| Boondelbah Nature Reserve | |
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IUCN Category Ia (Strict Nature Reserve)
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| Nearest town/city | Shoal Bay, New South Wales |
| Coordinates | [1] |
| Area | 140,000 m² |
| Managing authorities | NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service |
Boondelbah Island, also known as the Boondelbah Nature Reserve, is an uninhabited 14 ha island lying 2 km off the mouth of Port Stephens on the coast of New South Wales, Australia. It is one of two breeding sites of the nominate subspecies of the threatened Gould's Petrel and, with the nearby Cabbage Tree Island which hosts the principal colony, has been classified by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area.[2] Both Boondelbah and Cabbage Tree Islands are gazetted nature reserves under the New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Act, so protecting the islands’ habitat from land uses incompatible with nature conservation. Access is only permitted for scientific and conservation purposes.[3]
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Boondelbah Island is a small, flat-topped, V-shaped island, surrounded by cliffs, about 600 m in length, by 400 m wide, with a maximum height of about 40 m. In contrast to rainforest-covered Cabbage Tree, Boondelbah is virtually treeless with the vegetation dominated by Mat Rush and Coastal Rosemary, with tussocks of Paroo Lily and Knobby Club Rush. Prickly Pear covers much of the cliff tops.[4]
Although the larger Cabbage Tree Island had been known for its breeding colony of Gould’s Petrels for many years, it was only in 1995 that a few breeding birds were found on Boondelbah. In order to establish a second colony, in February 1999 a hundred Gould’s Petrel chicks were translocated from Cabbage Tree to Boondelbah and placed in artificial nest boxes, with a further hundred being translocated in March 2000. Almost all the chicks fledged successfully.[3]