Byron Flora and Fauna Study 1999 - Byron Shire Council

BYRON FLORA AND FAUNA STUDY, 1999
infrequently detected during the survey. The White-striped Freetail-bat, which was detected at 13
sites, was the exception. This large species is likely to forage above the forest canopy, and is thought
to range relatively further than other hollow utilising bat species, which could account for the
greater number of records. However, the majority of sites at which this species was detected had
low numbers of calls.
3. a number of species that are regarded as common and widely distributed in other areas of northeast
NSW were recorded at very few sites, e.g. the Eastern Horseshoe Bat, Long-eared Bats, and
the Eastern Forest Bat.
4. bats are widely distributed in the Shire, and bats were detected at all but 12 sites.
5. records were obtained for a number of significant species (discussed below), indicating that the
Shire contains a significant assemblage of bat species. Particularly significant are records of the
Large-eared Pied Bat, Yellow-bellied Sheathtail-bat, and Eastern Tube-nosed Bat.
6. the failure to detect some target species (e.g. Beccari’s Freetail-bat and the Eastern Cave Bat), and
the low number of records of other species listed in Table 1 adds support to the view that such
species are genuinely localised or rare in the Shire, and that this is not simply a reflection of lack of
survey effort. Such comments do not necessarily apply to the Golden-tipped Bat, which is far less
likely to be detected from calls.
Target species that were detected during the survey are:
Yellow-bellied Sheathtail-bat
Detected at 3 of the 51 survey sites. A single pass was detected at each of two of these sites, but four passes
were detected at site 3 (adjacent to Batson’s Quarry), where the species appeared to be flying along the
main road clearing. It could not be determined whether the species was foraging at the latter site, but this
had an unusually high level of activity. In nearly all instances, this species is recorded from a single call
sequence per site, perhaps indicating a transient individual.
Large-eared Pied Bat
This species was located at site 34 in Mt Jeruselum National Park, and at site 35 at Doon Doon Saddle, on
the western boundary of Byron Shire. This species roosts in caves and rock overhangs, and it may be
significant that all three sites were at or near cliff faces. This species is uncommon and localised throughout
its range in the State, and is infrequently detected despite past intensive survey effort (NSW NPWS 1994,
1995; Schulz et al. 1998).
Eastern Freetail-bat
Although the species is known to occur in Byron Shire, definite records were not obtained during the
survey. Calls of two species, the Eastern Freetail-bat (Mormopterus norfolkensis) and an unnamed Freetail-bat
(Mormopterus sp1, see Parnaby 1992) can be difficult to distinguish, although this is possible with some calls.
These two species could not be distinguished in most instances from the calls obtained during the survey
and definite identifications of the Eastern Freetail-bat were not made. However, the species has been recorded
from Batson’s Quarry (Hoye 1993), Goonengerry National Park and Mt Jeruselum National Park (CSIRO
1996).
Eastern Tube-nosed Bat
Calls of the species have been recorded in Byron Shire from October to April (Milledge 1987), and the
single record obtained during the survey on 1 May is several weeks later than usual (D. Milledge pers. comm.).
The lack of records of this species is likely to be a consequence of the timing of the survey, although the
species appears to be uncommon and localised in far north-eastern NSW. The single record of this species
obtained during the survey was of an individual heard calling in a gully in wet sclerophyll forest with a
rainforest understorey, near a dam off Mill Road, Goonengerry.
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