The Barren Grounds Nature Reserve is a

protected Protection is any measure taken to guard a thing against damage caused by outside forces. Protection can be provided to physical objects, including organisms, to systems, and to intangible things like civil and political rights. Although th ...

nature park A nature park, or sometimes natural park, is a designation for a protected natural area by means of long-term land planning, sustainable resource management and limitation of agricultural and real estate developments. These valuable landscape ...

located in the Southern Highlands region of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. The reserve is situated east of

Budderoo National Park The Budderoo National Park is a national park that is located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia; situated approximately south southwest of Sydney. Location and features The National Parks & Wildlife Servicemanaged park ...

, and west of the city of

Kiama Kiama () is a coastal town 120 kilometres south of Sydney in the Illawarra. One of the main tourist attractions is the Kiama Blowhole. Kiama features several popular surfing beaches and caravan parks, and numerous alfresco cafes and restaurants ...

. The reserve can also be accessed from the south, via a local road and a bush walk from the town of

Berry A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit, although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples are strawberries, raspb ...

. It is not far from the Nameless Sylvan Reserve owned by

Bush Heritage Australia Bush Heritage Australia is a non-profit organisation with headquarters in Melbourne, Australia, that operates throughout Australia. It was previously known as the Australian Bush Heritage Fund, which is still its legal name. It's vision is: Heal ...

. The nature reserve has several good lookouts that offer views of the coast. Interesting rock formations can be seen at Drawing Room Rocks, a geological feature in the southern part of the reserve. The former Barren Grounds Bird Observatory is located in the park.

Birds

The reserve is part of the Budderoo and Barren Grounds

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 Int ...

which contains large numbers of

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inva ...

eastern bristlebird The eastern bristlebird (''Dasyornis brachypterus'') is a species of bird in the bristlebird family, Dasyornithidae. It is endemic to Australia. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, temperate shrubland, and temperate grassland. It is thre ...

s, as well as smaller numbers of

pilotbird The pilotbird (''Pycnoptilus floccosus'') is a species of passerine bird in the family Acanthizidae. It is monotypic within the genus ''Pycnoptilus''. The species is endemic to south-eastern Australia. Taxonomy The species was first described ...

s and

rockwarbler The rockwarbler (''Origma solitaria''), is a bird in the family Acanthizidae. It is the only bird species endemic to the state of New South Wales in Australia. Taxonomy and systematics English artist and naturalist John Lewin described the roc ...

s, in a mosaic of

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

heath A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a cooler ...

and

eucalypt Eucalypt is a descriptive name for woody plants with capsule fruiting bodies belonging to seven closely related genera (of the tribe Eucalypteae) found across Australasia: ''Eucalyptus'', '' Corymbia'', '' Angophora'', ''Stockwellia'', ''Allosyn ...

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (see ...

habitats.

References

External links

DECCW - Barren Grounds Nature Reserve
Nature reserves in New South Wales Important Bird Areas of New South Wales Protected areas established in 1956 1956 establishments in Australia Southern Highlands (New South Wales) {{NewSouthWales-protected-area-stub

Birds

See also

References

External links