Ethabuka Reserve is a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

in Central West Queensland, Australia, north-west of

Bedourie Bedourie is a town and a locality in the Shire of Diamantina, Queensland, Australia. In the , Bedourie had a population of 122 people. Geography Bedourie is located in the Channel Country of Central West Queensland, Australia, lying on Eyre ...

, south-west of

Boulia Boulia () is an outback town and locality in the Shire of Boulia, Queensland, Australia. In the , Boulia had a population of 301 people. Boulia is the administrative centre of the Boulia Shire, population approximately 600, which covers an area ...

and south of

Mount Isa Mount Isa ( ) is a city in the Gulf Country region of Queensland, Australia. It came into existence because of the vast mineral deposits found in the area. Mount Isa Mines (MIM) is one of the most productive single mines in world history, bas ...

. It lies at the northern end of the

Simpson Desert The Simpson Desert is a large area of dry, red sandy plain and dunes in the Northern Territory, South Australia and Queensland in central Australia. It is the fourth-largest Deserts of Australia, Australian desert, with an area of . The desert ...

with its western boundary bordering the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

. It is owned and managed 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 ...

(BHA), who also own the adjacent property,

Pilungah Reserve Pilungah Reserve, formerly Cravens Peak Reserve, is a nature reserve in Central West Queensland, Australia, south-west of Boulia and south of Mount Isa. It lies at the northern end of the Simpson Desert and includes parts of the bioregions ...

. The elevation of the reserve terrain is 99 meters.

History

Ethabuka was offered as a

pastoral lease A pastoral lease, sometimes called a pastoral run, is an arrangement used in both Australia and New Zealand where government-owned Crown land is leased out to graziers for the purpose of livestock grazing on rangelands. Australia Pastoral lease ...

from 1910, though it was not taken up until 1946. It was operated as a beef cattle station until acquisition by BHA in 2004.Ethabuka Reserve
Bush Heritage Australia. Retrieved 12 February 2013.

Landscape

Ethabuka is characterised by dunefields and the associated swales, with clay and gibber floodplains. It contains the nationally significant Pulchera waterhole, a semi-permanent

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 ...

fed by the

ephemeral Ephemerality (from the Greek word , meaning 'lasting only one day') is the concept of things being transitory, existing only briefly. Academically, the term ephemeral constitutionally describes a diverse assortment of things and experiences, fr ...

Mulligan River. Vegetation communities include gidgee

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 ...

Fauna

Ethabuka is rich in desert wildlife. Mammals recorded on the property include the

mulgara Mulgaras are the two small rat-sized species in the genus ''Dasycercus''. They are marsupial carnivores, closely related to the Tasmanian devil and the quolls, that live in deserts and spinifex grasslands of arid Australia. They are nocturnal, ...

Forrest's mouse The Forrest's mouse (''Leggadina forresti''), or desert short-tailed mouse, is a small species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is a widespread but sparsely distributed species found across arid and semi-arid inland Australia, commonly found ...

spinifex hopping mouse The spinifex hopping mouse (''Notomys alexis''), also known as the tarkawara or tarrkawarra, occurs throughout the central and western Australian arid zones, occupying both spinifex-covered sand flats and stabilised sand dunes, and loamy mulga ...

, brown desert mouse and

sandy inland mouse The sandy inland mouse (''Pseudomys hermannsburgensis'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. Also known as the Hermannsburg (Mission) false-mouse or Hermannsburg mouse, it is endemic to Australia and found widely yet sparsely through ...

. Reptiles include the

woma python The woma python (''Aspidites ramsayi''), also known commonly as Ramsay's python, the sand python,O'Connor F (2008)Western Australian Reptile Species.Birding Western Australia. Accessed 20 September 2007.Mehrtens JM (1987). ''Living Snakes of th ...

. Threatened bird species recorded are the Australian bustard,

yellow chat The yellow chat (''Epthianura crocea'') is a small passerine bird endemic to Australia.Houston, W., Porter, G., O’Neill, P., and Elder, R. (2004). "The ecology of the critically endangered yellow chat Epthianura crocea macgregori on Curtis Isla ...

painted honeyeater The painted honeyeater (''Grantiella picta'') is a species of honeyeater in a monotypic genus. Taxonomy A member of the family Meliphagidae, ''Grantiella picta'' is the sole species under this genus. The painted honeyeater was first described ...

and

chestnut quail-thrush The chestnut quail-thrush (''Cinclosoma castanotum'') is a native Australian bird of the family Cinclosomatidae. These scrub birds are endemic to Australia and found in all states - barring Tasmania. They are relatively uncommon and are isolate ...

. The reserve is part of the

Simpson Desert Important Bird Area The Simpson Desert Important Bird Area comprises some 22,848 km2 of land within the Simpson Desert in south-western Queensland and north-eastern South Australia. It consists of five large contiguous reserves subject to little grazing p ...

(IBA), identified as such by

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...

for its importance in conserving suitable habitat for

Eyrean grasswren The Eyrean grasswren (''Amytornis goyderi'') is a small grasswren from the Passerine family Maluridae. This is a cryptically plumaged and uncommon bird endemic to arid regions of Central Australia. The species was discovered by F.W. Andrews i ...

References

External links

Bush Heritage Australia
Bush Heritage Australia reserves Nature reserves in Queensland 2004 establishments in Australia Important Bird Areas of Queensland Central West Queensland {{Queensland-protected-area-stub