Fauna of Bare Sand Island
(Click on each photo for more information)
Dr. Michael Guinea created and still runs the BSI Project. His other interests include sea snakes and watch mechanisms! Photo credit: Claire & Nige
Crocodylus porosus. Common name: Saltwater Crocodile. An apex predator they are just as comfortable in freshwater, and are found in rivers in large numbers across northern Australia. Sea turtles are often taken by crocodiles in northern waters. Photo credit: Lisa Raith
Juvenile Hawksbill sea turtles forage in the shallow waters around BSI. Photo credit: Andrew Raith
Common name: White-bellied Sea Eagle. Often does daylight aerial surveys of BSI, looking for sea turtle hatchling stragglers. Photo credit: Peter Jackson
A small number of Olive Ridleys nest on BSI, usually early in the peak of the Flatback season.
Olive Ridley hatchling. Much smaller than the Flatback hatchlings they have (on average) twice as many eggs laid per nest.
A sub species of Homo sapien. Often frequents BSI in the cooler months.
Common name: Little Corella. These were photograghed on adjacent Quail Is, but are often seen foraging in flocks on the inner swales of BSI. Photo credit: Lisa Raith
Common name: Silver Gull. Persist in small numbers on BSI, they have become accustomed to investigate our activities.
Common name: Ruddy Turnstones. Frequent the seaward zones on the beaches of BSI and Quail Island. Photo credit: Lisa Raith
Flatback hatchlings. These were found trapped in a hatched nest in the morning and were released when darkness fell that night. Photo credit: Andrew Raith
Juvenile Greens forage in and around the reefs of BSI. Photo credit: Dieter Berghans
Common name: Crested Tern. Has recently established a colony on a sandy isle adjacent to BSI, which has built up over the last decade. Photo credit: Peter Jackson
Birds make up majority of the vertebrate species on the island:
​
1. Asian Dowitcher Limnodromus semipalmatus
2. Australasian Pipit Anthus novaeseelandiae
3. Australian Hobby Falco longipennis
4. Australian Pelican Pelecanus conspicillatus
5. Bar-tailed Godwit Limosa lapponica
6. Beach Stone-curlew Esacus neglectus
7. Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike Coracina novaehollandiae
8. Black-naped Tern Sterna sumatrana
9. Black-necked Stork Ephippiorhyncus asiaticus
10. Brahminy Kite Haliastur indus
11. Broad-billed Flycatcher Myiagra ruficollis
12. Brown Booby Sula leucogaster
13. Brown Goshawk Accipiter fasciatus
14. Brown Honeyeater Lichmera indistincta
15. Brown Quail Coturnix ypsilophora
16. Caspian Tern Sterna caspia
17. Chestnut-breasted Mannikin Lonchura castaneothorax
18. Collared Kingfisher Todirhamphus chloris
19. Common Greenshank Tringa nebularia
20. Common Tern Sterna hirundo
21. Crested Tern Sterni bergii
22. Curlew Sandpiper Calidris ferruginea
23. Darter Anhinga melanogaster
24. Eastern Curlew Numenius madagascariensis
25. Eastern Reef Egret Egretta sacra
26. Golden-headed cisticola Cisticola exilis
27. Great Bowerbird Ptilonorhynchus nuchalis
28. Great Knot Calidris tenuirostris
29. Great-billed Heron Ardea sumatrana
30. Greater Sand Plover Charadrius leschenaultia
31. Grey Plover Pluvialis squatarola
32. Grey-tailed Tattler Heteroscelus brevipes
33. Gull-billed Tern Sterna nilotica
34. Lemon-bellied Flycatcher Micoeca flavigaster
35. Lesser Crested Tern Sterna bengalensis
36. Lesser Frigatebird Fregata ariel
37. Lesser Sand Plover Charadrius mongolus
38. Little Corella Cacatua sanguinea
39. Little Egret Egretta garzetta
40. Little Pied Cormorant Phalacrocorax melanoleucos
41. Little Tern Sterna albifrons
42. Mangrove Fantail Rhipidura phasiana
43. Mangrove Golden Whistler Pachycephala melanura
44. Mistletoebird Dicaeum hirundinaceum
45. Nankeen Kestrel Falco cenchroides
46. Nankeen Night Heron Nycticorax caledonicus
47. Northern Fantail Rhipidura rufiventris
48. Olive-backed Oriole Oriolus sagittatus
49. Orange-footed scrub fowl Megapodius reinwardt
50. Osprey Pandion haliatetus
51. Pacific Golden Plover Pluvialis fulva
52. Peaceful Dove Geopelia striata
53. Pied Cormorant Phalacrocorax varius
54. Pied Oystercatcher Haematopus longirostris
55. Rainbow Bee-eater Merops ornatus
56. Rainbow Lorikeet Trichoglossus haematodus
57. Red Knot Calidris canutus
58. Red-capped Plover Charadrius ruficapillus
59. Red-necked Stint Calidris ruficollis
60. Restless Flycatcher Myiagra inquieta
61. Rose-crowned Fruit Dove Ptilinopus regina
62. Ruddy Turnstone Arenaria interpres
63. Rufous Fantail Rhipidura rufifrons
64. Sacred Kingfisher Todirhamphus sanctus
65. Sanderling Calidris alba
66. Silver Gull Larus novahollandiae
67. Sooty Oystercatcher Haematopus fuliginosus
68. Spotted Harrier Circus assimilis
69. Striated Heron Butorides striatus
70. Terek Sandpiper Xenus cinereus
71. Tree Martin Hirundo nigricans
72. Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus
73. Whiskered Tern Chlidonia hybridus