Chapter 9 – Migratory shorebirds and the Australian Painted Snipe

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Migratory shorebird species Common name ABBOT POINT CUMULATIVE IMPACT ASSESSMENT REPORT Feb count Feb est Mar count Mar est 0.1% level % pop Limosa limosa Black-tailed Godwit 1 1 160
ABBOT POINT CUMULATIVE IMPACT ASSESSMENT REPORT The February component of the wet season survey recorded three individuals and the dry season recorded 24. This latter record was estimated to represent a total of 35 birds after extrapolation to unsurveyed areas. This is unusual in its size and represents approximately 2.3% of the total population of the species. Given that the species is commonly only found in small numbers, the survey results suggest that the Caley Valley Wetland (and the habitat mosaic it provides) supports an important population of the Australian Painted Snipe. 9.3.4 Key species As described above, the Caley Valley Wetland meets the definition of important habitat for migratory shorebirds based on the number of individuals of three species observed during the 2012 surveys. These include: • Latham’s Snipe; • Sharp-tailed Sandpiper; and • Red-necked Stint. In addition, it is considered that Caley Valley Wetland supports an important population of the Australian Painted Snipe. The value of the area to each of these four key species is discussed below. LATHAM’S SNIPE Latham's Snipe is a medium sized wader and the largest snipe in Australia, weighing up to 230 g (SEWPaC 2012ac). Australian Distribution Latham's Snipe occur in temperate and tropical regions of Australia (Driscoll 1993). They occur in a single, dispersed non-breeding population (Garnett & Crowley 2000). The entire global population of Latham's Snipe is thought to migrate to Australia for the austral summer. Latham's Snipe arrives in northern Australia from July to November (Frith et al. 1977; Higgins & Davies 1996). From there they move slowly southward, passing along the coastline and through regions near the coast and mostly overwinter in central eastern and south eastern Australia. In Queensland, birds are most common as passage migrants from Cape York Peninsula along the eastern coast and tablelands (Frith et al. 1977; Storr 1984). They tend to start their northward migration early and are known to spend significant time in coastal Queensland after the onset of the wet season, which is thought to be an adaptation to exploit northern wetlands once wetlands in southern Australia have dried out over summer (Lane and Forest 1984). Latham's Snipe are highly mobile and move readily between sites as conditions change. As a result local populations can exhibit rapid and significant fluctuations in size (Naarding 1985, 1986). ECO LOGICAL AUSTRALIA & OPEN LINES 9 - 23
Page 1 and 2: Abbot Point Cumulative Impact Asses
Page 3 and 4: ABBOT POINT CUMULATIVE IMPACT ASSES
Page 13 and 14: Figure 9-3: BAAM March survey locat
Page 21 and 22: Coastal water and estuarine (intert
Page 23: ABBOT POINT CUMULATIVE IMPACT ASSES
Page 27 and 28: SHARP-TAILED SANDPIPER ABBOT POINT
Page 29 and 30: Feeding habitat and behaviour ABBOT
Page 41 and 42: 9.4 CONSERVATION OBJECTIVES ABBOT P
Page 43 and 44: Table 9-5: Areas of the Caley Valle
Page 45 and 46: 9.5.2 Indirect Impacts ABBOT POINT
Page 47 and 48: GROUNDWATER ABBOT POINT CUMULATIVE
Page 51 and 52: DISTURBANCE RELATED IMPACTS Noise A
Page 69 and 70: 9.9 INTERACTION WITH CLIMATE CHANGE
Page 71: ABBOT POINT CUMULATIVE IMPACT ASSES

Chapter 9 – Migratory shorebirds and the Australian Painted Snipe

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?