Melaleuca to Birchs Inlet Important Bird Area
Encyclopedia
South West Tasmania
South West Tasmania is a region in Tasmania that has evolved over the fifty years between its consideration as a potential resource for development to its consideration as World Heritage wilderness...
. It stretches southward from the southern end of Birchs Inlet
Birchs Inlet
Birchs Inlet, also spelt Birch's Inlet or Birches Inlet, is a narrow cove or coastal inlet on the south-western side of Macquarie Harbour on the west coast of Tasmania, Australia. It is named after Thomas William Birch , a surgeon, whaler, merchant and shipowner who settled in Tasmania in 1808...
(where it adjoins the North-west Tasmanian Coast Important Bird Area
North-west Tasmanian Coast Important Bird Area
The North-west Tasmanian Coast Important Bird Area comprises a 2438 km2 stretch of coastal and subcoastal land covering the northern section of the coast of western Tasmania, south-eastern Australia.-Description:...
), encompasses Melaleuca
Melaleuca, Tasmania
Melaleuca is a remote hamlet in the south-west area of Tasmania, Australia. Access is only by sea via Port Davey, by air or by foot.The settlement consists of a couple of buildings and a bird hide where the Orange-bellied Parrot can be viewed, and is a major tourist attraction...
and Port Davey, and extends to Louisa Bay on the coast facing the Maatsuyker Island group
Maatsuyker Islands
The Maatsuyker Islands Group is a group of islands and rocks located 5.5 kilometres off the south coast of Tasmania. Maatsuyker Island is the southernmost island of the group and of the Australian continental shelf. There are exposed rocks further south of Maatsuyker but they do not meet the...
. The area is rugged, with extensive beaches and coastal plains rising to rocky mountains. It contains a mosaic of temperate rainforest, 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...
forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
, moorland
Moorland
Moorland or moor is a type of habitat, in the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome, found in upland areas, characterised by low-growing vegetation on acidic soils and heavy fog...
and buttongrass
Gymnoschoenus sphaerocephalus
Gymnoschoenus sphaerocephalus, commonly known as button grass, is a species of tussock-forming grass from southeastern Australia. It forms part of a unique habitat in Tasmania....
plains.
Birds
It has been identified by BirdLife InternationalBirdLife International
BirdLife International is a global Partnership of conservation organisations that strives to conserve birds, their habitats and global biodiversity, working with people towards sustainability in the use of natural resources...
as an Important Bird Area
Important 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...
(IBA) because it supports the entire breeding population of the critically endangered
Critically endangered
Version 2010.3 of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species identified 3744 Critically Endangered species, subspecies and varieties, stocks and subpopulations.Critically Endangered by kingdom:*1993 Animalia*2 Fungi*1745 Plantae*4 Protista-References:...
Orange-bellied Parrot
Orange-bellied Parrot
The Orange-bellied Parrot is a small broad-tailed parrot endemic to southern Australia, and one of only two species of parrot which migrate. The adult male is distinguished by its bright grass-green upperparts, yellow underparts and orange belly patch. The adult female and juvenile are duller...
. It also supports over 1% of the world populations of Pied
Pied Oystercatcher
The Pied Oystercatcher, Haematopus longirostris, is a species of oystercatcher. It is a wading bird native to Australia and commonly found on its coastline. The similar South Island Pied Oystercatcher The Pied Oystercatcher, Haematopus longirostris, is a species of oystercatcher. It is a wading...
and Sooty Oystercatcher
Sooty Oystercatcher
The Sooty Oystercatcher, Haematopus fuliginosus, is a species of oystercatcher. It is a wading bird native to Australia and commonly found on its coastline. It prefers rocky coastlines, but will occasionally live in estuaries....
s, and Hooded Plover
Hooded Plover
The Hooded Dotterel or Hooded Plover is a species of bird in the Charadriidae family. It is endemic to southern Australia and Tasmania. There are two recognized subspecies, both of which are classifed as Endangered....
s, as well as populations of most of Tasmania’s endemic bird species. The buttongrass plains support Eastern Ground Parrots.