The Vertebrate Fauna of Jenolan Karst Conservation Reserve: Final

Table 8: Comparison of detection rates (presence only) between harp trapping and ultrasonic call
recording. The number of animals gives an indication of relative abundance, although harp
trapping surveys under-sample high-flying species.
Species (for scientific
names refer to Appendix
A).
Anabat sites
(per cent of sites
detected) n = 23
Harp trap sites
(per cent of sites
detected) n=27
Number of individuals
captured by harp
trapping (per cent of
total captures in
brackets)
Large forest bat 74 52 145 (30%)
Gould's long-eared bat Poorly sampled by
this technique
52 43 (8.9%)
Southern forest bat 39 44 80 (17%)
Little forest bat 35 37 51 (11%)
Chocolate wattled bat 48 37 78 (16%)
Lesser long-eared bat Poorly sampled by
this technique
26 19 (4%)
Eastern false pipistrelle 44 22 33 (7%)
Large-eared pied bat 26 15 8 (2%)
Eastern bentwing-bat 65 11 18 (4%)
Gould's wattled bat 35 7 5 (1%)
Eastern horseshoe bat 44 7 2 (0.4%)
Greater broad-nosed bat 0 4 1 (0.2%)
Long-eared bat sp. (likely to
include both Gould’s and lesser
long-eared bats)
35 NA NA
White-striped freetail-bat 35 0 0
4.2.7 Introduced birds
Within JKCR, there is only one record in the Atlas of NSW Wildlife of an introduced bird: the European
goldfinch. This sighting was at the Jenolan River campground in 2008. This species was not detected
during the current survey at this location, or anywhere else in the reserve. Nonetheless, European
goldfinches have been recorded in the surrounding pine forests (Driscoll 1977) and are expected to
occasionally be found in the disturbed areas of the reserve. It is unlikely to ever be a significant pest
within the reserve (Driscoll 1977). The Eurasian blackbird is also listed as resident in the reserve
(Eddison 2008). Although it was not detected in the current surveys, JKCR is within the predicted
range of this species and suitable habitat is present (DECC 2007). Eurasian blackbirds are likely to be
much more problematic than European goldfinches, as they will occupy undisturbed forest, will
compete with native species and spread fruiting
weeds (DECC 2007). Other introduced birds that
have the potential to occupy disturbed habitat
within JKCR are the house sparrow, rock dove
and red-whiskered bulbul – all of which are
established in the towns of the Blue Mountains.
There are also records of common mynas,
common starlings and Eurasian skylark within 5
kilometres of JKCR. Most of these species are
restricted to disturbed environments or open
grassy woodlands and are unlikely to ever be of
management concern at JKCR, aside from
around the main tourist precinct. The exception is
the Eurasian blackbird and populations of this
Eurasian blackbirds can spread weeds and compete with
native birds. Photo © M. Schulz
species should be monitored over the coming
decades.
The Vertebrate Fauna of Jenolan Karst Conservation Reserve 35