Hi everybody -
Some exciting news that many of us have been waiting and hoping for.
Cheers,
Hugo
-----------------------------------------
NEW HAVEN FOR WILDLIFE IN THE CENTRE!
Birds Australia is planning the purchase of a second large reserve.
Newhaven Station, a property of 2626 km2 (five times the area of Gluepot
Reserve), lies 360 km north-west of Alice Springs in the Northern
Territory, on the eastern edge of the Gibson desert. It is the most
stunning piece of country.
Newhaven has a wide range of habitats ranging from parallel dunes in the
south, to calcareous grasslands, salt lakes, woodlands, and rocky ranges.
This variability arises from the property lying at the junction of three
bioregions - Great Sandy Desert, Macdonnell Ranges and Burt Plain. The
area is extensive, complex, intact and very accessible. It is surrounded
on all sides by lands belonging to the Walpirri people, but is accessible
by a public road.
Newhaven has been a pastoral lease for the last 40 years, but has only ever
been lightly stocked with cattle. About a quarter of the property has
never been grazed by stock. Because of the management history, much of the
habitat is unique and not present in any other reserve in Australia. The
feral camels living on Newhaven form the subject of a long-term, ongoing
research program. There are few rabbits, virtually no foxes, few feral
cats but many dingoes. It is likely that the presence of the dingoes is
the reason for the few cats and foxes.
When run through the "Site Assessment Criteria for Land Acquisition by
Birds Australia" (Barrett 1997 - BA Report No.1), Newhaven scored an
exceptionally high 91%, slightly more than Gluepot Reserve (88%) did. The
criteria are intentionally skewed towards sites which support nationally
and regionally threatened bird species and a diverse bird assemblage. They
do not take into account other threatened taxa such as the nationally
threatened mammals at Newhaven.
The very high score of 91% indicates that Newhaven is highly suitable for
acquisition by Birds Australia as a conservation reserve. The bird
assemblage alone makes the property one of international and national
significance. At this stage we are keeping the rare birds a secret but
there are at least 24 species recorded from the site which are classified
as either nationally threatened (5) or threatened in one or more mainland
States (19). The nationally threatened mammals recorded by the Parks and
Wildlife Commission of the Northern Territory from Newhaven include the
Mulgara, Black-footed Rock-wallaby and Marsupial Mole.
We will be launching a major appeal to raise the funds to purchase this
outstanding area in May. This will be the first land purchase through the
Bird Habitat Acquisition Fund, established by Birds Australia Council to
facilitate the continuing purchase and management of significant bird
habitats. The June issue of Wingspan will give you a full and colourful
report on this exciting property. Stand by!
NB: The site assessment of Newhaven was made when it was dry, before the
recent heavy rains in central Australia. The many small claypans and large
salt lakes on the property now contain water, and it will be fascinating to
see what effect this has on the birdlife, especially waterbirds and waders,
there in the next few months.
----------------------------------------------------
Hugo Phillipps
Communications Coordinator
Birds Australia
415 Riversdale Road
HAWTHORN EAST 3123, Australia
Tel: (03) 9882 2622, fax: (03) 9882 2677
Email: <>
Web site: <http://www.birdsaustralia.com.au>
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