Success at Eaglehawk Waterhole – Red-tailed Black Cockatoos feed on revegetation, and we continue with understorey plantings and burn planning

Posted at 29 Sep 2026 at 16:24h in News, Eaglehawk Waterhole Habitat Restoration Reserve, Threatened Species Conservation by
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In August, we reported on the host of activities happening at Eaglehawk Waterhole under the guidance of volunteer caretaker Andy, and more recently fueled by a Limestone Coast Landscape Board grass roots grant. So, this month we can update you on our first activity under this project, and share some great news on successful restoration outcomes from this property.

Eaglehawk Waterhole is an 885-hectare NGT reserve created in 2013 and is situated about 1.5 hours north of Mt Gambier, close to the state border. This month’s blog aims to update our readers on the latest goings-on at this property.

Understorey plantings

Fifteen staff of NGT, Burrandies Aboriginal Corporation and NGT volunteers participated in a planting day on Friday August 28th. This planting effort aimed to add further understorey species to areas planted some years before. We grew and planted 600 plants ranging from bushfoods like Murnong, to rare bush peas, hakea, banksia, and teatree. Tree guards were needed as the browsing pressure is getting higher over the reserve. One of the three planting areas on the day was damp, with some surface water present. The presence of surface water was very encouraging as we head into what is predicted to be a dry spring.

The damp planting area is encouraging for our grassy woodland recovery, and for the planted seedlings heading into a predicted dry spring
The infamous planting crew – Front row: Andy, Christina, Kiara, Sue, Helen & Deb. Back row: Karnell, Maurice, Dallas, Les, Jess, Danielle, Tyson, Ange, Zion, Will, and John (photographer me)

A big thanks to Jess, Ange, and Danielle for organising this planting event and for our regular NGT volunteers for getting the plants in ship-shape. And we certainly couldn’t have achieved what we did on the day without the new Burrandies Rangers and field crew.

Endangered species feeding on planted stringybarks after 10 years

Previous blog highlights how we regularly see flocks of Red-tailed Black Cockatoos on the property, and this month we are pleased to report that our revegetation effort is beginning to provide vital food resources for this species. It is well known that it takes, on average, red-tails (or RTBC’s for short) 10 years to return to feed in an area that has been burnt (where the canopy food source is scorched). Well, a similar time frame has passed for them to begin feeding from our first batches of planted trees from past revegetation projects, which are now maturing. These trees were planted in 2015. The amount of trash on the ground beneath these gum trees was the sign we needed to stop, and have a closer look.

Evidence of red-tails feeding in our stringybark revegetation area planted in 2015 – L: large amounts of leaf litter, R: seed pods chewed by Red-tailed Black Cockatoos

Burn planning with Burrandies Rangers

An important part of this new grant project is to seek approval to undertake burns over the property, as previous burn approvals had lapsed. An emerging critical component of this burn planning is to seek input from our local indigenous group and to engage them in the planning and implementation of on-ground actions. Plans are well underway with a burn plan to be submitted soon. Discussions on the day were fruitful as we talked over the opportunities, risks, and solutions. Opportunities, have arisen on several fronts, firstly by having extra fire units and people power available through the new Burrangies Ranger program; sections of the property have natural boundaries, and fuel-reduced zones minimising risks during the burn and disturbing the soil/vegetation during the creation of firebreaks. We look forward to finalising our burn plan and submitting for approval through the Native Vegetation Council over the coming weeks.

All participants are looking at and talking with Ange about seed collecting options for the rare Ziera colony of five plants and the role burning might play in its recovery on the property
The SA state rare, Pink Zieria (Zieria veronicea).

Final words from Ange

Angela, our awesome nursery co-ordinator, commented to me after this event.

“all the vollies loved it, I really enjoy taking them there because they all fall in love with the place. And having the Burrandies Rangers and field crew was excellent. They brought so much to the day, especially their youth and enthusiasm. It was great to see the way everyone connected and shared knowledge“.

This project is supported by Burrandies Aboriginal Corporation, OneFortyOne, and the Limestone Coast Landscape Board Grassroots Grants program, which is funded by the regional landscape levy.

Bryan Haywood