Annie Schoenberger is the owner of Nightwings Rainforest Centre, a property located approximately 75km north of Cairns. The property is a dedicated wildlife-friendly sanctuary with a small section of land included for a low impact, ecologically sustainable Visitor, Education and Interpretive Centre, and a Bat Hospital. It is Annie’s intent to continue with restoring old sugar cane farmland back to complex lowland rainforest (as it was prior to 1963), combined with forest walks for a stunning and authentic ecotourism experience. Nightwings Rainforest Centre aims to authentically replant lowland rainforest, restore wetland, and create a centre of excellence in conservation, bat rehabilitation and ecologically diverse land management.
The property covers 15 hectares of rainforest revegetation bordering the Daintree River in far north Queensland, and is adjacent to the World Heritage Listed DAGMAR section of the Daintree National Park. Surveys show the property contains over 75 faunal species, with 11 of these listed as Endangered, Vulnerable and Near Threatened.
Some of the species found on the property include: southern cassowaries (Casuarius casuarius), Bennett’s tree kangaroos (Dendrolagus bennettianus), grey goshawks (Accipiter novaehollandiae), grey falcons (Falco hypoleucos), Raja shelducks (Tadorna radjah), rufous owls (Ninox rufa), ghost bats (Macroderma gigas), large-eared horseshoe bats (Rhinolophus philippinensis), Australian lace-lid frogs (Litoria dayi) and spectacled flying-foxes (Pteropus conspicillatus). Vulnerable listed flora species such as black palms (Normanbya normanbyi) are also present on the property.
