Cover Letter, DA Form 1, Plans, Owners Consent, Coastal Environment Assessment · OPW21/0049

6. Survey results

A.          Species biodiversity

Over the 14 year survey period, 59 different bird species were observed in the survey area. Table 1
summarises the species distribution by sub-group applied in the survey. Further detail and a full species
distribution is provided in Appendix 1.

                                      Table 1: Species distribution by sub-group

     Species by sub-group                                                                                   Species observed
     Tern – Resident                                                                                                4
     Tern – Migratory                                                                                               4
     Shorebird – Resident                                                                                           9
     Shorebird – Migratory                                                                                         18
     Gull                                                                                                           1
     Wading bird                                                                                                    6
     Water bird                                                                                                     9
     Sea bird                                                                                                       2
     Raptor                                                                                                         6
     Total species observed                                                                                        59

Of the 59 species observed in the estuary, almost half (27) are considered shorebirds, including 18 of the
37 species of migratory shorebirds that follow the EAAF (North-South) and regularly visit Australia 15. This
list also includes the only species to migrate along an East-West axis (Double-Banded Plover). The
remaining 9 shorebirds are all considered resident to Australia and generally do not migrate.

Evidencing the Noosa River estuary’s unique, albeit threatened, biodiversity and high conservation value,
8 of the 27 species of shorebirds observed are currently listed as threatened under Australia’s Environment
Protection and Biodiversity Assessment Act (1999). Of these, three species – the Far Eastern Curlew,
Great Knot and Curlew Sandpiper - are all considered critically endangered or just one step removed from
“extinct in the wild”. A further 5 migratory shorebird species observed are listed nationally as either
endangered or vulnerable (plus a further one migratory tern specie, the Indo-Pacific Little Tern, itself listed
as vulnerable).

Table 2 summarises the list of nationally threatened shorebird species known to frequent the Noosa River
estuary. Amongst threatened species denoted in Table 2, only the Hooded Dotterel is resident, if a rare
vagrant, to the area. The remaining 7 threatened species are migrants.

It should be noted that the national classification of conservation status of shorebird or other species (as
defined in the EPBC Act) does not always align to the conservation status assigned internationally by the
International Union for Conservation of Nature (“IUCN”). Similarly, the list of species threatened at a State
level may diverge from that at a national level.

For that purpose, a more comprehensive summary of all international, national and state conservation
listings for all species observed throughout the survey is provided in Appendix 7.

                      Table 2: Threatened shorebird species by conservation status 17

     EPBC conservation status 18         Total           Species observed in Noosa River
     Critically Endangered               3               Far Eastern Curlew, Great Knot, Curlew Sandpiper
     Endangered                          2               Red Knot, Lesser Sand Plover
     Vulnerable                          3               Hooded Dotterel, Greater Sand Plover, Bar-Tailed Godwit
     Conservation dependent              -               -
     Total species listed                8




15
   Revision of East Asian-Australasian Flyway Population Estimates (Hansen et al, 2016)
17
   The Indo-Pacific Little Tern (Sternula albifrons sinensis) is also EPBC listed (vulnerable) and observed in the Noosa River during the survey.
18
   Per current EPBC listing (www.environment.gov.au)

Noosa River – Shorebird Survey Report 2019                                                                                              Page 9