In May 2016, Saratoga and District Sport and Recreation Association (SDSRA) issued a written request to Central Coast Council to consider, as a matter of urgency, the establishment of a Wildlife Protection Area throughout parts of Saratoga, Davistown, K i n c u m b e r , Kincumber South, Bensville, Empire Bay and St Huberts Island, for the protection of the local population of Bush Stone Curlews.
This proposal was presented to the former Gosford City Council by SDSRA in 1996 for the staged re-development of the recreation area within Crown Reserve R64760, on the western tip of the Saratoga Peninsula, that initially brought to the fore the presence of Bush Stone Curlews on the Central Coast. The subsequent plans for the re-development of the reserve were substantially modifi ed to ensure the sustainability of the Bush Stone Curlews’ habitat. Despite Bush Stone Curlews having occupied Reserve R64760 continuously throughout living memory, the resident birds abandoned this location in December 2015. Bush Stone Curlews are fairly large nocturnal grounddwelling birds classified as being endangered within NSW.
The plight of the Bush Stone Curlews within Reserve R64760 highlights the stressful situation that the entire population of Bush Stone Curlews on the Central Coast is currently enduring, partly as a consequence of projects such as the redevelopment of the recreation area within Reserve R64760 and the construction of the cycleway link between Saratoga, Davistown and Kincumber, but primarily due to the pressures of increasing human-related activities in general. Protection, enhancement and management of known Bush Stone Curlew habitat, particularly the long-established territories of breeding pairs, are key issues for council to address.
Those concerned about Wildlife Protection Areas are imploring Central Coast Council to consider the protection of native wildlife. However, those trying to bring back the Bush Stone Curlew are irritated with the council’s handling of the issue in the past two decades. A case for the establishment of a Wildlife Protection Area over Bush Stone Curlew country on the foreshores of Brisbane Water is presented in a brochure currently being distributed by SDSRA.
Media release, Aug 31, 2016 Alan Skinner, Saratoga and Districts Sport and Recreation Association