By Margaret Maccoll
Noosa’s celebrity bush turkey kicked up a scene when he decided to settle in one of Noosa’s premium resorts and build his mound at Peppers Resort & Villas.
Wildlife Noosa’s Will Watson said the white turkey, the youngest in several generations to call Noosa home, often spends its days cruising Hastings Street but was outstaying its welcome when it began making a mess, tossing leaves and leaf litter across the road and annoying the visitors.
Will decided to step in to avoid a confrontation or eviction and proposed Peppers offer the rare bird a fenced in space, which they did.
“It’s a nice safe spot for the mound,” said Will who has placed a camera on the mound for people to watch the turkey’s progress.
Will began rescuing wildlife around Noosa several years ago when he returned home to help his ageing parents after a serious car accident 12 years ago ended his career in land engineering.
Having always worked on the land and with a love for animals, Will began rescuing sick and injured wildlife and taking them to the RSPCA Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre at Eumundi, Greencross Vets Noosa Civic and Australia Zoo.
Will now rescues about 600 animals a year and in 2020 decided to incorporate Wildlife Noosa as a not-for-profit limited liability company and seek charitable endorsements to gather resources to assist animals in need.
Will said a payout from his accident had initially covered the costs of his work but had now run out. He recently bought a smaller vehicle to cut fuel costs and a Sea-Doo watercraft to assist with the rescue of seabirds, but his biggest expenses are fuel and equipment for rescuing and transporting rescued wildlife.
Will has been joined by a small group of volunteers who help with rescues and provide online resources to inform and educate the public about caring for wildlife and curbing unwanted behaviours such as discarding fishing lines and hooks that regularly end up entangling wildlife.
For more information visit Wildlife Noosa on Facebook.
Wildlife Noosa has been recommended by Noosa Council staff for an Environment Project & Alliance Grant which will be considered by councillors this month.
Also recommended for the grants are Noosa Integrated Catchment Association (NICA), Hinterland Bush Links Inc and the Noosa Environmental Education Hub.
NICA’s two programs shortlisted for grants are A Line in the Sand and Enter the Flyosphere. For A Line in the Sand, NICA, in collaboration with Ozfish Noos,a plan to replace the 30 existing fishing line recovery bins with new, purpose-built and aesthetically pleasing ones and aim to improve recreational fishing waste behaviour by delivering educational information.
NICA’s Enter the Flyosphere project aims to improve the long-term survival of migratory shorebirds in the Noosa River through threat assessment surveys and education.
The Hinterland Bush Links Inc project aims to engage the local community to restore and connect local habitat based on a model called Roving Restorers that was initiated in the Blackall Ranges in 2012.
The Noosa Environmental Education Hub provides curriculum-based education to young people about ecosystems that support their existence and inform them of the work of local environmental groups in collaboration with traditional custodians.
