Paula Boer is the owner of Docsden, a property situated in Badja, approximately 40km east of Cooma, New South Wales. The property is a wildlife sanctuary and rehabilitation site, and Paula with the help of Biodiversity Conservation Trust has established an in-perpetuity covenant on 3/4 of the land. Paula is also working to identify native species on the property with the help of ecologists from the University of New South Wales.
The property spans approximately 205 hectares and is located over 1,000 metres above sea level. Vegetation is mainly characterized by dry sclerophyll forest with some acreage of grassland, much of which was burned during the 2020 bushfires but is gradually recovering. The property is mainly eastern facing with some western hills. Native vegetation is comprised of eucalypt woodland and banksia forests with several swampy/peaty glades and Poa tussock grassland communities.
A wide variety of wildlife is present on the property including eastern grey kangaroos (Macropus giganteus), red-necked wallabies (Macropus rufogriseus), common brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula), swamp wallabies (Wallabia bicolor), bandicoots, bare-nosed wombats (Vombatus ursinus), short-beaked echidnas (Tachyglossus aculeatus), and koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus), which have not been sighted since the bushfires.
Also present are a range of reptiles and amphibians including blue-tongued lizards (Tiliqua scincoides), highlands copperheads (Austrelaps ramsayi), red-bellied black snakes (Pseudechis porphyriacus), tiger snakes (Notechis scutatus), Peron’s tree frogs (Litoria peronii), common eastern froglets (Crinia signifera), whistling tree frogs (Litoria verreauxii), eastern banjo frogs (Limnodynastes dumerilii), spotted marsh frogs (Limnodynastes tasmaniensis) and smooth toadlets (Uperoleia laevigata).
Birdlife is abundant and includes sulphur-crested cockatoos (Cacatua galerita), crimson rosellas (Platycercus elegans), yellow-faced honeyeaters (Lichenostomus chrysops), pied currawongs (Strepera graculina), gang-gang cockatoos (Callocephalon fimbriatum), rufous whistlers (Pachycephala rufiventris), scarlet robins (Petroica boodang), flame robins (Petroica phoenicea), superb lyrebirds (Menura novaehollandiae), satin bowerbirds (Ptilonorhynchus violaceus) and Australian wood ducks (Chenonetta jubata).
