Protecting private land to save the plains-wanderer, a bird ‘teetering on the edge of extinction’

Plains Wanderer Sanctuary owner Bill McGillivray on the porch of the old shearers' quarters on his property in Gunbower, Victoria. Photograph: Steve Womersley/The Guardian

The wide, dry grasslands of north-west Victoria are home to one of Australia’s rarest birds. Graziers who have lived alongside the elusive animal for generations have joined forces with conservationists to keep the species alive.

Bill McGillivray’s family has owned property on the Patho Plains in north-central Victoria for more than 70 years.