Shanks Islands

The Shanks Islands form a group of five small rocky islets, with a combined area of 2.72 ha, in south-eastern Australia. It is part of the Swainson Island Group, lying close to the southern end of the western coast of Tasmania, a kilometre from the eastern shore of Port Davey. It is also part of the Southwest National Park, and thus within the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Site.[1][2] The islets are part of the Port Davey Islands Important Bird Area, so identified by BirdLife International because of its importance for breeding seabirds. [3]

Fauna

Recorded breeding seabird and wader species are the little penguin, short-tailed shearwater (8700 pairs), fairy prion (5000 pairs), silver gull, sooty oystercatcher and Caspian tern.[1]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 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. ↑ Small Southern Islands Conservation Management Statement 2002, Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service, 2002, archived from the original on 2006-08-22, retrieved 2006-07-20
  3. ↑ "IBA: Port Davey Islands". Birdata. Birds Australia. Retrieved 2011-09-19.

Coordinates: 43°20′49″S 145°57′32″E / 43.34694°S 145.95889°E