Current view: Text account
Site description (2008 baseline):
Site location and context
This IBA is the 10 km-wide coastal fringe which extends around the western coast of Tasmania from Low Rocky Point to Rocky Cape. The area is defined as the mainland Tasmanian portion of the Orange-bellied Parrot migratory habitat as mapped by the Orange-bellied Parrot Recovery Team and Plan. It includes the entire lowland coastal peninsula north of Low Rocky Point, and the eastern margin of Macquarie Harbour; then extends 180 km north from Ocean Beach at Strahan through private land and the government-owned Arthur-Pieman Conservation Area to Cape Grim, where it takes in private property inland; then extends another 70 km east to Rocky Cape. South of Macquarie Harbour it abuts the Melaleuca to Birch's Inlet IBA; at Cape Grim it abuts the Robbins Passage and Boullanger Bay IBA. The coast comprises rocky headlands, sandy beaches, well-developed sand dune systems, and a coastal plain which contains lagoons, swamps, heathland, buttongrass and eucalypt woodlands and forests. Eucalypt forest dominates the higher altitudes inland but is probably not used by Orange-bellied Parrots. The climate is wet temperate maritime with average annual rainfall ranging from 1000 mm on the coastal plains to over 2000 mm in the highlands.
The Endangered Swift Parrot was recorded in 15 of 548 (3%) Atlas of Australian Birds surveys from 1998 to 2008 (Atlas of Australian Birds database). Sooty Oystercatcher may also exceed threshold but data is lacking: Schulz (1993b) recorded 81 individuals from Macquarie Harbour to Bluff Point in April 1991 and Woehler (in litt. 2008) recorded 32 individuals from Interview River to Ordnance Point in November 2006, but both of these figures are considered likely to be significant underestimates because no areas of rocky coast were surveyed. Tawny-crowned Honeyeater is relatively common along heathy coasts. Ground Parrots and Southern Emu-wren occur locally.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
Assess the impact of cattle grazing (especially within the Arthur-Pieman Conservation Area) and off-road vehicle use and, if deemed necessary, develop regulations to mitigate impact. Potential future development of land for human use (e.g. construction of wind farms) must be planned away from Orange-bellied Parrot habitat.
Numerous - see separate section.
State or local government; private.
Eric Woehler provided comments and data.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: North-west Tasmanian Coast (Australia). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/north-west-tasmanian-coast-iba-australia on 23/12/2024.
