The Rudder Park Lookout will be closed for approximately 3 weeks while the buffer between residents and the flying fox colony is maintained.

It's a task that ecologists from JBEnviro undertake every few years to remove bamboo and exotic plants that could become potential roosting spots for the flying foxes.

Environmental consultant and ecologist Jason Berrigan said that workers will often where hi-vis shirts, turn on power saws in the car parks and talk amongst themselves before beginning the revegetation as part of their strategy.

"Our process is to approach slowly and let them be aware that we're there and we are not a predator that'll attack them.

"They relax very quickly."

The colony took up residence in Rudder Park within the last few years and have yet to leave their riverside home.

The location is described as an oasis for bats but for local residents like Ann H, the condition are less than ideal.

"The smell is really bad and the excrement when they're flying over is a problem," she said.

"We've had cars that have rusted the roofs and everything.

"If they were elsewhere, that would be better."

But evicting the colony isn't so simple.

As a protected species under both state and federal laws, the Grey-Headed flying fox can't be removed from the land by council.

But removing the flying foxes isn't an action that Kempsey Council Environmental Planning Officer Megan Jones would want to undertake anyways, regardless of the laws in place.

"They're apart of our landscape," she said.

"Their movement throughout the landscape is quite important and it's their home too."

Mr Berrigan echoed Ms Jones' sentiment.

"There's not that many as a nation in terms of what they originally were," he said.

"Their ecological role as a key pollinator means they're as important as bees easily.

"Our forestry really depends on them."

Mr Berrigan attributes the colonies residency in Kempsey to factors such as the species need for a nearby water source, prevailing winds and availability of food sources like eucalypt flowers.

Changing climate conditions also have an influence on the flying foxes' movements.

"Because climate change is obviously temperature related and that's influenced the flowering period of the eucalypts that affects these guys," he said

"The patterns they're used to have now changed so they're getting lost in the landscape so to speak."

As temperatures rise, more and more flying foxes are expanding their range further south of the country and as a result, have taken up residency in Kempsey.

As important as the colony is to the environment, some residents have voiced concern over the dreaded Hendra virus which can be carried from flying foxes onto horses.

But Kempsey Council and New South Wales Department of Health documents suggest that humans catching the virus directly from flying foxes is extremely unlikely provided that residents follow recommended guidelines.

The buffer maintenance in Rudder Park also aims at ensuring both locals and bats can safely enjoy the park.

Once the park reopens within the next three weeks, Kempsey Council will continue to keep an eye on the winged visitors.

"As part of this program we'll be doing and after these works are completed, we'll be doing monthly monitoring of the camp to get a better idea of what's going on," Ms Jones said.

While Mr Berrigan said that the flying foxes could leave at anytime if factors such as if food supply changes, it appears that the colony won't be vacating anytime soon.

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