Biodiversity
Page 269
Water birds
The variety of coastal habitats provide roosting, sheltering and feeding grounds
for a large number of water birds and provide refuge for many migratory
waders. The Barker Inlet wetlands provide significant breeding habitats for 18
species of waterbirds including pelicans, cormorants, oystercatchers, gulls,
terns, egrets and herons (PAE State of the Environment, 2007).
A total of 57 species of waterbirds (not including migratory shorebirds) have
been recorded in the area. Of these, 12 are listed as protected under
international treaties
Shorebirds
There is known to be fifty-one species of shorebirds that settle on the shores of
Gulf St Vincent between Barker Inlet and Middle Spit. These birds include
migratory, resident, common, and rare species. The individual species are
variously protected by international conventions and treaties, and Federal and
State legislation. The majority of these birds are migratory and their migratory
route passes along the East Asian Flyway (details in table 52 below). As a
result they are listed on treaties Australia has signed with China, the Republic of
Korea and Japan, and are therefore protected under the
Environment
Protection & Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999
(EPBC Act) and under the
Convention on Migratory Species
(CMS or Bonn Convention) to which Australia
is a signatory. Other shorebirds are either resident species or migrate only
within Australia or nearby islands. One species (the Double-banded Plover)
migrates east-west between Australia and New Zealand and is listed as
migratory and marine under the EPBC Act and Bonn Convention.
The many channels that drain into the Barker Inlet wetlands provide a range of
habitats that enable large numbers of fish to thrive, as well as a rich invertebrate
fauna. Shorebirds have “adopted” the wetlands, and can be seen roosting and
feeding there. Some resident species are known to breed in the stormwater
treatment wetlands (Refer to map 14 on page 298).
There are several existing conservation and aquatic reserves in close proximity
to the Barker Inlet Wetlands with the largest of these being the Adelaide Dolphin
Sanctuary, a multiple use conservation area set up under the
Adelaide Dolphin
Sanctuary Act 2005.
While the Sanctuary and associated management plan is
focused on protecting the dolphins and their habitat, actions within the plan also
improve habitat for other species including shorebirds. The Dolphin Sanctuary's
landward boundary includes many areas of shorebird habitat, including the
Coastal Conservation Reserve of Mutton Cove on Lefevre Peninsula (Shorebird
Management and Conservation Report, July 2009).
The Adelaide and Mt. Lofty Ranges Natural Resources Management Plan has
specified a number of specific actions in relation to shorebird conservation and
management in a strategy that supports the
Wildlife Conservation Plan for
Migratory Shorebirds 2009
and the Shorebird Site Network.
