Low Rocks and Sterna Island Important Bird Area

The Low Rocks and Sterna Island Important Bird Area comprises two islets lying about 14 km apart and with a collective area of 14 ha, in the Montesquieu group of islands, in the mouth of Admiralty Gulf in the Kimberley region of Western Australia.

The islands are important breeding sites for roseate terns

Description

Low Rocks is a 4 ha islet with a covering of grass and low scrub. Sterna's vegetation is dominated by pindan wattle and Triodia microstachya, but there are also bare sandstone ledges used by nesting seabirds. Low Rocks is a nature reserve, while Sterna is unallocated crown land. Average annual rainfall in the area is about 900 mm.[1]

Birds

The islands have been identified by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area (IBA) because they support over 1% of the world population of roseate terns, with up to 4000 breeding pairs using the site.[2] Other seabirds recorded as breeding in the IBA include crested and lesser crested terns, and pied cormorants.[1]

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References
  1. BirdLife International. (2011). Important Bird Areas factsheet: Low Rocks and Sterna Island (Kimberley). Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 07/08/2011.
  2. "IBA: Low Rocks and Sterna Island (Kimberley)". Birdata. Birds Australia. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 7 August 2011.


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