Shoal Bay Coastal Reserve is a
protected area
Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood ...
in the
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...
of
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 ...
.
It is situated approximately east of
Darwin and protects a large area of
eucalypt
Eucalypt is any woody plant with Capsule (fruit), capsule fruiting bodies belonging to one of seven closely related genera (of the tribe Eucalypteae) found across Australia:
''Eucalyptus'', ''Corymbia'', ''Angophora'', ''Stockwellia'', ''Allosyn ...
woodland and saline wetlands. The area is bounded by the
Howard River to the west and
Gunn Point to the east with all of
Shoal Bay being found within the reserve, it also shares a common boundary with the
Howard Springs Hunting Reserve and the
Tree Point Conservation Area.
It consists of extensive sand and mud-flats with much of the bay exposed at low tide. Numerous swamps surround the bay with remnants of a monsoon vine forest. Patches of rainforest are also found around the margins of the tidal area. The tidal flats are a known feeding and roosting area for migratory shorebirds in their non-breeding season. Aggregations of up to 5,000 waterbirds can be found in freshwater areas when the larger areas further south are dry.
[
]
The area is home to three threatened species of plant: ''
Cycas armstrongii'', ''
Ptychosperma macarthurii
''Ptychosperma macarthurii'', commonly known as the Macarthur palm, is a species of tree in the palm family Arecaceae. Its native range is northern Cape York Peninsula in Queensland with a number of disjunct populations in the Northern Territo ...
'' and ''
Utricularia dunstaniae''. The area is also home to eleven threatened species of animal including
Australian bustard
The Australian bustard (''Ardeotis australis'') is a large ground-dwelling bird that is common in grassland, woodland and open agricultural country across northern Australia and southern New Guinea. It stands at about high, and its wingspan is a ...
,
red goshawk
The red goshawk (''Erythrotriorchis radiatus'') is a bird of prey found in Australia. It is found mainly in the savanna woodlands of northern Australia, particularly near watercourses. It takes a broad range of live prey, mostly birds.
Taxonomy
...
,
northern quoll
The northern quoll (''Dasyurus hallucatus''), also known as the northern native cat, the North Australian native cat or the satanellus is a carnivorous marsupial native to Australia.
Taxonomy
The northern quoll is a member of the family Das ...
,
flatback turtle
The Australian flatback sea turtle (''Natator depressus'') is a species of sea turtle in the family Cheloniidae. The species is endemic to the sandy beaches and shallow coastal waters of the Australian continental shelf. This turtle gets its co ...
and
dwarf sawfish.
[
The ]traditional owners
Native title is the set of rights, recognised by Australian law, held by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups or individuals to land that derive from their maintenance of their traditional laws and customs. These Aboriginal title rig ...
of the area are the Larrakia people
The Larrakia people are a group of Aboriginal Australian people in and around Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin in the Northern Territory. The Larrakia, who refer to themselves as "Saltwater People", have a vibrant traditional society based ...
. Several large shell midden
A midden is an old dump for domestic waste. It may consist of animal bones, human excrement, botanical material, mollusc shells, potsherds, lithics (especially debitage), and other artifacts and ecofacts associated with past human oc ...
s left by these people can be found in the upland intrusions into the swamp areas.
See also
Protected areas of the Northern Territory
Protection is any measure taken to guard something 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. Althoug ...
References
External links
Official webpage
{{Protected areas of the Northern Territory, state=collapsed
Coastal reserves in the Northern Territory