Gulf St Vincent Important Bird Area
Encyclopedia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
.
Description
The Gulf St Vincent 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...
(IBA) is a 256 km2 highly linear tract of coastline containing the continuous mudflat
Mudflat
Mudflats or mud flats, also known as tidal flats, are coastal wetlands that form when mud is deposited by tides or rivers. They are found in sheltered areas such as bays, bayous, lagoons, and estuaries. Mudflats may be viewed geologically as exposed layers of bay mud, resulting from deposition of...
s along the north and north-east of Gulf St Vincent north of Adelaide. It extends from Ardrossan
Ardrossan, South Australia
Ardrossan is a small town on the east coast of the Yorke Peninsula, about 150 km from Adelaide, South Australia.The town was largely initiated by wheat farmers and wheat transporters in the late 19th century who needed infrastructure to ship their produce across the Gulf St. Vincent to Port...
in the north-west, around the head of the Gulf to the mouth of the Port River
Port River
The Port River is the western branch of the largest tidal estuary on the eastern side of Gulf St Vincent. It extends inland through the historic Inner Harbour of Port Adelaide, to the constructed salt-water West Lakes in the north-western suburbs of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia...
and Outer Harbor
Outer Harbor, South Australia
Outer Harbor is a north-western industrial suburb of Adelaide, South Australia, located at the northern tip of the Lefevre Peninsula; administratively, it lies in the City of Port Adelaide Enfield, 22 km from the Adelaide city centre. It is adjacent to Osborne, North Haven and Pelican Point...
in Adelaide. The main habitats are intertidal mudflats, mangrove
Mangrove
Mangroves are various kinds of trees up to medium height and shrubs that grow in saline coastal sediment habitats in the tropics and subtropics – mainly between latitudes N and S...
s and two large saltworks
Salt evaporation pond
Salt evaporation ponds, also called salterns or salt pans, are shallow artificial ponds designed to produce salts from sea water or other brines. The seawater or brine is fed into large ponds and water is drawn out through natural evaporation which allows the salt to be subsequently harvested...
, with some small coastal wetlands.
Much of the IBA adjoins industrial and residential suburbs, especially to the north of Adelaide. Key sites include the Price
Price, South Australia
Price is a locality on Yorke Peninsula in South Australia. The locality is the District Council of Yorke Peninsula local government area, north west of the state capital, Adelaide....
saltworks, Clinton Conservation Park, Parham, Port Prime, the Dry Creek wetlands and saltworks
Dry Creek, South Australia
Dry Creek is a mostly industrial suburb located north of Adelaide, containing significant wetlands and a substantial area devoted to salt crystallization pans, managed by Cheltenham Salt Limited....
, Salisbury
Salisbury, South Australia
Salisbury is a northern suburb in Adelaide, South Australia. It is the seat of the City of Salisbury, and in the South Australian Legislative Assembly electoral district of Ramsay and the Australian House of Representatives divisions of Wakefield and Port Adelaide...
wetlands, Barker Inlet wetlands
Barker Inlet
The Barker Inlet is a tidal inlet of the Gulf St Vincent in Adelaide, South Australia, named after Captain Collet Barker who first sighted it in 1831. It contains one of the southernmost mangrove forests in the world, a dolphin sanctuary, seagrass meadows and is an important fish and shellfish...
, Bolivar
Bolivar, South Australia
Bolivar is an outer northern suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. It is located in the City of Salisbury.-History:The suburb was established in 1956, and was named after the General Bolivar Hotel...
Wastewater Treatment Plant
Sewage treatment
Sewage treatment, or domestic wastewater treatment, is the process of removing contaminants from wastewater and household sewage, both runoff and domestic. It includes physical, chemical, and biological processes to remove physical, chemical and biological contaminants...
, Buckland Park
Buckland Park, South Australia
Buckland Park is a suburb on the rural outskirts of Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia. Port Wakefield Road, the main highway taking traffic to the north of Adelaide, passes through the area. Market gardening is the main activity.-References:...
Lake, the Port River mouth, the Torrens Island
Torrens Island
Torrens Island is located in the Port River Estuary between the Lefevre Peninsula and Barker Inlet, about 15 km northwest of the Adelaide city centre in South Australia...
complex, and Outer Harbor. Many birds move between the various sites and the area is treated as a single IBA.
Birds
Gulf St Vincent 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 over 1% of the world populations of Black-faced Cormorant
Black-faced Cormorant
The Black-faced Cormorant , also known as the Black-faced Shag, is a medium-sized member of the cormorant family. Upperparts, including facial skin and bill, are black, with white underparts. It is endemic to coastal regions of southern Australia.-Ecology:The Black-faced-Cormorant feeds largely on...
s, Red-necked Stint
Red-necked Stint
The Red-necked Stint is a small migratory wader.- Description :These birds are among the smallest of waders, very similar to the Little Stint, Calidris minuta, with which they were once considered conspecific...
s, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper
The Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Calidris acuminata is a small wader.- Taxonomy :More recently, a review of new data has indicated that this bird should perhaps better be placed into the genus Philomachus- as P...
s, Banded Stilt
Banded Stilt
The Banded Stilt is a nomadic stilt from Australia. It belongs to the monotypical genus Cladorhynchus. It gets its name from the red-brown breast band found on breeding adults, but this is mottled or entirely absent in non-breeding adults and juveniles. Its remaining plumage is pied and the eyes...
s, Red-capped Plover
Red-capped Plover
The Red-capped Plover , also known as the Red-capped Dotterel, is a small plover. It breeds in Australia. The species is closely related to the Kentish Plover, Javan Plover and White-fronted Plover.-Description:Red-capped Plovers have white underparts and forehead...
s, Sooty
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....
and Pied Oystercatcher
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...
s, and Silver Gull
Silver Gull
The Silver Gull also known simply as "seagull" in Australia, is the most common gull seen in Australia. It has been found throughout the continent, but particularly coastal areas. The South African Hartlaub's Gull and the New Zealand Red-billed Gull The Silver Gull (Chroicocephalus...
s. It also supports populations of Australasian Bittern
Australasian Bittern
The Australasian Bittern , also known as the Brown Bittern, is found in south-western and south-eastern Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand, New Caledonia and Ouvea. Populations in Australia and New Zealand have declined in the 20th century.It is a large bittern, patterned and streaked brown, buff...
s and Fairy Tern
Fairy Tern
The Fairy Tern is a small tern which occurs in the southwestern Pacific.There are three subspecies:* Australian Fairy Tern, Sterna nereis nereis - breeds in Australia...
s.