Barren Grounds Nature Reserve
Encyclopedia
Budderoo National Park
Budderoo is a national park in New South Wales, Australia, 99 km southwest of Sydney, best known for the timber boardwalk through the Minnamurra rainforest...
, and west of the city of Kiama
Kiama, New South Wales
-Transport:The town is served by Kiama Station on the South Coast Line. It is served by road in the form of the Princes Highway and the Kiama Bypass.-Attractions:...
. The reserve can also be accessed from the south, via a local road and a bush walk from the town of Berry
Berry, New South Wales
Berry is a small Australian town in the Shoalhaven region of the NSW South Coast in the state of New South Wales, located south of the state capital, Sydney. The indigenous people of the area were the Wodi Wodi people. In the 1810s, George William Evans, Government Surveyor, reported on the Berry...
. It is not far from the Nameless Sylvan Reserve
Nameless Sylvan Reserve
Nameless Sylvan Reserve is a nature reserve on the Illawarra Escapment of south-eastern New South Wales, Australia. It is north of Berry, and close to the Barren Grounds Nature Reserve...
owned by Bush Heritage Australia
Bush Heritage Australia
Bush Heritage Australia is a non-profit organisation based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia that operates throughout Australia. It was previously known as the Australian Bush Heritage Fund, which is still its legal name. It purchases land, assessed as being of outstanding conservation value, from...
.
The nature reserve has several good lookouts that offer fine views of the coast. Interesting rock formations can be seen at Drawing Room Rocks, a geological feature in the southern part of the reserve. The former Barren Grounds Bird Observatory
Barren Grounds Bird Observatory
The Barren Grounds Bird Observatory was situated in the Barren Grounds Nature Reserve on the escarpment of the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia. It was opened in 1982 by Birds Australia as Australia's third bird observatory, in order to provide a base for the study and enjoyment of...
is located in the park.
Birds
The reserve is part of the 7334 ha Budderoo and Barren Grounds Important Bird AreaImportant Bird Area
An Important Bird Area is an area recognized as being globally important habitat for the conservation of bird populations. Currently there are about 10,000 IBAs worldwide. The program was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife International...
which contains large numbers of endangered Eastern Bristlebird
Eastern Bristlebird
The Eastern Bristlebird is a species of bird in the Bristlebird family Dasyornithidae. It is endemic to Australia. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, temperate shrubland, and temperate grassland...
s, as well as smaller numbers of Pilotbird
Pilotbird
The Pilotbird is a species of bird in the Acanthizidae family. It is monotypic within the genus Pycnoptilus. The exact taxonomic placement of this species is disputed, as it bears some resemblance to the bristlebirds. The species is endemic to south east New South Wales and east Victoria in...
s and Rockwarbler
Rockwarbler
The Rockwarbler or Origma , is a bird in the Acanthizidae family. The species is the only member of the genus Origma. It is the only bird species endemic to the state of New South Wales in Australia....
s, in a mosaic of sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
heath
Heath
-Habitats:* Heath or heathland, low-growing woody vegetation, mostly consisting of heathers and related species* Heaths in the British National Vegetation Classification system...
and eucalypt
Eucalypt
Eucalypts are woody plants belonging to three closely related genera:Eucalyptus, Corymbia and Angophora.In 1995 new evidence, largely genetic, indicated that some prominent Eucalyptus species were actually more closely related to Angophora than to the other eucalypts; they were split off into the...
woodland
Woodland
Ecologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...
habitats.