnalookW so that you can help - Anne is always happy to support (when she has a spare moment). Thanks a heap to both Anne and Grant. 
 
Sally is putting up really good stuff on our facebook page and spreading it out to maintain interest.  If you have any sightings to report, you could email us at info@bayfonw.org.au and we can pass them on to Sally.  Photos are particularly good also. Anne usually tweets interesting items too.
 
On top of all her organising and running around for Batting4Bayside, Elizabeth somehow finds time to attend focus groups on Management Plans for Coastal Strategies to make sure the environment and habitat of wildlife is not lessened, and coordinates a frog survey on a monthly basis - even when it is cold and often frogs are not calling, but often bats are detected and other wildlife is noted. The bronzewings are still in residence at our Talinga Rd/George St area, although it is looking very dry this year so will definitely need extra planting on 15 August. We have enjoyed seeing more locals at our frog surveys recently, and they said they enjoyed coming.
 
We look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at Long Hollow on 18 April at 5.15-5.30pm to help set up and to chat with members of the public about our projects, especially Batting4Bayside at the moment.  We will have 3 tables and 4 areas for the public to rotate around after signing in. Your help in directing the public and answering questions (or saving them to ask either Anne, Paul or Elizabeth once we gather everyone together at dusk) before heading off with the Anabats, would also be appreciated if you are available.
 
Let's hope the warm weather continues to Saturday and beyond.
 
Good health to all and thank you so far, for your support of Friends of Native Wildlife.