Enhancing Biodiversity Hotspots Along Western Queensland Stock ...

Site 10. Cooper Creek Waterhole (Windorah)
STOCK ROUTE NUMBER: U480
PRIORITY SPECIES: Animals:
Australian painted snipe (Rostratula australis).
At this site the following species are also known to
occur: the kultarr (Antechinomys laniger) that is found
on the adjoining dunes and listed as Rare under the
NCA, the red-tailed black-cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus
banksii), and an undescribed species of turtle (Steve
Wilson, pers. comm.).
RATING: BIODIVERSITY HOTSPOT.
SHIRE COUNCIL: BARCOO SHIRE
The Cooper Creek Waterhole (Plate 24) is 37 metres deep and an important refugia
for fish and turtle assemblages. It eventually discharges into Lake Eyre, providing
brood stock for the many bird and aquatic species that explode in numbers after a big
‘wet season’ (as witnessed during the course of this project). The connectivity of this
site and others with the Windorah floodplains and their high fish production is well
documented (Balcombe and Arthington, 2009). Additionally, Major Mitchell’s
cockatoos (Lophochroa leadbeateri) and red-tailed black-cockatoos
(Calyptorhynchus banksii) are known to use the riparian old growth trees for
breeding.
Plate 24. Coopers Creek Waterhole (Photo: B. Walsh).
THREATS: The major threats to this site are overgrazing by cattle, overfishing,
predation by feral cats and foxes, habitat degradation by weeds, and visitor impacts
from excessive camping and firewood collection. Cane toads have been recorded at
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