Sites - Important Bird Areas (IBAs)

Summary Raine Island and nearby Moulter and Maclennan Cays regularly support over 1% of the world population of nesting Masked and Brown Boobies and have supported more than 1% of the world population of Common and Black Noddies. They also support regionally important populations of Herald Petrel, Red-footed Booby and Red-tailed Tropicbird.

Ornithological information Raine: about 2000 pairs of Wedge-tailed Shearwater in 1995; 330 Red-footed Booby nests in 1998 (Dyer 2003) and up to 229 pairs or 500 adult Red-footed Booby in 1980-2002; up to 101 pairs of Red-tailed Tropicbird in 1980-2002; Maclennan: up to 1000 pairs of Crested and Sooty Terns (GBR seabird database). Raine is possibly the only breeding site for Herald Petrel in Australia, but numbers are poorly known and very small,with a maximum count of seven birds (King 1986; Marchant and Higgins 1990).

Site description This IBA consists of the neighbouring islands of Raine Island, Moulter Cay and MacLennan Cay which, together with the surrounding seas, makes up the most significant seabird rookery in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area. These are on the outer edge of the reef, just south of the tip of Cape York. The best-studied island, Raine, is a 21 ha coral cay that consists of a vegetated ridge surrounding a bare central depression, previously mined for phosphorous, located about 100 km ENE of Cape Grenville, north Queensland. The majority of the central bare depression is occupied by Masked Boobies, with Brown Boobies nesting around the edges and extending onto the vegetated ridges. MacLennan Cay is a 2.4 ha cay vegetated with a grass Lepturus repens, a herb Portulaca oleracea and a shrub Boerhavia diffusa. Moulter (previously called Pandora) Cay is a 8.6 ha cay vegetated with grass, herbs and a few shrubs. Raine and Moulter support the only Red-footed Booby nesting colony in the Great Barrier Reef. These islands, and the surrounding seas, are in the Great Barrier Reef Marine National Park under the control of the Raine Island Corporation.

Populations of IBA trigger species

Protected areas

Habitats

Land ownership Australian Federal Government with management the responsibility of the GBRMPA.

Land use

Management considerations Monitor numbers and breeding success of seabird colonies. Raise awareness of likely impacts of sea-level rise and sea warming.

Protection status The IBA is identical to Raine Island National Park (Scientific).

Acknowledgements Paul O'Neill provided advice and access to the GBR seabird database.

References Dyer, P.K. (2003) Booby nesting on Raine Island, Great Barrier Reef. Corella 27: 102-105.

GBRMPA. (1997) Guidelines for Managing Visitation to Seabird Breeding Islands. Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority unpublished report.

King, B.R., (1986) Raine Island, Great Barrier Reef, Queensland. Corella 10: 73-77.

Marchant, S. and Higgins. P.J. (1990) Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds Volume 1. Melbourne: Oxford University Press.

Queensland Parks & Wildlife Service (2007) GBR seabird database (accessed May 2007).

Taplin, A. and Blabler, S.J.M. (1993) Seabird breeding population studies at Raine Island. In Raine Island Environs, Great Barrier Reef: quest to preserve a fragile outpost of nature. Eds.: Smyth, A.K., Zevering, K.H. and Zevering, C.E. Brisbane: Raine Island Corporation.

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Recommended citation  BirdLife International (2013) Important Bird Areas factsheet: Raine Island, Moulter and Maclennan Cays. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 25/05/2013

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