A recommendation, if approved, would provide a road map for the development of a new flying fox camp management plan for the Kooloonbung Creek area.

There are steps proposed along the way including the establishment of a consultative committee for flying fox management.

The recommendation is contained within a Port Macquarie-Hastings Council report about flying fox management at Kooloonbung Creek Nature Reserve.

The council report said flying fox numbers had been shown to vary from 5000 to 10,000 in winter to up to 165,000 during peak summer seasons.

“Seasonal fluctuations are typical of all flying fox colonies in Australia, representing migration patterns across a network of habitat and foraging grounds along the eastern seaboard of Australia,” the report said.

“Recent summers have seen an increase in the abundance of the flying fox colony within the Kooloonbung Creek Nature Reserve with the seasonal influx of little red flying foxes.”

The seasonal summer influx is the main concern of some neighbouring residents.

The flying fox colony had also remained at high numbers for longer this year into autumn and winter than previous years, the report said.

Grey-headed flying foxes make up the majority of the permanent flying fox population of the colony in the Kooloonbung Creek area. 

The report to the council meeting follows completion of the in-situ management actions in the Kooloonbung Creek Plan of Management 2012.

The council continues to monitor the population quarterly as part of the CSIRO national flying fox census. 

The report said the community, specifically residents living at the southern end of Glebe Close, had recently approached the council with concerns.

The council discussed the flying fox issue in July with Minister for the Environment, Minister for Local Government and Minister for Heritage Gabrielle Upton, along with Port Macquarie MP Leslie Williams.

An earlier report on the flying fox issue went before the April council meeting.

Meanwhile, other matters on the council meeting agenda include the Bonny Hills Community Plan, carry-over projects and the draft markets policy.

The council meeting begins at 5.30pm on August 15 at the council chambers in Burrawan Street.