Australian Seabird Rescue

It’s All Happening

// December 12th, 2009 // Blog Articles

We are postponing the Lance Ferris Memorial Dinner and instead having a bash more in keeping with Lance.  Please come along and join us for some fun.

SAME DIARY DATE – Saturday December 12

We are going to celebrate the life and work of our founder, Lance Ferris, on his birth date - THIS Saturday 12/12 – but in a more low key way with a BBQ, drinks and some home-spun music – at the Ballina ASR Centre, 4-8 pm.  The theme is GOLD – entry, meal and drinks (beer, wine, mixed cans) all by gold coin donations – vegetarians will be catered for and there’ll be a range of lucky door prizes all with values exceeding $25 (think almost free Christmas presents).

We’ll be selling tickets in the raffle for a Kim Michelle Toft original artwork.  Featuring pelicans (of course) there are only 300 tickets at a measly $5 each.  Great value for a prize worth $1200.

The ASR Christmas raffle will also be on hand: 1st prize, NORPA season double pass (valued $500); 2nd prize Ballina Players season double pass (value $200); 3rd prize, basket of goodies (value $80).

We’d love to see you there, and please bring family and friends.  Lance was a wonderful musician and singer and so, if you have a guitar or any other instrument you like to play, do bring it along for the jam session!!

NEW DIARY DATE – Saturday June 6

There’s been a bit of rearranging of our plans over the past few days.  Unfortunately, the lack of bookings for the Lance Ferris Memorial Dinner and fundraiser set for December 12th has seen us opting to postpone the event – the new date set is World Environment Day Saturday, June 5th.

A focus group will be meeting on Friday 8th January to start planning this event, at 10.30 at the Ballina Centre, and will continue to meet regularly after that.  If you have experience or any special skills you can bring to this event and would like to be involved, we would love to hear from you!  Science / Tourism / Hospitality / Marketing / Media students are especially welcome!  And if you have a connection with any of the many high profile “stars” that now call the Far North Coast home, who you think may be open to supporting this event, we’d love to hear from you about that too.

RARE VISITOR

TRUTLE, the young Loggerhead turtle, got him/her self into real trouble.  Typically a tropical / sub-tropical species, this wayward youngster was discovered a couple of months ago amidst the Little Penguins at Phillip Island on the southern tip of Victoria!  He was floating and underweight and generally quite unwell – not surprisingly. In a great collaboration with local wildlife carer Marg Healy and ASR, he was cared for locally and stabilised there before being flown up to us last week.  It is extremely rare for us to see a Loggerhead turtle of this size (29cm shell) and age.  Never before in ASR’s history have we had a Loggerhead turtle in care of this size.  They undergo a weird phase where their shell changes from relatively smooth and goes all peaky – very prehistoric looking!  After a few years it settles back down to what becomes the adult form.

SCHOOL HOLIDAY TOURS Dec 28 – Jan 26

As is our custom during school holidays, the Centre will be open to the usual daily one-hour “Talk’n'Tour”, from 10am every day.   Entry is $5 (ASR members free), so if you’re expecting visitors these holidays, do bring them along, to see our very rare visitor.  No tours prior to Christmas.

SPOT THE TURTLE NEST COMPETITION

Yes, it’s that time of year again.  We need anyone and everyone out there looking for turtles or turtle tracks from now until the end of March.  With beach erosion from the June storms yet to be replaced in many places there are still steep sand cliffs along many beaches.  Turtle nests laid at the bottom of these cliffs will be in danger of inundation from subsequent summer king tides.  We have to spot the nest the same day it’s laid if we are to relocate the nest to a safer spot.  Moving one nest has the potential to save 100 hatchlings.  Last season the Make Turtles Count project spotted 7 nests and missed probably another 13.  Also last summer was a record for ASR with 30 turtles in care at one time.  It seems that when people are out looking for turtle nests they’re also more likely to spot a sick or injured turtle.

With this in mind we’ve started a competition.  Keep an eye out on your local beach, talk to friends and neighbours and enlist them in the fun.  A turtle prize pack from the ASR Gift Shop (value $40.00) awaits any successful turtle nest spotters this season.

THE TIME OF GIVING & SHARING

Everyone of course wants to be able to spend the Christmas/New Year period celebrating and sharing with friends and family…. BUT if wildlife gets into trouble, it still needs help – and any birds or turtles we have in care still need looking after.  If you can help by contributing a few hours on any day during this period, you will be most welcome.  Please email Acting General Manager, Keith Williams, at the Centre:  admin@seabirdrescue.org or phone 66 862 852 if you can help out.

With best wishes for the season.

Marny, Keith and Rochelle.