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The site was identified as important in 2009 because it was regularly supporting significant populations of the species listed below, meeting ('triggering') IBA criteria.

Populations meeting IBA criteria ('trigger species') at the site:

Species	Red List1	Season	Year(s)	Size	IBA criteria
Sarus Crane Grus antigone	VU	non-breeding	1997-2008	1,050-3,200 individuals	A1, A4i
Bush Thick-knee Burhinus grallarius	LC	breeding	1998-2008	frequent	A1

1. The current IUCN Red List category. The category at the time of the IBA criteria assessment (2009) may differ.

Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 2009. The most recent assessment (2020) is shown below.

State (condition of the trigger species' habitats)
Habitat	Quantity (% remaining)	Quality (% carrying capacity)	Result
Artificial/Terrestrial	moderate (70-90%)	moderate (70-90%)	unfavourable

Pressure (threats to the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Agricultural expansion and intensification	happening now	some of area/population (10-49%)	moderate to rapid deterioration	high
Invasive and other problematic species and genes	happening now	some of area/population (10-49%)	moderate to rapid deterioration	high
Natural system modifications	likely in long term (beyond 4 years)	some of area/population (10-49%)	moderate to rapid deterioration	medium
Energy production and mining	happening now	small area/few individuals (<10%)	very rapid to severe deterioration	low
Residential and commercial development	happening now	small area/few individuals (<10%)	very rapid to severe deterioration	low
Pollution	happening now	small area/few individuals (<10%)	moderate to rapid deterioration	low
Biological resource use	happening now	small area/few individuals (<10%)	no or imperceptible deterioration	low
Human intrusions and disturbance	happening now	small area/few individuals (<10%)	no or imperceptible deterioration	low

Response (conservation actions taken for the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Protected areas	Management plan	Other action	Result
Most of site (50-90%) covered (including the most critical parts for important bird species)	No management planning has taken place	Some limited conservation initiatives are in place	low

Year	Protected Area	Designation	% overlap with IBA
-	Danbulla South	Forest Reserve	1
1994	Hasties Swamp	National Park	<1
1994	Hallorans Hill	Conservation Park	<1
1994	Malanda Falls	Conservation Park	<1
1994	Yungaburra	National Park	<1
2001	Nasser's	Nature Refuge	<1
2005	Danbulla	Forest Reserve	<1
2008	Mount Quincan Crater	Nature Refuge	<1
2008	Curtain Fig	National Park	1
2013	Mount Quincan	Nature Refuge	<1
2014	Hallorans Hill	Conservation Park	<1
2014	Malanda Falls	Conservation Park	<1

Habitat1	Habitat detail	% of IBA
Artificial/Terrestrial	Arable land, Improved grassland & pasture, Other urban & industrial areas	79
Wetlands (inland)	Freshwater lakes & pools	major (>10)
Forest	Rainforest & vine thickets	minor (<10)

1. IUCN Habitat classification.

Land use	% of IBA
agriculture	major (>10)
rangeland/pastureland	major (>10)
water management	major (>10)
urban/industrial/transport	minor (<10)

State government (including Environmental Protection Agency/Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service), local government and private.

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Atherton Tablelands (Australia). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/atherton-tablelands-iba-australia on 22/11/2024.