Each night, as sunset darkens the skies around Hervey Bay, a colony of Flying Foxes takes to the air. It is an amazing sight to behold as the colony, numbering up to a million strong at times, creates a majestic carpet of flapping batwings that spans the entire sky as they fly their regular evening journey towards Fraser Island.

By morning the colony has returned to its daily home at the mouth of Tooan Tooan Creek, Pialba – just a minute or two from the main beach and central shops of the Esplanade. Here you can visit this popular attraction as these beautiful, intelligent mammals hang about all day in the thousands.

While you’re there, see if you can identify the three kinds of species:

Black Flying Fox – a common species and permanent resident of the colony. Its head is covered in black fur usually with a brown tinge. A dark chocolate brown patch is common around the back of its neck and shoulders, whilst its body is covered in short black fur. This fox has black hairless legs and large dark brown eyes. Although it will generally stay within a 6km radius of its daytime home, it is capable of flying up to 20km in search for food.

Little Red Flying Fox – a common species and temporary resident of the colony. As the name suggests this fox is the smallest of the three usually weighing about half that of its Black or Grey Headed friends. Its head has a grayish fur whilst its body is reddish-brown to light-brown. This species has red-brown hairless legs and large red-brown eyes. Their most distinguishing feature is their semi-transparent brown wings. They can be identified clustering in groups, sometimes as many as 30 to a branch.

Grey Headed Flying Fox – a temporary resident of the colony who’s head is covered in grey fur with a collar of golden fur encircling it. Its body has long fluffy fur that looks grey or silver and that completely extends down its legs. This fox has large, dark brown eyes and is generally the same size as the Black Flying Fox. It flies further at night in its search for food than any of the other foxes, regularly making its way to World Heritage Listed Fraser Island. The Grey Headed Flying Fox is not found further north than Hervey Bay, and as such it is considered a ‘vulnerable’ species and thus careful conservation of its colony is vital to its survival.

If you’re outdoors in Hervey Bay at sunset you won’t miss these beautiful creatures as they fill the sky, just remember to take the time during the day to visit them at their home in Pialba as it is an experience to remember.