Slow species recovery from Black Summer bushfires

The NSW South Coast resident has been conducting a detailed survey of wildlife recovery after the Black Summer Bushfire crisis that hit her hometown of Conjola during the summer of 2019-2020.

Her latest results showed 11 more species of birds had returned this year.

"I've also seen red-bellied snakes and goannas adding to the recovery. Still no possums, bats or wallabies of any species which is sad," she said.

"It would be lovely to see some of the rarer species of birds return but it was wonderful to see spotted pardalote successfully nesting this year and to hear Lyrebirds again."

Dr Sam had her own close call with the fires and survived by taking refuge in a pool on her property.

The toll the bushfire had on the land and its animals was savage.

"My heart sank the day after the fires. I was here during them and on my own until my husband got through the second evening," she said.

"I was trying to extinguish the fires burning underneath the larger trees as I didn't want to lose them.

"I sat on an upturned bucket in the bush and cried. It was so overwhelming the loss of wildlife, the place looked like the moon and there was so little about.

"My husband asked me what to bring and I begged him for flowering plants as a few honeyeaters were still around and I had nothing for them."

It's hard to read about such destruction and loss.

"I'm devastated with the loss of mammals. No possum species has returned two years down the track and we had the rarer species living here," she said.

"I dearly miss the colony of sugar gliders who were here almost constantly out the back.

"There are also no microbats, we had a colony living in one of the big gums. I am surprised the bats haven't returned but they were having a very hard time in the drought before the fires."

However, her joy, when she sees the return of some species, is enormous.

"The best thing is the little joyous feeling when something returns," she said.

"Hearing Lyrebirds again and my favourite Spotted Pardalotes and Scarlett Robins have returned just recently.

"The Pardalotes even breed on the land again. Prior to the fires, we had three breeding pairs here.

Her interest in wildlife started in 2009.

"Since moving to this land in 2009 I have kept a record of all the birds and other fauna and flora that I have seen here," she said.

"I come from the UK so it's good to familiarise myself with Australian species.

"The bird species numbered 72 in 10 years of observation, most of which were regularly spotted.

"I have always been a keen observer of the world around me and it was fun to keep a record."

Then came the devastating Black Summer bushfires.

"During the fires, I was horrified to firstly watch the wildlife perish and then starve," she said.

"I tried hard to keep as many of the survivors alive with the other wonderful people maintaining wildlife feeding stations.

"Still, so many species were missing, only 29 of the birds had been seen in the first year, with 40 by the second.

"I felt it would be useful to keep an annual record of their possible return.

"I teach high school science now but before I was a marine biologist and worked for the EPA.

"Research is in my blood and my memory is shocking so I write things down."

The survey is conducted on their 10 acres of land at Conjola, on the highway just before Fisherman's Paradise.

"We bought the property in 2001 and we let a lot of the trees naturally return and we keep the grass long. The property has been maintained with the wildlife in mind," Sam said.

Her survey is detailed and uncomplicated.

"I compile the data rather unscientifically, I walk around the land each day, often with binoculars," she said.

"There are dams, creeks, dry and wet wooded areas as well as grasslands - plenty of variety.

"If I spot something new, I identify it, sometimes take a photo and add it to a list on Facebook."

Originally it was a paper list but then it was posted on social media.

"My friends like seeing my posts and they also get an education on flora and fauna if they are not as good at identifying species," she said.

"My other more knowledgeable friends also help me identify the species, especially the orchids.

"A frog app identifies the frogs and actually the frogs faired well, eight species recorded and we even have a new species this year, a screaming tree frog."

Like many others she wants humanity to learn from the Black Summer disaster.

She wonders if some animals will ever return.

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"We are pushing so many species to the brink of extinction and the fires accelerated this," she said.

"I was so angry when I first saw the flames, that the world has done so little with all the scientific knowledge of climate change.

"Greed is winning and to what means?

"I thought I could stop the fires from reaching the bush behind me, protect the world that I love.

"When confronted with reality I saw the stupidity of my logic, it was massive and I just had hate in my heart for the treatment of our home. Hate for all those who put themselves over life itself is still one of the strongest feelings I have."

She will continue to conduct the survey for as long as she lives.

Dr Sam has the credentials to back up her comments.

She has a PhD in algae production in NSW ICOLLs, an honours degree in Marine Biology and Oceanography, and a diploma of secondary education.

She worked for the EPA in the estuarine section and for Wollongong University before I became a teacher.

Her PhD and EPA work were all field-oriented.

"I could run the survey more scientifically such as recording numbers over given time frames but I planned a far more simple approach of identification. I also participate in the national bird count each year," she said.