Current view: Text account
Site description (2008 baseline):
Site location and context
Haul Round Island is a fairly large sand island with a few rocks and adjacent areas of rock and mangroves, located close to shore off the coast of Maningrida in Arnhemland. The IBA also includes a small island 2 km east of West Point which regularly supports hundreds of pairs of Roseate and Black-naped Terns. Chatto (2001) island refs S012 and S119 and waterbird nesting colony ref W031.
Chatto (2001) made 8 counts of Haul Round Island and also found up to 5000 Bridled Terns, 100s of nesting Crested Terns and 10s of nesting Silver Gulls. A colony of 150-200 Pied Cormorants nests in the mangroves on a reef adjacent to the island (Chatto 2000). The colony is active every year but the Roseate Terns may nest on other islands some years. Chatto did not visit the adjacent small island but this was reported to "regularly support low hundreds" of Black-naped and Roseate Terns (D. Bond pers.comm. in Chatto 2001).
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
Investigate whether the egg harvest is sustainable. Investigate the level of natural predation on tern eggs and chicks.
Conservation responses/actions for key biodiversity
The islands captured by the IBA are included within the 'Maningrida coastal habitats' site of conservation significance as classified by the Northern Territory Government (Harrison et al. 2009; Ward & Harrison 2009). Traditional owners frequently harvest tern eggs (probably Roseate Terns as these form dense colonies unlike the Bridled Terns which nest singly amongst rocks) but there is no note whether this harvest is monitored or controlled.
Arnhemland ALT
Site access / Land-owner requests
Traditionally-owned land.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Haul Round Island (Australia). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/haul-round-island-iba-australia on 26/12/2024.
