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Cheetham And Altona Important Bird Area
The Cheetham and Altona Important Bird Area comprises several wetland sites on, or close to, the north-western coast of Port Phillip in Victoria, south-eastern Australia. Collectively they total 1223 ha in area and lie within, or adjacent to, the western suburbs of the city of Melbourne. They were classified as an Important Bird Area (IBA) because they support more than 1% of the world populations of red-necked stint, chestnut teal and Pacific gull. Wetlands The IBA includes the undeveloped coast between Williamstown and Seaholme, including the Jawbone Reserve, Altona Coastal Park, Rowden's Swamp, the Cheetham Wetlands, Truganina Swamp, with the Spectacle Lakes complex and RAAF Lake of Point Cook Coastal Park The Point Cook Coastal Park covers an area of and includes the Cheetham Wetlands. The park extends from the RAAF Williams Point Cook Base northeast along the coast to the Laverton creek which comprises its northern boundary. The park is approx .... These co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Calidris Ruficollis P4233842
''Calidris'' is a genus of Arctic-breeding, strongly migratory wading birds in the family Scolopacidae. These birds form huge mixed flocks on coasts and estuaries in winter. They are the typical "sandpipers", small to medium-sized, long-winged and relatively short-billed. Their bills have sensitive tips which contain numerous corpuscles of Herbst. This enables the birds to locate buried prey items, which they typically seek with restless running and probing. Taxonomy The genus ''Calidris'' was introduced in 1804 by the German naturalist Blasius Merrem with the red knot as the type species. The genus name is from Ancient Greek ''kalidris'' or ''skalidris'', a term used by Aristotle for some grey-coloured waterside birds. The genus contain 24 species: * Great knot, ''Calidris tenuirostris'' * Red knot, ''Calidris canutus'' * Surfbird, ''Calidris virgata'' * Ruff, ''Calidris pugnax'' * Broad-billed sandpiper, ''Calidris falcinellus'' * Sharp-tailed sandpiper, ''Calidris acumi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pacific Gull
The Pacific gull (''Larus pacificus'') is a very large gull, native to the coasts of Australia. It is moderately common between Carnarvon in the west, and Sydney in the east, although it has become scarce in some parts of the south-east, as a result of competition from the kelp gull, which has "self-introduced" since the 1940s. Much larger than the ubiquitous silver gull, and nowhere near as common, Pacific gulls are usually seen alone or in pairs, loafing around the shoreline, steadily patrolling high above the edge of the water, or (sometimes) zooming high on the breeze to drop a shellfish or sea urchin onto rocks. Diet The gulls' diet consists of a number various fish species and invertebrates. They frequently consume crabs, most often the species ''Ovalipes australiensis'' and ''Paragrapsus gaimardii.'' They also commonly eat '' Platycephalus bassensis'' (sand flatheads) and cephalapods, both of which are sourced from their regular consumption of waste from fish which hav ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Important Bird Areas Of Victoria (Australia)
Importance is a property of entities that matter or make a difference. For example, World War II was an important event and Albert Einstein was an important person because of how they affected the world. There are disagreements in the academic literature about what type of difference is required. According to the causal impact view, something is important if it has a big causal impact on the world. This view is rejected by various theorists, who insist that an additional aspect is required: that the impact in question makes a value difference. This is often understood in terms of how the important thing affects the well-being of people. So on this view, World War II was important, not just because it brought about many wide-ranging changes but because these changes had severe negative impacts on the well-being of the people involved. The difference in question is usually understood counterfactually as the contrast between how the world actually is and how the world would have bee ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Point Cook, Victoria
Point Cook is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Wyndham local government area. Point Cook recorded a population of 66,781 at the 2021 census. Point Cook is the home of RAAF Base Point Cook, the birthplace of the Royal Australian Air Force, and is the current home of the RAAF Museum. Point Cook is also home to many playgrounds and parks/public spaces. The wetlands of the Point Cook Coastal Park form part of the Cheetham and Altona Important Bird Area. The major development of the suburb began in the late 1990s. The population of Point Cook has been growing rapidly since 2001 when the population was 1,737. At the , Point Cook's population was 49,929, and had risen to 60,105 by 2018. History Early settlers Point Cook was originally spelled Point Cooke, and named in 1836. Almost all references dropped the "e"; however, in the early 2000s the point itself was officially renamed "Point Cooke". ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Truganina Coastal Parklands
The Truganina Coastal Parklands are located 15 km west of Melbourne CBD, on the shores of Port Phillip Bay, stretching from Altona to Altona Meadows and adjacent to the Cheetham Wetlands and the Point Cook Coastal Park. They were formed through the 'recycling' of more than 300 hectares of parks and former industrial land and are now the largest cluster of parks on Port Phillip Bay, interlinked by cycling and walking trails and featuring a surprisingly high diversity and abundance of landscapes, natural environment and recreational areas, including beachside recreation, picnic & barbecue facilities, grassfields and wildlife conservation areas. The wetlands form part of the Cheetham and Altona Important Bird Area. Constituent areas The parklands comprise the following areas: * Truganina Park * Truganina Explosives Reserve * Truganina Swamp * Kooringal Golf Course * Altona Treatment Plant * Apex Park * Doug Grant Reserve The Laverton Creek which runs south into Port Phillip Ba ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Altona Coastal Park
Altona Coastal Park, a 70 hectares intertidal and salt marsh area located 11 km from Melbourne CBD in the western suburb of Altona, is an important recreational and nature conservation area, providing habitats for a large biodiversity of flora and fauna. It is part of the Cheetham and Altona Important Bird Area. History It was the site of the Williamstown Racecourse from 1864 to 1940, which was closed in 1940 to make way for an army camp during World War II. The site was extensively modified by land filling and site development; and known as the Altona Sports Park before its current name was adopted. The remnants of the Williamstown Racecourse Grandstand and a palm tree at the entry to the Grandstand still remains. A 4-metre sculpture called Requiem for a Champion, created by the artist Yvonne George, featuring a bronze stint perched on top of a galloping horse, was installed to commemorate the location of the former Williamstown racecourse. Flora The Park has predomin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Seaholme, Victoria
Seaholme is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, south-west of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the City of Hobsons Bay Local government areas of Victoria, local government area. Seaholme recorded a population of 2,067 at the 2021 Australian census, 2021 census. The suburb is a bayside enclave within the larger suburb of Altona, Victoria, Altona, bounded in the west by Millers Road and in the north by the Altona Coastal Park. Seaholme Post Office opened on 2 July 1951 and closed in 1971. Transport Train * Seaholme is home to Seaholme railway station, Seaholme station, which is serviced by trains on the Werribee railway line. Bus * Route 411-412: Laverton, Victoria, Laverton to Footscray, Victoria, Footscray * Route 944: City to Point Cook, Victoria, Point Cook (Night Network (Melbourne), Night Bus Service) See also * City of Altona – Seaholme was previously within this former local gover ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Williamstown, Victoria
Williamstown is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Hobsons Bay local government area. Williamstown recorded a population of 14,407 at the 2021 census. History Indigenous history Indigenous Australians occupied the area long before maritime activities shaped the modern historical development of Williamstown. The Yalukit-willam clan of the Kulin nation were the first people to call Hobsons Bay home. They roamed the thin coastal strip from Werribee to Williamstown/Hobsons Bay. The Yalukit-willam were one clan in a language group known as the Bunurong, which included six clans along the coast from the Werribee River, across the Mornington Peninsula, Western Port Bay to Wilsons Promontory. The Yalukit-willam referred to the Williamstown area as "koort-boork-boork", a term meaning "clump of she-oaks", literally "She-oak, She-oak, many." The head of the Yalikut-willam tribe at the time of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chestnut Teal
The chestnut teal (''Anas castanea'') is a dabbling duck found in Australia. It is protected under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974. Taxonomy The chestnut teal was described by the English naturalist Thomas Campbell Eyton in 1838 under the binomial name ''Mareca castanea''. The specific epithet ''castanea'' is from the Latin ''castaneus'' for "chestnut-coloured" or "chestnut-brown". A large molecular phylogentic study that compared mitochondrial DNA sequences from ducks, geese and swans in the family Anatidae found that the chestnut teal is a sister species to the Sunda teal (''Anas gibberifrons'') that is endemic to Indonesia. Description The chestnut teal is darker and a slightly bigger bird than the grey teal. The male has a distinctive green coloured head and mottled brown body. The female has a brown head and mottled brown body. The female is almost identical in appearance to the grey teal. The female chestnut teal has a loud penetrating "laughing" quack repeated ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wetland
A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The primary factor that distinguishes wetlands from terrestrial land forms or Body of water, water bodies is the characteristic vegetation of aquatic plants, adapted to the unique anoxic hydric soils. Wetlands are considered among the most biologically diverse of all ecosystems, serving as home to a wide range of plant and animal species. Methods for assessing wetland functions, wetland ecological health, and general wetland condition have been developed for many regions of the world. These methods have contributed to wetland conservation partly by raising public awareness of the functions some wetlands provide. Wetlands occur naturally on every continent. The water in wetlands is either freshwater, brackish or seawater, saltwater. The main w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Red-necked Stint
The red-necked stint (''Calidris ruficollis'') is a small migratory wader. The genus name is from Ancient Greek ''kalidris'' or ''skalidris'', a term used by Aristotle for some grey-coloured waterside birds. The specific ''ruficollis'' is from Latin ''rufus'', "red" and ''collum'', "neck". Description These birds are among the smallest of waders, very similar to the little stint, ''Calidris minuta'', with which they were once considered conspecific. The red-necked stint's small size, fine dark bill, dark legs and quicker movements distinguish this species from all waders except the other dark-legged stints. It measures in length, in wingspan and in body mass. It can be distinguished from the western sandpiper and the semipalmated sandpiper in all plumages by its combination of a fine bill tip, unwebbed toes, and longer primary projection. The breeding adult has an unstreaked orange breast, bordered with dark markings below, and a white V on its back. In winter plumage identifi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Important Bird Area
An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife International. There are over 13,000 IBAs worldwide. These sites are small enough to be entirely conserved and differ in their character, habitat or ornithological importance from the surrounding habitat. In the United States the Program is administered by the National Audubon Society. Often IBAs form part of a country's existing protected area network, and so are protected under national legislation. Legal recognition and protection of IBAs that are not within existing protected areas varies within different countries. Some countries have a National IBA Conservation Strategy, whereas in others protection is completely lacking. History In 1985, following a specific request from the European Economic Community, Birdlife International ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
