Byron Flora and Fauna Study 1999 - Byron Shire Council

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BYRON FLORA AND FAUNA STUDY, 1999 latter would most likely have produced further records of the species for which there were already substantial data without a significant addition to the information on the poorly known species. One group of Threatened species selected for particular survey attention was the microchiropteran bats, some species of which were known from only one or two records in Byron Shire. This group was surveyed using ultrasonic detection methods by H. Parnaby at locations throughout the Shire during April and May 1998. A full description of the sites surveyed and methods used is contained in the report included as Appendix 9. Other poorly known Threatened species were surveyed using targeted methods in suitable habitats across the Shire during the period April 1997 to September 1998. The species targeted, methods used and areas searched comprised: • Loveridge’s Frog – spring-summer searches (aural) of drainage line headwaters, cliff-line soakages on wet or moist, overcast days and nights in the Mt Boogarem and Snows Gully-Wanganui Gorge areas; • Stephen’s Banded Snake – summer-autumn searches of roads and tracks on warm, moist nights in the Upper Main Arm, Mt Boogarem, Goonengerry and Snows Gully-Wanganui Gorge areas; • Square-tailed Kite Lophoictinia isura – spring-early summer elevated lookout watches for soaring individuals during early mornings, and summer-autumn searches of coastal plain and coastal ridge forests in the Marshalls Ridges, Lower Brunswick River, Tyagarah, Ewingsdale, Suffolk Park and Broken Head areas; • Comb-crested Jacana Irediparra gallinacea – spring-summer-autumn searches of coastal water bodies supporting waterlilies in early mornings in the Marshalls Ridges, Ocean Shores, Belongil Creek, and Suffolk Park areas; • Powerful Owl Ninox strenua – autumn and winter recorded call playing in coastal and hinterland eucalypt forests after dusk in the Upper Main Arm, Marshalls Ridges, Montecollum, Goonengerry and Broken Head areas; • Masked Owl – autumn-winter-spring recorded call playing in coastal eucalypt forests, particularly old-growth forests, after dusk in the Tyagarah, Goonengerry and Broken Head areas; • Marbled Frogmouth – spring-summer recorded call playing in the Upper Main Arm, Mt Boogarem, Goonengerry and Snows Gully-Wanganui areas; • Rufous Scrub-bird – spring-summer recorded call playing in the Doon Doon Saddle area; • Barred Cuckoo-shrike – summer-autumn searches of paddock and remnant rainforest fig trees on the coastal plain in the Tyagarah, Ewingsdale and Skinners Shoot areas. Incidental Threatened fauna records were collected during other investigations throughout the Shire and during the plot-based vegetation survey, which also recorded a suite of micro-habitat attributes significant to Threatened fauna. All records of Threatened species collected during field surveys were entered in the Byron Shire Threatened Fauna Database. 6.3 RESULTS 6.3.1 Vertebrate species occurring in Byron Shire The review of existing information produced a total of 420 terrestrial vertebrate species known to occur in Byron Shire. These comprised 30 species of amphibians, 45 species of reptiles, 283 species of birds and 62 species of mammals. Seventy species or 17% are included on Schedules 1 (Endangered) and 2 (Vulnerable) of the TSC Act, 1995. One amphibian, five birds and six mammals are introduced species which have established wild populations. All species and the principal references or other sources used to determine their occurrence in the Shire are listed in Appendix 10. 77
A GREENPRINT FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE The field surveys did not add any new species to the total although a number of records of species which had previously been known from only one or two records were obtained. The results of the bat call survey are included as Appendix 9 and additional records of Threatened species are included in the Byron Shire Threatened Fauna Database. A number of species which had previously been listed for the Shire were considered to have been erroneously recorded, were likely to have been escapees from captivity or could not be confirmed and were excluded from the total list. These species, with the sources referring to their occurrences, are as follows: • Giant Barred Frog Mixophyes iteratus Biosis Research 1990 • Green-thighed Frog Litoria brevipalmata ANSWW • Brisbane Short-necked Turtle Emydura signata Milledge 1991 • Little Curlew Numenius minutus Milledge 1991 • Terek Sandpiper Xenus cinereus Milledge 1991 • Sanderling Calidris alba Milledge 1991 • Kelp Gull Larus dominicanus Milledge 1991 • White-fronted Tern Sterna striata Milledge 1991 • Red-tailed Black-cockatoo Calyptorhynchus banksii ANSWW, NSW NPWS 1995 • Cockatiel Nymphicus hollandicus Milledge 1991 • Buff-rumped Thornbill Acanthiza reguloides Biosis Research 1990 • Nutmeg Mannikin Lonchura punctulata Milledge 1991 • Dusky Antechinus Antechinus swainsonii Biosis Research 1990 6.3.2 Byron Shire Threatened Fauna Species Database Records of the 70 Threatened fauna species comprising the Byron Shire Threatened Fauna Species Database are summarised in Table 6.1. This provides the total number of records included to date for each species in the study area from 1970 to the present, the number of locations (100 m grid cells) where each species has been recorded in the study area over this period, and the National Parks, Nature Reserves, State Forests and Flora Reserves where each species is also known to occur. Distribution maps were generated for all 70 species from the database and will be available from Council. Examples of the distribution maps are presented in Appendix 11. An example page from the Threatened Fauna Database is shown below in Table 6.2. Each map shows the locations (but not numbers of records) where a species has been recorded in the Shire since 1970 and also indicates its known occurrence in the public reserves (National Parks, Nature Reserves, State Forests and Flora Reserves). Information was collected to prepare species profiles for each Threatened species. This information was compiled for a selection of seven species and is given in Appendix 11. The profiles provide information on: • regional distribution and abundance • general ecology including habitat, shelter, diet, territory, breeding and movements • conservation status and threatening processes • local distribution and abundance • local ecology and conservation significance of the study area 78
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Byron Flora and Fauna Study 1999 - Byron Shire Council

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