Avifauna of Remnant Bushland on the Tweed Coast of Northern New South Wales

Abstract

This paper continues the theme of Debus (2007a,b,c), by reporting on the bird communities of bushland remnants on the New South Wales Tweed Coast and hinterland, another rapidly urbanising area on the subtropical coast of eastern Australia, contiguous with the Gold Coast. Previous comprehensive inventories (Gosper 1982, 1986, Gosper & Holmes 2002) encompassed the present smaller survey area, and another comprehensive inventory (Milledge 1991) covered the area adjoining the south of the present study area. Again, this study is a "snapshot" inventory of the birds of various bushland locations around the Tweed Coast, resulting from bird surveys conducted as part of environmental assessments for development proposals. It similarly presents a baseline for future surveys, which might test the persistence of certain species, or any predictions about impacts or any mitigation proposals made in the environmental assessment documents (cf. Debus 2007a). In particular, one set of surveys was conducted on the route of the proposed Yelgun-Tweed Heads motorway, which has since become operational. ... The study locations were bushland sites at the times of the surveys (see Table 1 for survey locations and dates). Otherwise, the survey methods were generally as previously described for sites in Greater Brisbane (Debus 2007a). Although investigation of seasonal occurrence was not an aim of the surveys, the six bushland sites were fortuitously surveyed across all seasons and in most months, thus allowing some assessment of seasonal patterns.