Quoin Bluff and Freycinet Island (Shark Bay) (25120)
Australia, Australasia

Site overview

KBA status: confirmed

Global KBA criteria: D1a

Year of last assessment: 2009

National site name: Quoin Bluff and Freycinet Island (Shark Bay)

Central coordinates: Latitude: -26.1477, Longitude: 113.3850

System: marine, terrestrial

Elevation (m): 0 to 20

Area of KBA (km²): 5.62298

Protected area coverage (%): 100.00

KBA classification: Global

Legacy site: Yes

Site details

Site description: This IBA comprises the two largest nesting colonies of Pied Cormorants in Shark Bay: Quoin Bluff South on Dirk Hartog Island and the nearby Freycinet Island. The large numbers of this species reflect both the large area of protected water and the relative abundance of suitable food fish across the Shark Bay World Heritage Area. With improved data, this IBA could be extended to include Pied Cormorant feeding waters, additional islands supporting smaller numbers of nesting cormorants, and nesting islands of Fairy Terns (which are mobile and poorly-known but have bred on Dirk Hartog, Dorre, Koks and Meade Islands and Peron Peninsula), including the nearby Faure and Pelican Islands IBA. Moreover, the whole of Dirk Hartog Island could be designated as an IBA if its vulnerable endemic subspecies of White-winged Fairy-wren Malurus l. leucopterus is considered to justify IBA status. Dirk Hartog is a 62,000 ha semi-arid island along the western edge of Shark Bay; Quoin Bluff South is mid-way on the eastern coast. Freycinet Island is a small island off the Carrarang peninsula east of Dirk Hartog. It is a high limestone plateau with talus slopes and vegetated with Nitraria billardierei shrubland, many shrubs showing damage due to nesting and roosting cormorants. The whole area is in Shark Bay World Heritage Area and the seas around the nesting colonies are part of the Shark Bay Marine Park.

Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance that meets the thresholds for at least one criterion described in the Global Standard for the Identification of KBAs.

Additional biodiversity: Small numbers of Wedge-tailed Shearwater and Silver Gull nest on Freycinet Island. Several pairs of Osprey and White-bellied Sea-Eagle nest on Dirk Hartog Island as well as the entire population of the vulnerable endemic subspecies of White-winged Fairy-wren Malurus l. leucopterus. The one comprehensive waterbird survey of Shark Bay, in October 1987, counted 27,900-37,400 birds of which 54% were shorebirds, including 313 Eastern Curlew [mostly on the north-east] and 3623 Banded Stilt [mostly at Useless Loop saltworks] (Jaensch and Vervest 1990). Fifteen species of 'sea' birds have been recorded breeding on 42 islands and islets in Shark Bay: Wedge-tailed Shearwater, Australian Pelican, Pied Cormorant, Silver Gull, Pacific Gull, Caspian Tern, Crested Tern, Lesser Crested Tern, Roseate Tern, Bridled Tern and Fairy Tern, and the sea-side species: Eastern Reef Egret, Osprey, White-bellied Sea-Eagle, Pied Oystercatcher and Sooty Oystercatcher (Burbidge and Fuller 2000). Small numbers of the biome-restricted Rock Parrot have been recorded on Freycinet Island with counts of 10 in May 1997 and about 35 in September 1997 (Burbidge and Fuller 2000). The IBA itself is probably too small to support significant numbers of this species, which occurs in suitable habitat across Shark Bay.

Habitats

Land use: nature conservation and research | rangeland/pastureland

IUCN Habitat	Coverage %	Habitat detail
Shrubland	50
Marine Coastal/Supratidal	50

Threats

Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: Monitor incidence and impact of human disturbance on nesting cormorants. Numbers nesting at these colonies should be counted regularly.

Additional information

References: Burbidge, A.A. and Fuller, P.J. (2000) The breeding seabirds of Shark Bay, Western Australia. CALMScience 3 (2); 109-124. Burbidge, A.A. and George, A.S. (1978) The flora and fauna of Dirk Hartog Island, Western Australia. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia 60: 71-90. Jaensch, R.P. and Vervest, R.M. (1990) Waterbirds at Remote Wetlands in Western Australia 1986-88 Part 2: Lake Macleod, Shark Bay, Camballin Floodplain and Parry Floodplain. RAOU Report 69. Melbourne: RAOU. Wells, B.A. and Wells, A.G. (1974) Report on a visit to Dirk Hartog Island August-September 1973 with some observations on the flora and fauna. Western Australian Naturalist 13: 19-23.