Rowena McDougall and Geoff Sharp are the owners of Woodbanks, a property situated in Baden, approximately 70km north of Hobart, Tasmania. The property is a wildlife sanctuary and residence also used for agriculture, and is registered with Land for Wildlife. Rowena and Geoff intend to maintain the property as a sanctuary for wildlife whilst regenerating the existing native bushland.
The property covers approximately 46 hectares and consists mainly of introduced pasture species interspersed with areas of remnant native bushland. Native vegetation is dominated by eucalypt woodland and native grasses.
Native mammals known to inhabit the property include Bennett’s wallabies (Macropus rufogriseus), Tasmanian pademelons (Thylogale billardierii), bare-nosed wombats (Vombatus ursinus), eastern quolls (Dasyurus viverrinus), short-beaked echidnas (Tachyglossus aculeatus) and brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula).
A wide range of birdlife is also found on the property including grey butcherbirds (Cracticus torquatus), magpies (Cracticus tibicen), ravens (Corvus coronoides), pied currawongs (Strepera graculina), masked lapwings (Vanellus miles), Australasian pipits (Anthus novaeseelandiae), scarlet (Petroica boodang) and flame (Petroica phoenicea) robins, brown (Acanthiza pusilla), Tasmanian (Acanthiza ewingii) and yellow-rumped (Acanthiza chrysorrhoa) thornbills, superb fairy-wrens (Malurus cyaneus), silvereyes (Zosterops lateralis), fan-tailed cuckoos (Cacomantis flabelliformis), masked owls (Tyto novaehollandiae), southern boobooks (Ninox boobook), Tasmanian nativehens (Tribonyx mortierii), dusky woodswallows (Artamus cyanopterus), welcome swallows (Hirundo neoxena), grey fantails (Rhipidura albiscapa), grey shrike-thrushes (Colluricincla harmonica) and striated pardalotes (Pardalotus striatus).
A range of honeyeaters including eastern spinebills (Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris), New Holland honeyeaters (Phylidonyris novaehollandiae), black-headed honeyeaters (Melithreptus affinis), yellow-throated honeyeaters (Lichenostomus flavicollis) and yellow wattlebirds (Anthochaera paradoxa) are also found on the property. Parrots such as green rosellas (Platycercus caledonicus), eastern rosellas (Platycercus eximius), blue-winged parrots (Neophema chrysostoma) and yellow-tailed black cockatoos (Calyptorhynchus funereus) are also present. The property is home to a range of raptors such as brown goshawks (Accipiter fasciatus), collared sparrow hawks (Accipiter cirrocephalus) and wedge-tailed eagles (Aquila audax).
The nearby riparian areas provide habitat for waterfowl such as Pacific black ducks (Anas superciliosa), grey teal ducks (Anas gracilis), white-faced herons (Egretta novaehollandiae) and eastern great egrets (Ardea modesta).
