Attachment 6 - Ecological Assessment

                           Ecological Assessment – Attunga Heights



                 Scientific Name                      Common Name
          Lampropholis delicata              Dark-flecked garden sunskink
          Morelia spilota                    Carpet python
          Ophioscincus truncatus             Short-limbed snake skink
          Physignathus lesueurii             Eastern water dragon


The quality of habitat for reptiles is strongly determined by the structural characteristics
of vegetation (e.g. complexity of vegetation density and vertical strata) and ground cover
(e.g. woody debris and rocky outcrops) which influence micro-climate, solar irradiance
and the availability of suitable basking and shelter sites (Garden et al. 2007). The
majority of leaf litter and ground cover occurs in the lower slopes of the creek line, and
therefore the greatest diversity of reptiles can be expected in this area.


3.3.3.4 Birds
A total of fifteen (15) species were recorded during the survey period (TABLE 7). All
species are listed as ‘common’ under the under the NCWR 2006 and the EPBC Act 1999.

                                    TABLE 7
       BIRD SPECIES RECORDED AT THE STUDY SITE DURING THE SURVEY PERIOD
                  Scientific Name               Common Name
          Aegotheles cristatus         Owlet nightjar
          Alectura lathami             Australian brush-turkey
          Cracticus torquatus          Grey butcherbird
          Dicrurus bracteatus          Spangled drongo
          Eurystomus orientalis        Dollarbird
          Eudynamys scolopacea         Common koel
          Manorina melanocephala       Noisy miner
          Meliphaga Lewinii            Lewin's honeyeater
          Oriolus sagittatus           Olive-backed oriole
          Pachycephala pectoralis      Golden whistler
          Podargus strigoides          Tawny frogmouth
          Sericornis frontalis         White-browed scrubwren
          Sphecotheres viridis         Figbird
          Strepera graculina           Pied currawong
          Zosterops lateralis          Silvereye


Searches beneath Allocasuarina species present on the site did not reveal the presence of
any chewed cones, which are indicative of Glossy black cockatoo presence.

No threatened bird species were recorded.

The significance of near coastal environments of the New South Wales Far North Coast
and South East Queensland as over-wintering habitat for migratory birds has been
established by many observers and bird banders, including Keast (1968), Robertson
(1973), Gravatt (1974), Porter (1982) and Robertson and Woodall (1983). These patterns
may be attributable to the relatively high winter temperatures and long growing season
of this region compared with the rest of south-eastern Australia (Fitzpatrick and Nix



Job No: Q12038/Rw1                       JWA Pty Ltd                                     23