A friend of mine, Pat, purchased a home abutting some remnant bushland in 2024. This bushland was not present on google street view in 2008, so it was quite young, primarily containing Melaleuca quinquenervia.
Pat decided to construct and install a range of nest boxes in trees in his backyard adjacent to the bushland, not knowing what would inhabit them. They were all placed around four metres off the ground, as high as practical.
Attribution for Title Photo: Figaro, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Nest box cameras were installed in some of the boxes. Within two months, a Squirrel Glider family was seen using two of the boxes. There were at least four adults present.
They have inhabited one of the boxes, the one covered in paperbark, since that time and recently displayed breeding success, with two young being caught on camera.
This displays the benefit of providing nesting habitat in our gardens. The young forest abutting Pat’s house would have provided foraging but no nesting habitat, as it was too young for hollow development.
So, try providing a range of nest boxes in your yard and watch what happens!
Adrian Gallagher