Higginson Island

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The island is an important breeding site for bridled terns Bridled Tern.jpg
The island is an important breeding site for bridled terns

Higginson Island is a small island in the Arafura Sea lying off the north-eastern coast of Arnhem Land, in the Northern Territory of Australia. It is one of the East Bremer Islets, lying to the north and east of the much larger Bremer Island.

Arafura Sea Marginal sea between Australia and Indonesian New Guinea

The Arafura Sea lies west of the Pacific Ocean, overlying the continental shelf between Australia and Indonesian New Guinea.

Arnhem Land Region in the Northern Territory, Australia

Arnhem Land is one of the five regions of the Northern Territory of Australia. It is located in the north-eastern corner of the territory and is around 500 km (310 mi) from the territory capital Darwin. The region has an area of 97,000 km2 (37,000 sq mi), which also covers the area of Kakadu National Park, and a population of 16,230. In 1623, Dutch East India Company captain William van Colster sailed into the Gulf of Carpentaria and Cape Arnhem is named after his ship, the Arnhem, which itself was named after the city of Arnhem in the Netherlands.

Northern Territory federal territory of Australia

The Northern Territory is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. It shares borders with Western Australia to the west, South Australia to the south, and Queensland to the east. To the north, the territory looks out to the Timor Sea, the Arafura Sea and the Gulf of Carpentaria, including Western New Guinea and other Indonesian islands. The NT covers 1,349,129 square kilometres (520,902 sq mi), making it the third-largest Australian federal division, and the 11th-largest country subdivision in the world. It is sparsely populated, with a population of only 246,700, making it the least-populous of Australia's six states and two territories, with fewer than half as many people as Tasmania.

Birds

The island has been identified by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area (IBA) because it supports globally significant numbers of bridled (up to 10,000 individuals) and roseate terns (up to 30,000). The 9 ha IBA includes the other East Bremer Islets where the roseate tern colony sometimes relocates, and where large numbers of bridled terns nest regularly. [1] There are also up to 10,000 nesting crested terns and up to 300 nesting common noddies, for which the IBA is the only known breeding site in the Northern Territory, as well as some nesting silver gulls. Tern eggs are frequently harvested by the Aboriginal traditional owners of the islands. [2]

BirdLife International global partnership of conservation organisations that strives to conserve birds

BirdLife International is a global partnership of conservation organisations that strives to conserve birds, their habitats, and global biodiversity, working with people towards sustainability in the use of natural resources. It is the world's largest partnership of conservation organisations, with over 120 partner organisations.

Important Bird Area area recognized as being globally important habitat for the conservation of birds populations

An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations.

Bridled tern species of bird

The bridled tern is a seabird of the family Laridae. It is a bird of the tropical oceans. The scientific name is from Ancient Greek. The genus is onux meaning "claw", and prion, meaning "nail". The specific anaethetus means "senseless, stupid".

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References

  1. "IBA: Higginson Island". Birdata. Birds Australia. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 7 July 2011.
  2. BirdLife International. (2011). Important Bird Areas factsheet: Higginson Island. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 07/07/2011.

Coordinates: 12°03′54″S136°51′33″E / 12.06500°S 136.85917°E / -12.06500; 136.85917

Geographic coordinate system Coordinate system

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