Kangaroos killed, maimed by shooters at Cheynes Beach - Western Australia’s iconic biodiversity hotspot

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Wedge-tailed Eagle with shot Western Grey Kangaroo

I was out at night on a track this week behind Cheynes Beach caravan park when I heard a series of gunshots from the farm property abutting the reserve and national park, just a few hundred metres away. This place on the south coast of Western Australia is renowned internationally as a wildlife hotspot of huge importance. I was looking for mammals with a thermal imager and no flashlight to give my presence away. A thin line of scrub was all that potentially separated me from the shooters' bullets. It occurred to me how unsafe the situation might be in an area where wildlife enthusiasts are often out and about at night.

The next morning I returned to the spot . A subadult male western grey kangaroo had been killed and was being fed on by a pair of wedge-tailed eagles. An adult female kangaroo with a well-developed joey in her pouch was lying nearby, with one leg up in the air. Another shooting victim, she evidently had a broken back and was in a great deal of distress. The remains of other kangaroos in the paddock suggested shootings were not a one-off occurrence.

Injured female Western Grey Kangaroo

It bothered me a great deal that wildlife taking refuge in a national park is slaughtered as soon as it enters private property. The kangaroos’ crime was to cross a fence to reach a huge, lushly grassed paddock with no domestic animals in it. To say nothing of the cruelty of leaving a critically injured animal alive. I immediately reported the incident to the caravan park management. They told me to contact National Parks & Wildlife Service in Albany, 70 km away. The NPWS told me it was too far away for them to do anything about it, that it was not really their concern, and to contact volunteer wildlife carers.

Western Grey Kangaroos in Cheyne Beach Caravan Park

Several hours and calls later, I was told a carer was on their way. Then NPWS had a change of heart and decided to become involved; I was interviewed by phone. However, the indications I had from NPWS and the caravan park managers were that the farm owners are “decent people“ who had done nothing wrong; that they had permits to kill “pest” wildlife; and they would “never” fire guns in the direction of the caravan park.

Beautiful Cheynes Beach is a vital ecological reserve . It beggars belief that the owners of a farm surrounded on all sides by protected reserve has licence to behave in a way that threatens not just wildlife but potentially, people watching it.

Cheynes Beach

The injured female was euthanised and her joey was taken into care (the only bright spot in this sordid tale). My suggestion now? The authorities should acquire the farm and allow it to regenerate as endangered species habitat - adding to the surrounding Arpentur Nature Reserve and  Waychnicup National Park - after they throw the book over this incident.

Wedge-tailed Eagle

Around Australia 2026 Part 7: WA – Dryandra to Denmark

Red-eared Firetail

Following our visit to the Goldfields of WA, we headed west for an overnight stay in Southern Cross, before continuing on to the Dryandra Woodland National Park, one of my favourite destinations in WA. We camped for three nights in the Lions Dryandra Village. Unfortunately cold, windy and rainy conditions put a dampener on things.

Dryandra Village

Dryandra is famous for being a stronghold of the exquisite Numbat, one of Australia's most endearing mammals. The weather notwithstanding, I managed good views of a somewhat distant Numbat foraging late in the morning, a few hundred metres from camp. This was my third encounter with the species. Unfortunately it bolted as soon as it saw me; no pics so I'll make do with these (below) from my last visit to Dryandra a few years ago, not far from this spot.

Echidna was more co-operative, with 2 showing nicely (below).

Western Grey Kangaroo was plentiful. This leucistic female with a pouch young (below) was nice to see.

I had hoped for Red-tailed Phascogale but the weather ruled out a serious effort to find them. Nest boxes set up around the village are being used by the species. I was impressed with how Lions and the village are powering ahead under the stewardship of managers/caretakers Les Westerlund and his wife Julie Cadwallader. They are helping out with crucial conservation/research efforts like the nest boxes and rearing orphaned wildlife. They are busily boosting the village's profile and durability with projects ranging from a new children's playground to hydrology earthworks to boost water flows to the village dam.

Les with a phascogale nest box at Dryandra Village

Wildflowers were in fine form. The plant the woodland is named after, Dryandra, was blooming nicely along with excellent flowering WA Golden Wattle and plenty of ground shrubs.

Glenn with flowering WA Golden Wattle

Greg with flowering Dryandra

Western Yellow Robin showed in the wandoo along with numerous Rufous Treecreepers.

Rufous Treecreeper

Western Yellow Robin

Purple-crowned Lorikeet was likely the commonest species; far more numerous than during previous visits.

Purple-crowned Lorikeet

Bush Stone-Curlew was also all over the place albeit in much smaller numbers.

Bush Stone-Curlew

Carnaby's Black-Cockatoo flew about in small flocks.

Carnaby's Black Cockatoo

Grey Currawong and Yellow-plumed Honeyeater were common.

Grey Currawong

Yellow-plumed Honeyeater

The wandoo woodlands (below)as usual were a delight to be amongst.

We headed south for a three-night stay in the River Mouth van park outside Denmark, a delightful South Coast town. Our van fronted Wilson's Inlet, with Denmark River close by.

Denmark River

Wilson's Inlet

Karri and jarrah forest (below) surrounding the town can be accessed through various walking tracks.

Red-eared Firetail is one of the west's most sought after endemics and I found a single bird, then a pair, along the tracks.

Red-eared Firetail

Western Rosella was present in small numbers.

Western Rosella

A couple of groups of Red-winged Fairywren showed nicely.

Red-winged Fairywren (female above, male below)

A small flock of the endemic subspecies of (Forest) Red-tailed Black Cockatoo was present.

Red-tailed (Forest) Black Cockatoo

As were some Spotted Scrubwrens and a couple of female Golden (Western) Whistlers.

Golden (Western) Whistler

Spotted Scrubwren

Western (Gilbert's) Honeyeater appeared to be common.

Western Honeyeater

A couple of Musk Ducks were on the river.

Musk Duck

Around Australia 2026 Part 6: WA's Mulga Lands and Goldfields

 

Splendid Fairywren

Following our visit to Geraldton, we headed east to the Yalgoo area, which I knew from past visits boasted some of Australia's finest displays of wildflowers in season. So it was again. The mulga woodlands were carpeted with a dazzling array of wildflowers of many colours and varieties. We camped offroad among them, enjoying our first campfire of the trip (images below).

Birds were plentiful. A pair of Splendid Fairywrens near camp were co-operative.

Splendid Fairywren

Flowering shrubs attracted Pied and Black Honeyeaters.

Pied Honeyeater

Red-capped Robin and Mulga Parrot were looking good.

Mulga Parrot

Red-capped Robin

We continued on to Mt Magnet (which we visited from another direction during out 2014 trip around Oz) and a truckstop 20km west of the town of Sandstone. This is a site for the Sandhill Grassren, which I've not seen. It inhabits spinifex shrublands, notably different and sharply demarcated from extensive mulga woodlands to the east and west of the area. We camped at the truckstop one night, and the next night stayed in the van park in Sandstone.

Sandhill Grasswren habitat

Unfortunately despite two days of concerted effort, I dipped on the grasswren, having to make do with finding the bird's fresh track prints (below). I also saw fresh Malleefowl prints.

We spent a night in Leinster, an unusually attractive mining town. We were in the Goldfields now; this and other towns were very much dominated by the gold-mining industry. Heading south, we had another bush camp at Station Creek, admiring the beautiful mulga woodlands (below). I saw a Western Quail-thrush briefly here.

We continued on to Leonora and the “ghost town” of Gwalia. Many old buildings from the early mines in the once bustling town in the late-1800s have been restored. Visitors are free to walk among them (below).

People can also look down into the vast belly of the still operating Gwalia gold mine. In 1897, the mine (below) was managed by Herbert Hoover, who went on to become the president of the United States.

Next overnight stop was the pleasant town of Menzies. Dense mulga around the town cemetery had unusually good numbers of Redthroat.

Redthroat (above & below)

White-browed Babbler was also common.

White-browed Babbler

The cemetery itself was interesting. Local historians have provided memorial signs (one below) for everyone buried there. The horrendous toll of typhoid and other diseases on young people at that time was sobering.

We enjoyed our final couple of days in the Goldfields checking out local attractions in Kalgoorlie-Boulder.

Kalgoorlie Mining Museum