Chapter 9 – Migratory shorebirds and the Australian Painted Snipe

ABBOT POINT CUMULATIVE IMPACT ASSESSMENT REPORT
‘Ongoing use’ will therefore mean that the Caley Valley Wetland habitat remains as habitat in which
migratory shorebirds and the Australian Painted Snipe have been recorded and where the habitat is not
lost permanently due to development actions.
9.5 POTENTIAL IMPACTS
The following section identifies the potential direct and indirect impacts associated with the Abbot Point
project in relation to migratory shorebirds and the Australian Painted Snipe.
Detailed descriptions of the nature and extent of these potential impacts are provided in Appendix A of
this report.
9.5.1 Direct impacts
The Abbot Point project will potentially have two direct impacts on migratory shorebirds and the
Australian Painted Snipe:
• habitat loss; and
• direct bird mortality through collisions with vehicles and/or structures.
HABITAT LOSS
As outlined in Appendix A, the Abbot Point project will require some clearing of vegetation within the
development footprint.
Figure 9-20 shows the direct impacts that will occur to the Caley Valley Wetland as a result of the
construction phase. This is the area of maximum impact for the project, and in terms of the wetland is
the same area of impact as for the operational phase.
It is anticipated that approximately 55-70 ha of wetland (depending on which rail loop option is
developed) will be cleared during the construction phase of the Abbot Point project (see Table 9-5). This
equates to 1.43-1.79% of the wetland, and up to 4.84% of the closed marsh habitat.
The area of the wetland to be potentially impacted is used by a number of species, and includes habitat
that is important for the Latham’s Snipe and the Australian Painted Snipe which use the closed marsh
areas for cover and foraging. The Red-necked Stint and the Sharp-tailed Sand Piper use broader areas
of the wetland in addition to the closed and open marsh areas.
ECO LOGICAL AUSTRALIA & OPEN LINES 9 - 40