Little Dog Island

Little Dog Island is a square, flat granite island, with an area of 83 ha, in south-eastern Australia. It is part of Tasmania’s Great Dog Island Group, lying in eastern Bass Strait between Flinders and Cape Barren Islands in the Furneaux Group. It is a game reserve. It was previously grazed, a usage now ceased.[1] The island is part of the Franklin Sound Islands Important Bird Area, identified as such by BirdLife International because it holds over 1% of the world populations of six bird species.[2]

Fauna

Recorded breeding seabird and wader species are Little Penguin, Short-tailed Shearwater (over half a million pairs) and Pied Oystercatcher. The Sooty Oystercatcher, Caspian Tern and White-fronted Tern have bred on an isolated rock 200 m north of the island. The Swamp Harrier has bred on the island. Reptiles present include the Metallic Skink and Tiger Snake. The Growling Grass Frog has been recorded.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b Brothers, Nigel; Pemberton, David; Pryor, Helen; & Halley, Vanessa. (2001). Tasmania’s Offshore Islands: seabirds and other natural features. Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery: Hobart. ISBN 0-7246-4816-X
  2. ^ "IBA: Franklin Sound Islands". Birdata. Birds Australia. http://www.birdata.com.au/iba.vm. Retrieved 2011-06-22.