Caravan Head Bushland Reserve is a reserve of approximately 2.2ha located in

Sutherland Shire Sutherland Shire is a local government area (LGA) in the southern region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Sutherland Shire is located approximately south-southwest of the Sydney CBD, and comprises an area of . As at the ...

, southern

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, in the state of

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. The reserve is bounded by Caravan Head Road, Cook Road and private property located in the northern part of the suburb of Oyster Bay. It consists of two parcels of land, Lot 9 Deposited Plan 203088 owned by the State of NSW and Lot 31 DP 203088 owned by Sutherland Shire Council. The land is zoned E2 - Environmental Conservation under Sutherland Shire Local Environmental Plan 2015. It contains a diverse array of native ridgetop native vegetation due to the fact the land was put aside for a proposed school that was never built eventually its ownership was transferred and a development proposal was put forward in the 1990s after local uproar and political support the land was bought by the state government and it was turned into a bushland reserve. During the reserves early history it was severely damaged when the centre of the site was gutted of vegetation and bike tracks cut the remaining vegetation into smaller fragments. After over a decade of regeneration efforts by the local Bushcare Group of volunteer members the site has been nearly restored to its former glory even though it will always need constant attention in the future. On the eastern side of the reserve a dense callitris woodland exists ''

Callitris rhomboidea ''Callitris rhomboidea'', commonly known as the Oyster Bay pine, Tasmanian cypress pine, Port Jackson pine, Illawarra mountain pine, or dune cypress pine, is a species of conifer in the family Cupressaceae. It is native to Australia, occurring i ...

'' (Port Jackson pine) under which grow extensive native pasture and an open shrubbery. The majority of the site consists of semi-disturbed woodland dominated by ''

Corymbia gummifera ''Corymbia gummifera'', commonly known as red bloodwood, is a species of tree, rarely a mallee, that is endemic to eastern Australia. It has rough, tessellated bark on the trunk and branches, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups o ...

'' (red bloodwoods); ''

Angophora costata ''Angophora costata'', commonly known as Sydney red gum, rusty gum or smooth-barked apple, is a species of tree that is endemic to eastern Australia. Reaching in height, the species has distinctive smooth bark that is pinkish or orange-brown wh ...

'' (Sydney red gum) and ''

Eucalyptus haemastoma ''Eucalyptus haemastoma'', commonly known as scribbly gum, is a species of tree that is endemic to the Sydney region. It has white or silvery grey bark, lance-shaped or curved adult leaves, flower buds in groups of between nine and fifteen, whit ...

'' (scribbly gums). The majority of the site is on a very slight slope with few exposed rock and deep sandy soils except for the northern edge where massive boulders of

Sydney sandstone Sydney sandstone, also known as the Hawkesbury sandstone, yellowblock, and yellow gold, is a sedimentary rock named after Sydney, and the Hawkesbury River north of Sydney, where this sandstone is particularly common. It forms the bedrock f ...

protrude from a more steep hillside which has acted to preserve a more diverse

groundcover Groundcover or ground cover is any plant that grows low over an area of ground, which protects the topsoil from erosion and drought. In a terrestrial ecosystem, the ground cover forms the layer of vegetation below the shrub layer known as the ...

. The southern edge and the center of the site have all been re-vegetated by Bushcare to a near-natural state with a variety of species and other species from the surrounding bushland are re-colonising these areas. A total of nearly 150 species of native flora have been recorded in the reserve.

Shrubs

Some common shrubs found in the reserve include: ''

Hakea sericea ''Hakea sericea'', commonly known as bushy needlewood or silky hakea, is a large shrub with a profusion of mainly white flowers from July for several months. It is endemic to eastern Australia. It has become an environmental weed in some countri ...

'' (silky hakea); '' Hakea dactyloides'' (broad-leaved hakea); '' Grevillea sericea'' (waxflower); '' Philotheca scabra''; ''

Petrophile pulchella ''Petrophile pulchella'', commonly known as conesticks, is a common shrub of the family Proteaceae and is found in eastern Australia. The leaves are divided with needle-shaped but soft Pinnation, pinnae, the flowers silky-hairy, cream-coloured a ...

'' (conesticks);

Acacia terminalis ''Acacia terminalis'' (sunshine wattle) is a shrub or small tree to 6 m in height. It is an Australian native whose range extends through New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania. Common names are cedar wattle (also used of '' Acacia elata''), e ...

(sunshine Wattle);

Acacia suaveolens ''Acacia'', commonly known as wattles or acacias, is a genus of about of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa, South America, and Australa ...

(sweet scented wattle); ''

Acacia linifolia ''Acacia linifolia'', known colloquially as white wattle, or flax wattle, is a species of ''Acacia'' native to eastern Australia. Description The shrub typically grows to a height of and has an erect or spreading habit with greyish coloured sm ...

'' (flax-leafed wattle); Xanthorrhoea arborea (trunkless grass tree); ''

Angophora hispida ''Angophora hispida'' grows as a mallee, or as a tree to about in height. Its small size, especially when compared to its ''Angophora'' and ''Eucalyptus'' relatives, leads to it being known by the common name dwarf apple. It is native to a rel ...

'' (dwarf apple); '' Ozothamnus diosmifolius'' (riceflower); ''

Banksia spinulosa ''Banksia spinulosa'', the hairpin banksia, is a species of woody shrub, of the genus ''Banksia'' in the family Proteaceae, native to eastern Australia. Widely distributed, it is found as an understorey plant in open dry forest or heath (habit ...

'' (hairpin banksia)'';'' '' Persoonia laurina'' (laurel geebung); ''

Persoonia levis ''Persoonia levis'', commonly known as the broad-leaved geebung, is a shrub native to New South Wales and Victoria (Australia), Victoria in eastern Australia. It reaches 5 m (16 ft) in height and has dark grey papery bark and bright gr ...

'' (broad-leaved geebung); '' Dillwynia sieberi'' (native pea); ''

Elaeocarpus reticulatus ''Elaeocarpus reticulatus'', commonly known as blueberry ash, ash quandong, blue olive berry, fairy petticoats, fringe tree, koda, lily of the valley tree and scrub ash, is species of flowering plant in the family Elaeocarpaceae, and is Endemi ...

'' (blueberry ash); ''

Glochidion ferdinandi ''Glochidion'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Phyllanthaceae, known as cheese trees or buttonwood in Australia, and leafflower trees in the scientific literature. It comprises about 170 species, distributed from Madagascar to the Pa ...

'' (cheese tree) and ''

Allocasuarina littoralis ''Allocasuarina littoralis'', commonly known as black she-oak, is a species of flowering plant in the family Casuarinaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is dioecious, or less commonly a monoecious tree or shrub, that has its leaves redu ...

'' (black she-oaks). Common understorey herbs include: '' Pomax umbellata''; ''

Platysace linearifolia ''Platysace linearifolia'', known as carrot tops, is a slender shrub, found growing on poor sandy soils in eastern Australia, north of Jervis Bay. It may form large colonies and is easily noticed in the late summer and autumn when covered in smal ...

'';

Hardenbergia violacea ''Hardenbergia violacea'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to Australia. It is known in Australia by the common names false sarsaparilla, purple coral pea, and waraburra. Elsewhere it is also called purple tw ...

(purple twining pea);

Smilax australis ''Smilax australis'' (lawyer vine, austral sarsaparilla, barbwire vine, or " wait-a-while") is a vine in the family Smilacaceae, endemic to Australia. It has prickly climbing stems that are up to 8 metres long with coiled tendrils that are up ...

(native Sarsaparilla); Kennedia rubicunda (dusky coral pea);

Dianella caerulea ''Dianella caerulea'', commonly known as the blue flax-lily, blueberry lily, or paroo lily, is a perennial herb of the family Asphodelaceae, subfamily Hemerocallidoideae, found across the eastern states of Australia and Tasmania. It is a hardy p ...

Dianella revoluta ''Dianella revoluta'', commonly known as blueberry lily, blue flax-lily, or black-anther flax-lily, a species of flowering plant in the family Asphodelaceae and is endemic to, and widespread in Australia. It is a tufted, perennial herb with gra ...

(Blue Flax Lily);

Lindsaea linearis ''Lindsaea linearis'' is known as the screw fern, as the fronds may have a twisting appearance. It has a creeping stem with fronds that can grow up to in length. It is a small fern of widespread distribution in many parts of Australia. Found in ...

(screw fern); Hibbertia riparia (Guinea flower); Gonocarpus teucrioides (raspwort); Zieria tridentata; Lomatia silaifolia (native parsley); Plectranthus parviflorus;

Actinotus minor ''Actinotus minor'', commonly known as the lesser flannel flower, is species of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae and is endemic to New South Wales. It is a small, sprawling plant with grey-green leaves and white flowers. Description ''Acti ...

(lesser flannel flower) and Glycine clandestina. Common grasses include: Micrloaena stipoides (weeping meadow grass); Entolasia sp. (native panic); Juncus usiatus;

Echinopogon caespitosus ''Echinopogon caespitosus'', the bushy hedgehog grass or tufted hedgehog grass, is a species of grass native to southeastern Australia. It is often found in disturbed areas. The original specimen was collected at Katoomba railway station in 1931, ...

(hedgehog grass); Aristida vagans;

Cymbopogon refractus ''Cymbopogon refractus'', commonly known as barbed wire grass, is a species of perennial grass in the genus ''Cymbopogon'' of the family Poaceae. It is native to Australia. Description ''Cymbopogon refractus'' is a tufted perennial bunchgrass, ...

(barbed-wire grass);

Dichelachne crinita ''Dichelachne crinita '', commonly known as the longhair plume grass, is a type of grass found in Australia, New Zealand and islands of the Pacific Ocean. It is often seen on sandy soils near the sea as well as woodlands. The flowering panicles a ...

and

Themeda triandra } ''Themeda triandra'' is a species of perennial tussock-forming grass widespread in Africa, Australia, Asia and the Pacific. In Australia it is commonly known as kangaroo grass and in East Africa and South Africa it is known as red grass and ...

(kangaroo grass). Several species of tiny orchids grow in this reserve, their leaves are so tiny as to be mistaken for a piece of grass when not in flower and often die back to a tiny little bulb in hot weather.

Orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan plants that are found in almost every habitat on Eart ...

species recorded include: Theylmitra pauciflora;

Cryptostylis erecta ''Cryptostylis erecta'', commonly known as the bonnet orchid or tartan tongue orchid , is an orchid Endemism, endemic to south eastern Australia. A small and common plant, it has dark green lance-shaped to egg-shaped leaves and up to twelve gree ...

; Calochilus paludosus and

Pterostylis ''Pterostylis'' is a genus of about 300 species of plants in the orchid family, Orchidaceae. Commonly called greenhood orchids, they are terrestrial, deciduous, perennial, tuberous, herbs found in Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea, New Caled ...

''sp''.

Birds

Native birds that frequent or inhabit the reserve include the:

Pied currawong The pied currawong (''Strepera graculina'') is a black passerine bird native to eastern Australia and Lord Howe Island. One of three currawong species in the genus ''Strepera'', it is closely related to the butcherbirds and Australian magpie of ...

;

Australian magpie The Australian magpie (''Gymnorhina tibicen'') is a black and white passerine bird native to Australia and southern New Guinea, and introduced to New Zealand, and the Fijian island of Taveuni. Although once considered to be three separate ...

;

Noisy miner The noisy miner (''Manorina melanocephala'') is a bird in the honeyeater family, Meliphagidae, and is endemic to eastern and southeastern Australia. This miner is a grey bird, with a black head, orange-yellow beak and feet, a distinctive yellow ...

;

Laughing kookaburra The laughing kookaburra (''Dacelo novaeguineae'') is a bird in the kingfisher subfamily Halcyoninae. It is a large robust kingfisher with a whitish head and a brown eye-stripe. The upperparts are mostly dark brown but there is a mottled light ...

;

Pied butcherbird The pied butcherbird (''Cracticus nigrogularis'') is a songbird native to Australia. Described by John Gould in 1837, it is a black and white bird long with a long hooked bill. Its head and throat are black, making a distinctive hood; the Bird ...

;

Trichoglossus moluccanus The rainbow lorikeet (''Trichoglossus moluccanus'') is a species of parrot found in Australia. It is common along the eastern states of Australia, eastern seaboard, from northern Queensland to South Australia. Its habitat is rainforest, coastal b ...

(Rainbow lorikeet);

Yellow-tailed black cockatoo The yellow-tailed black cockatoo (''Zanda funerea'') is a large cockatoo native to the south-east of Australia measuring in length. It has a short crest on the top of its head. Its plumage is mostly brownish black and it has prominent yellow ...

;

Sulphur-crested cockatoo The sulphur-crested cockatoo (''Cacatua galerita'') is a relatively large white cockatoo found in wooded habitats in Australia, New Guinea, and some of the islands of Indonesia. They can be locally very numerous, leading to them sometimes being ...

;

Magpie-lark The magpie-lark (''Grallina cyanoleuca''), also known as wee magpie, peewee, peewit, mudlark or Murray magpie, is a passerine bird native to Australia, Timor and southern New Guinea. The male and female both have black and white plumage, though ...

;

Koel The true koels, ''Eudynamys'', are a genus of cuckoos from Asia, Australia and the Pacific. They are large sexually dimorphic cuckoos that eat fruits and insects and have loud distinctive calls. They are brood parasites, laying their eggs in th ...

;

Tawny frogmouth The tawny frogmouth (''Podargus strigoides'') is a species of frogmouth native to the Australian mainland and Tasmania and found throughout. It is a big-headed, stocky bird often mistaken for an owl due to its nocturnal habits and similar colouri ...

; and

Australian raven The Australian raven (''Corvus coronoides'') is a passerine Corvidae, corvid bird native to Australia. Measuring in length, it has an all-black plumage, beak and mouth, as well as strong, greyish-black legs and feet. The upperparts of its body ...

. Birds that once did use the site but are now recently extinct from this locality include the

Superb fairy wren The superb fairywren (''Malurus cyaneus'') is a passerine bird in the Australasian wren family, Maluridae, and is common and familiar across south-eastern Australia. It is a sedentary and territorial species, also exhibiting a high degree of se ...

;

Spotted pardalote The spotted pardalote (''Pardalotus punctatus'') is a small passerine bird native to eastern and southern Australia, at elevations of up to . It is part of the pardalote family, Pardalotidae. One of the smallest of all Australian birds at in le ...

and

Silver-eye The silvereye or wax-eye (''Zosterops lateralis''), also known by its Māori name tauhou, is a very small omnivorous passerine bird of the south-west Pacific. In Australia and New Zealand its common name is sometimes white-eye, but this name is ...

Mammals

Native mammals that inhabit or visit Caravan Head Reserve are more or less limited to the:

Pseudocheiridae Pseudocheiridae is a family of arboreal marsupials containing 17 extant species of ringtailed possums and close relatives. They are found in forested areas and shrublands throughout Australia and New Guinea. Characteristics Physically, they app ...

(Ringtail possum);

Brushtail possum The brushtail possums are the members of the genus ''Trichosurus'' in the Phalangeridae, a family of marsupials. They are native to Australia (including Tasmania) and some small nearby islands. Unique among marsupials, they have shifted the hyp ...

, (a threatened species);

Pteropus ''Pteropus'' (suborder Yinpterochiroptera) is a genus of megabats which are among the largest bats in the world. They are commonly known as fruit bats or flying foxes, among other colloquial names. They live in South Asia, Southeast Asia, Aust ...

(grey-headed flying foxes, a threatened species); native rodents as wells as a variety of micro-bat species many of which are threatened with extinction.

Weeds

Weed species found in reserve include: Erharta ercta (panic veldt grass); Paspalum grass, Ochna,

Pittosporum undulatum ''Pittosporum undulatum'' is a fast-growing tree in the family Pittosporaceae. It is sometimes also known as sweet pittosporum, native daphne, Australian cheesewood, Victorian box or mock orange. ''P. undulatum'' has become invasive in parts ...

(technically a native which is out of control due to changed conditions);

Lantana camara ''Lantana camara'' (common lantana) is a species of flowering plant in the verbena family (Verbenaceae), native to the American tropics. It is a very adaptable species, which can inhabit a wide variety of ecosystems; once it has been introduced i ...

; Blechnum nudum (Fishbone fern); Protoasparagus (Asparagus fern ''sp'') and Paddys curse. Feral animals present in the reserve include the:

Red fox The red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe and Asia, plus ...

;

Domestic cat The cat (''Felis catus''), also referred to as the domestic cat or house cat, is a small Domestication, domesticated carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species of the family Felidae. Advances in archaeology and genetics have sh ...

;

Domestic dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the gray wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it was selectively bred from a population of wolves during the Late Pleistocene by hunter-gatherers ...

and

Common myna The common myna or Indian myna (''Acridotheres tristis''), sometimes spelled mynah, is a bird in the Family (biology), family Sturnidae, native to Asia. An omnivorous open woodland bird with a strong territorial instinct, the common myna has ada ...

References

{{Sydney Sutherland suburbs Nature reserves in New South Wales