Why nocturnal animals?

Most of the native mammals on your block are out at night — gliders, possums, antechinus, bats. Walking around in daylight tells you almost nothing about them.

• They are the group fire hits hardest. Mammal numbers stay well down for years and some species take most of a decade to peak (2.1). They are also the group most exposed to foxes and cats once the cover is gone (4.1).
• They tell you whether hollows are the problem. If gliders and hollow-nesting birds are present but hollow-bearing trees are scarce, that is the case for nest boxes — and if they are absent, boxes will sit empty (4.6).
• The same survey counts the pests. Deer, foxes, rabbits and cats are nocturnal too. One night’s work tells you what you are protecting and what you are protecting it from.

Two tools cover it: cameras that watch continuously, and a thermal scope for walking the block yourself (3.9).