The Richmond Woodlands comprise some 329 km² of 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...

 remnants close to Richmond

Richmond, New South Wales

Richmond is a town in New South Wales, north-west of Sydney, in the Local Government Area of the City of Hawkesbury. It is located at a latitude of 33° 35' 54" South and a longitude of 150°45' 04" east, 19 metres above sea level on the alluvial Hawkesbury River flats, at the foot of the Blue...

, New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. They lie at the foot of the Blue Mountains on the north-western fringe of the Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

 metropolitan area.

Description

The 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) boundary is defined by patches of habitat suitable for endangered Regent Honeyeater

Regent Honeyeater

The Regent Honeyeater, Xanthomyza phrygia, is an endangered bird endemic to Australia. It feeds on nectar and insects within eucalyptus forests. Recent genetic research suggests it is closely related to the wattlebirds.-Distribution:...

s and Swift Parrot

Swift Parrot

The Swift Parrot breeds in Tasmania and migrates north to south eastern Australia from Griffith-Warialda in New South Wales and west to Adelaide in the winter. It is related to the rosellas, with the feeding habits of a lorikeet...

s, centred on the woodlands between the Agnes Banks

Agnes Banks, New South Wales

Agnes Banks is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Agnes Banks is located 68 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government areas of the City of Penrith and City of Hawkesbury...

, Windsor Downs

Windsor Downs, New South Wales

Windsor Downs is an affluent suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is the wealthiest part of the Hawkesbury electorate with the highest property values.Population: 1285...

 and Castlereagh Nature Reserve

Castlereagh Nature Reserve

The Castlereagh Nature Reserve is a regional park in New South Wales, Australia, west of Sydney, and located near the townships of Castlereagh and Londonderry. The reserve covers...

s, and extending south to Penrith

Penrith, New South Wales

Penrith is a suburb in western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Penrith is located west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area of the City of Penrith...

 and north-east to encompass Scheyville National Park

Scheyville National Park

Scheyville is a national park in New South Wales , 41 km northwest of Sydney. Longneck Lagoon lies in the northern section of the park.-Outline:...

. It is adjacent to the forested hills of the Greater Blue Mountains IBA

Greater Blue Mountains Area

The Greater Blue Mountains Area is a World Heritage Site in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, Australia. It was inscribed on the World Heritage List at the 24th Session of the World Heritage Committee, held in Cairns from 27 November to 2 December 2000...

.

Plants

The woodlands are dominated by an overstorey of Coastal Grey Box

Eucalyptus moluccana

Eucalyptus moluccana, commonly known as the grey box or gum-topped box, is a medium sized to occasionally tall tree with rough, persistent bark on the lower trunk, shedding above to leave a smooth whitish or light grey, sometimes shiny surface; hence the original name Eucalyptus hemiphloia, from...

, Narrow-leaved Ironbark

Eucalyptus crebra

Eucalyptus crebra, commonly known as the Narrow-leaved ironbark or Narrowleaf red ironbark, is a type of Ironbark tree native to eastern Australia. A member of the large genus Eucalyptus, this tree is in the Myrtaceae family and can grow to a large spreading tree up to 35 m high...

 and Forest Red Gum

Eucalyptus tereticornis

Eucalyptus tereticornis is a species of tree native to eastern Australia.It has a great many common names, of which Forest Red Gum is perhaps the most widely known...

. Other trees include Scribbly Gum

Eucalyptus sclerophylla

Eucalyptus sclerophylla, known as the Scribbly Gum, is a tree native to eastern Australia. Very similar to the related Scribbly Gum , a better known tree. The best way of distinguishing the species is the smaller hemispherical to pear shaped gumnuts of Eucalyptus sclerophylla, being 0.6 cm by...

, Narrow-leaved Apple

Angophora bakeri

Angophora bakeri, known as the narrow-leaved or small-leaved apple, is a common woodland and forest shrub or tree of eastern Australia. It grows between two and ten metres tall on dry sandy soils. Named in honour of Richard Thomas Baker...

 and the endangered Allocasuarina glareicola. There is an understorey of Sweet Bursaria

Bursaria spinosa

Bursaria spinosa is a small tree or shrub in the family Pittosporaceae. The species occurs in mainly in the eastern and southern half of Australia and not in Western Australia and the Northern Territory. Reaching 10 m high, it bears fragrant white flowers at any time of year but particularly summer...

, Pultenaea violacea and Black Sheoak

Allocasuarina littoralis

Allocasuarina littoralis or Black Sheoak is an endemic medium-sized Australian tree . A...

, with groundcover

Groundcover

Groundcover refers to any plant that grows over an area of ground, used to provide protection from erosion and drought, and to improve its aesthetic appearance .- Ecosystem :...

 of Kangaroo Grass, Echinopogan caespitosus, Astrida vagans, Weeping Grass

Microlaena stipoides

Microlaena stipoides or Ehrharta stipoides, is a species of grass that occurs naturally in all states of Australia as well as in New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and the Philippines. It has also been introduced into Hawaii and Reunion Island and has been reported as invasive in both...

 and Barbed-wire Grass.

Birds

The site has been identified by BirdLife International

BirdLife 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 IBA because it regularly supports significant numbers of Regent Honeyeaters and Swift Parrots, as well as many other woodland bird species. It holds one of the only two remaining populations of Red-capped Robin

Red-capped Robin

The Red-capped Robin is a small passerine bird native to Australia. Found in dryer regions across much of the continent, it inhabits scrub and open woodland. Like many brightly coloured robins of the Petroicidae family, it is sexually dimorphic...

s in the Sydney region.

Other animals

Mammal

Mammal

Mammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...

s found in the IBA include Sugar Glider

Sugar Glider

The sugar glider is a small gliding possum originating from the marsupial family.The sugar glider is native to eastern and northern mainland Australia and is also native to New Guinea and the Bismarck Archipelago.- Habitat :Sugar gliders can be found all throughout the northern and eastern parts of...

s, Common Brushtail Possum

Common Brushtail Possum

The Common Brushtail Possum is a nocturnal, semi-arboreal marsupial of the family Phalangeridae, it is native to Australia, and the largest of the possums.Like most possums, the Common Brushtail is nocturnal...

s, Eastern Grey Kangaroo

Eastern Grey Kangaroo

The Eastern Grey Kangaroo is a marsupial found in southern and eastern Australia, with a population of several million. It is also known as the Great Grey Kangaroo and the Forester Kangaroo...

s, Bush Rat

Bush Rat

The bush rat is a small Australian nocturnal animal. It is an omnivore. It is one of the most common species of rats and is found in many heathland areas of Victoria and NSW...

s and Little Red Flying Foxes. Over 20 species of reptile

Reptile

Reptiles are members of a class of air-breathing, ectothermic vertebrates which are characterized by laying shelled eggs , and having skin covered in scales and/or scutes. They are tetrapods, either having four limbs or being descended from four-limbed ancestors...

s have been recorded, including Eastern long-necked turtles and Eastern Blue-tongued Lizard

Eastern blue-tongued lizard

The Eastern Blue-tongued Lizard is a subspecies of large skink which is common throughout Eastern Australia, often found in bushland and suburban areas where conditions are suitable...

s. Green and Golden Bell Frog

Green and Golden Bell Frog

The Green and Golden Bell Frog , also named the Green Bell Frog, Green and Golden Swamp Frog and Green Frog, is a ground-dwelling tree frog native to eastern Australia. Despite its classification and climbing abilities, it does not live in trees and spends almost all of its time close to ground level...

s are present.