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• Reference and further resources

The site was identified as internationally important for bird conservation 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 List	Season (year/s of estimate)	Size	IBA criteria
Torresian Imperial-pigeon Ducula spilorrhoa	LC	resident (1979–2002)	24,397 pairs	A4ii
Grey-tailed Tattler Tringa brevipes	LC	non-breeding (1985–1999)	1,150 birds	A4i
Bridled Tern Onychoprion anaethetus	LC	resident (1982–1992)	6,000 nests	A4i
Roseate Tern Sterna dougallii	LC	resident (1982–1992)	6,000 nests	A4i
Lesser Crested Tern Thalasseus bengalensis	LC	resident (1982–1992)	1,000 nests	A4i

Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 2009. The most recent assessment (2008) is shown below.

Pressure (threats to the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Climate change and severe weather	likely in long term (>4 years)	whole of popul­ation/area (>90%)	moderate decline (10–30% over 3 gener­ations)	high
Human intrusions and disturbance	happe­ning now	few indivi­duals/small area (<10%)	no or slight decline (<1% over 3 gener­ations)	low

Response (conservation actions taken for the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Designation	Planning	Action	Result
Not assessed	Not assessed	Not assessed	not assessed

Year	Protected Area	Designation (management category)	% coverage of IBA
1981	Great Barrier Reef	World Heritage Site (natural or mixed) (UA)	100
1999	Denham Group	National Park (II)	30
2004	Great Barrier Reef	Marine Park (II)	66
2004	Great Barrier Reef Coast	Marine Park (II)	66
2004	Great Barrier Reef	Marine Park (II)	26
2004	Great Barrier Reef Coast	Marine Park (II)	26
2010	Sir Charles Hardy Group	National Park (II)	61
2010	Saunders Islands	National Park (II)	9

Habitat	% of IBA	Habitat detail
Grassland	major (>10)
Marine Intertidal	major (>10)
Forest	minor (<10)
Marine Coastal/Supratidal	minor (<10)

Land use	% of IBA
nature conservation and research	100

Commonwealth Government with management the responsibility of the GBRMPA.

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Cape York to Cape Grenville Islands (Australia). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/cape-york-to-cape-grenville-islands-iba-australia on 23/12/2024.