|
ENVIRONMENT
(Extract from Department
of Land & Water Conservation, Norah Head Lightstation Conservation
Management Plan, August 2000)
From a survey conducted
so far, and the information available on the wildlife atlas records, a
number of threatened species listed on the Threatened Species Conservation
Act, 1995 occur in the area. Those species are:
Syzygium paniculatum
Magenta Lilly Pilly: Trees of this species occur on the northern
slopes in the remnant littoral rainforest. About 30 trees are present
with more trees located to the west outside of the study area. This species
is listed on schedule 2 and further detail on the ecology of this species
can be read in Payne (1996).
Crinia tinnula Wallum Froglet: The Wallum Froglet was heard
calling from the small soak dominated by a reedland of Baumea juncea in
the tall shrubland. This species is known from the nearby endeangered
ecological community site and is listed on schedule 2. The habitat is
typical for the Wallum Froglet.
Diornedea melanophrys Black-browned Albatross: This species
is a circumpolar migrant which will migrate to the southern continents
in Winter-Spring. It will mainly occur in Southern Australia in Winter.
The habitat of this albatross is the marine waters and will rarely fly
over land. However, it breeds in steep rocky broken terrain of the subantarctic
and Antarctic islands. Listed on schedule 2 as vulnerable.
Pterodroma solandri Providence Petrel: The Providence Petrel
is listed on schedule 2 and is a regular visitor to the offshore waters.
It is transequatorial migratory and dispersive species mainly from Lord
Howe Island but is known to occur in Australia in all months. Its habitat
is the pelagic waters of the south west Pacific Ocean but it nests in
burrows or rock crevices on Lord Howe Island.
Calidris alba Sanderling: The Sanderling is listed on schedule 2 and occurs
on sandy beaches, tidal flats and lagoons. The species is a transequatorial
migrant to Australia between September and May.
Sterna albifrons Little Tern: The Little Tern is also an
inhabitant of sandy beaches where it nests and feeds. This species is
under severe threat because of disturbance and predation during the breeding
season and loss of breeding habitat. It is listed on schedule 1 as endangered.
Gygis alba White Tern: The White Tern is only a casual visitor
to Australia and can occur following storms when it is washed ashore.
Unlike the Little Tern, the White Tern inhabits oceanic islands and surrounding
seas and nests in cliff cavities and rock ledges. The species is listed
on schedule 2 as vulnerable.
Haematopus longirostris Pied Oystercatcher: The Pied Oystercatcher
is listed on schedule 2 as vulnerable. It can be found on undisturbed
beaches, sandspits and sandbars, mudflats, estuaries, rocky shore platforms
and saline wetlands. Nesting sites are shallow scrapes in the sand or
amongst low vegetation behind the beach.
Haematopus fuliginosus Sooty Oystercatcher: The Sooty Oystercatcher
is also listed on schedule 2 as vulnerable. It has a habitat not unlike
the Pied Oystercatcher but is a more solitary species.
The littoral rainforest on the northern slope and the open shrubland
on the ridge have been given a conservation risk code of N2 and the closed
heathland on the southern slope a conservation risk code of N3 (Payne
& Duncan, 1998). This generally infers that at the bioregional level
the habitats are not under threat and protected in regional national
parks such as Munmorah State Recreation Area and Wamberal Lagoon Nature
Reserve.
Visitors to the Norah
Head Lighthouse Reserve can often see a number of waders and seabirds,
particularly during times of bird migration from the Northern Hemisphere
which occurs during Winter/Spring and during transequatorial migrations
which occur between September and May. Some of these species are listed
on the Threatened Species Conservation Act, 1995. The following table
which appears in the Norah Head Lightstation Conservation Management Plan
2000, lists rare waders and seabirds seen at the Reserve, together with
their legal status and the number of sightings.
|
Sooty Oystercatcher
Lighthouse surrounds
|
Arctic
Jaegar
Arctic Tern
Australasian Gannet
Black-browed Albatross
Black-winged Stilt
Brown Booby
Buller's Shearwater
Common Tern
Crested Tern
Curlew Sandpiper
Double-banded Plover
Eastern Reef Egret
Eurasian Golden Plover
Great Cormorant
Grey-tailed Tattler
Kelp Gull
Lesser Golden Plover
Lewin's Rail
Little Tern
Little Penguin
Little Black Cormorant
Little Pied Cormorant
Nankeen Kestrel
Pacific Golden Plover
Pied Oystercatcher
Providence Petrel
Red-capped Plover
Red-necked Stint
Ruddy Tumstone
Sandering
Silver Gull
Sooty Oystercatcher
Sooty Shearwater
Striated Heron
Wedge-tailed Shearwater
White Tern
White-faced Heron
White-fronted Tern
White-winged Black Tern
Yellow-nosed Albatross |
Stercorarius
parasiticus
Sterna paradisaea
Morus serrator
Diomedea melanophrys
Himantopus himantopus
Sula leucogaster
Puffinus bulleri
Sterna hirundo
Sterna bergil
Calidris ferruginea
Charaddrius bicinctus
Egretta sacra
Pluvialis apricaria
Phalacrocorax carbo Heteroscelusbrevipes
Larus dominicanus
Pluvialis dominica
Rallus pectoralis
Sterna albifrons
Eudyptula minor
Phalacrocorax sulcirostris Phalacrocorax melanoleucos
Falco cenchroides
Pluvialis fulva
Haematopus longirostris
Pterodroma solandri
Charadrius ruficapillus
Calidris rulicolis
Arenaria interpres
Calidris alba
Larus novaehollandiae
Haematopus fuliginosus
Puffinus griseus
Butorides striatus
Puffinus pacificus
Gygis alba
Egretta novaehollandiae
Sterna striata
Chlidonias leucopterus
Diomedea Chlororhynchos |
P
P
P
V
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
E 1
P
P
P
P
P
V
V
P
P
P
V
P
V
P
P
P
V
P
P
P
P
|
1
1
4
1
1
1
2
3
7
3
6
1
1
4
6
2
1
1
2
1
2
5
3
4
1
2
3
6
8
3
9
9
1
1
3
2
1
3
1
1
|
- Brush-tail Possum
(Trichosurus vulpecula): Possums spotlighted across the road
from the Reserve. Some droppings were found in the reserve car park.
- Ring-tail Possum
(Pseudocheirus peregrinus): No possums were seen, but two old
drays were found near the central track.
- Eastern Pygmy
Possum (Cercatetus narnus): A single possum was spotlighted in
a Banksia near the Lighthouse car park.
- Red Fox (Vulpes
vulpes): Fox scats were found in the Reserve and the two car parks.
Some of the scats contained berries, including those of Bitou Bush.
- White-striped
Mastiff Bat (Tadarida australis): This bat was recorded flying
above the road to the Lighthouse.
- Flying Fox: No
flying foxes were seen.
- Unidentified bat:
One insectivorous bat was detected by the ANABAT.
To give some idea
of the numbers and variety of birds to be seen over a weekend, (which
is of particular interest to keen birdwatchers), the survey gave the following
results:
|
|
17 October
New Holland Honeyeater, White-cheeked Honeyeater, Lewins Honeyeater, Little
Wattlebird, Red Wattlebird, Dollarbird, Australian Hobby, Welcome Swallow,
Fairy Martin, Eastern Silver-eye, Superb Blue Wren, White-throated Tree
Creeper, Spur-winged Plover, Eastern Whipbird, Silver Gull White-tailed
Swift and Australian Magpie
18 October
New Holland Honeyeater, White-cheeked Honeyeater, Little Wattlebird, Red
Wattlebird, Welcome Swallow, Fairy Martin, Eastern Silver-eye, Superb
Blue Wren, White-throated Tree Creeper, Spur-winged Plover, Eastern Whipbird,
Australian Magpie, Eastern Rosella, Short-billed Corella and Galah
|
|