Muttonbird Island Nature 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 ...

off the shore of

Coffs Harbour Coffs Harbour is a city on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, north of Sydney, and south of Brisbane. It is one of the largest urban centres on the North Coast, with a population of 78,759 as per 2021 census. The Gumbaynggirr ...

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 ...

, on the southern boundary of the

Solitary Islands Marine Park Solitary Islands Marine Park (SIMP) is a marine park in New South Wales State waters, Australia. It adjoins the Solitary Islands Marine Reserve (Commonwealth Waters) and was declared under the ''Marine Parks Act 1997 (NSW)'' in January 19 ...

. It is linked to the mainland by a

causeway A causeway is a track, road or railway on the upper point of an embankment across "a low, or wet place, or piece of water". It can be constructed of earth, masonry, wood, or concrete. One of the earliest known wooden causeways is the Sweet Tra ...

, which acts as the northern

breakwater Breakwater may refer to: * Breakwater (structure), a structure for protecting a beach or harbour Places * Breakwater, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia * Breakwater Island Breakwater Island () is a small island in the Palme ...

for the

harbour A harbor (American English), harbour (British English; see spelling differences), or haven is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be docked. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is a ...

. With over 5,500 breeding pairs,Lane, S. G. (1979). Summary of the breeding seabirds on New South Wales coastal islands. ''Corella, 3'', 7-10. it is a major breeding ground for

wedge-tailed shearwater The wedge-tailed shearwater (''Ardenna pacifica'') is a medium-large shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. It is one of the shearwater species that is sometimes referred to as a muttonbird, like the sooty shearwater of New Zealand and ...

s (''Puffinus pacificus''), known locally as muttonbirds, which migrate annually to the Philippines but return to breed on the island.NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service. (2004). Muttonbird Island - Nature Reserve: Dept of Environment and Conservation.Floyd, R. B., & Swanson, N. M. (1983). Wedge-tailed Shearwaters on Muttonbird Island: an estimate of the breeding success and the breeding population. ''Emu, 82'', 244-250
doi:10.1071/MU9820244s
/ref>

References

External links

Muttonbird Island Nature Reserve
at the

NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) is a directorate of the New South Wales Department of Planning and Environment responsible for managing most of the protected areas in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Despite its name the ...

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