Citizen Science at the Sanctuary
Part of living in harmony with the natural world involves reaching out and understanding it. We are endeavouring to document the native flora and fauna of the local area so we can spread the knowledge to others.
We operate a BirdWeather PUC to record bird song in Stapleton Reserve. This helps us to keep track of what species are around (day and night). You can see the data here.
We also have started to summarise our own experience and observations into a table based on the Pittwater 1995 Management Plan for Stapleton Reserve.
Birds
| Common Name | Scientific Name | Observation |
|---|---|---|
| Spotted Turtledove * | Streptopelia chinensis | Common |
| Topknot Pigeon | Lopholaimus antarcticus | |
| Rainbow Lorikeet | Trichoglossus haematodus | Common |
| Scaly-breasted Lorikeet | Trichoglossus chlorolepidotus | |
| Glossy Black Cockatoo | Calyptorhynchus lathami | Very rare - only recordings |
| Sulphur-crested Cockatoo | Cacatua galerita | Extremely Common |
| Galah | Cacatua roseicapilla | Common |
| King Parrot | Alisterus scapularis | Common |
| Crimson Rosella | Platycercus elegans | Rare |
| Eastern Rosella | Platycercus eximius | Common |
| Fan-tailed Cuckoo | Cuculus pyrrhophanus | Not Observed |
| Common Koel | Eudynamys scolopacea | Common |
| Southern Boobook | Ninox novaeseelandiae | Common |
| Kookaburra | Dacelo novaeguineae | Extremely Common |
| Sacred Kingfisher | Halcyon sancta | Not Observed |
| Dollarbird | Eurystomus orientalis | Rare |
| Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike | Coracina novaehollandiae | Not Observed |
| Golden Whistler | Pachycephala pectoralis | Common |
| Grey Fantail | Rhipidura fuliginosa | Common |
| Superb Fairy Wren | Malurus cyanea | Common |
| Variegated Fairy-wren | Malurus lamberti | Rare / Uncertain |
| White-browed Scrubwren | Sericornis frontalis | |
| White-throated Warbler | Gerygone olivacea | |
| Brown Thornbill | Acanthiza pusilla | |
| Noisy Miner | Manorina melanocephala | |
| Red Wattlebird | Anthochaera carunculata | |
| Little Wattlebird | Anthochaera chryssoptera | |
| Noisy Friarbird | Philemon corniculatus | |
| Yellow-faced Honeyeater | Lichenostomus chrysops | |
| White-naped Honeyeater | Melithreptus lunatus | |
| White-cheeked Honeyeater | Phylidonyris nigra | |
| New Holland Honeyeater | Phylidonyris novaehollandiae | |
| Eastern Spinebill | Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris | |
| Mistletoebird | Dicaeum hirundinaceum | |
| Spotted Pardalote | Pardalotus punctatus | |
| Striated Pardalote | Pardalotus striatus | |
| Silvereye | Zosterops lateralis | |
| Spangled Drongo | Dicrurus megarhynchus | |
| Grey Butcherbird | Cracticus torquatus | |
| Pied Currawong | Strepera graculina | |
| Australian Magpie | Gymnorhina tibicen | |
| Australian Raven | Corvus coronoides |
Mammals
| Common Name | Scientific Name | Observation |
|---|---|---|
| Long-nosed Bandicoot | Perameles nasuta | Rare |
| Koala | Phascolarctos cinereus | Locally extinct |
| Common Ringtailed Possum | Pseudocheirus peregrinus | Rare |
| Sugar Glider | Petaurus breviceps | Not Observed |
| Squirrel Glider | Petaurus norfolcensis | Not Observed |
| Common Brushtailed Possum | Trichosurus vulpecula | Rare |
| Black Rat * | Rattus rattus | Common |
| Grey-headed Flying Fox | Pteropus poliocephalus | Common |
| Gould's Wattled Bat | Chalinolobus gouldii | |
| Red Fox * | Vulpes vulpes | Not observed |
Reptiles
| Common Name | Scientific Name | Observation |
|---|---|---|
| Blind Snake | Ramphotyphlops nigrescens | |
| Golden-crowned Snake | Cacophis squamulosus | Observed a couple of times around the Water features |
| Swamp Snake | Drysdalea rhodogaster | |
| Green Tree Snake | Dendrelaphis punctulatus | |
| Yellow-faced Whip Snake | Demansia psammophis | |
| Red-bellied Black Snake | Pseudechis porphyriacus | |
| Eastern Brown Snake | Pseudonaja textilis | |
| Southern Leaf-tailed Gecko | Phyllurus platurus | Common living underneath the house |
| Copper-tailed Skink | Ctenotus taeniolatus | |
| Striped Skink | Ctenotus robustus | |
| Cunningham's Skink | Egernia cunninghami | |
| White's Skink | Egernia whitii | |
| Water Skink | Eulamprus quoyii | |
| Garden Skink | Lampropholis delicata | |
| Grass Skink | Lampropholis guichenoti | |
| Three-toed Skink | Saiphos equalis | |
| Weasel Skink | Saproscincus mustelina | |
| Blue-tongued Lizard | Tiliqua scincoides | Observed once |
| Australian Water Dragon # | Intellagama lesueurii lesueurii | First observed 2025 |
Frogs
| Common Name | Scientific Name | Observation |
|---|---|---|
| Striped Marsh Frog | Limnodynastes peronii | Common |
| Eastern Common Froglet | Crinia signifera | We have not observed |
| Peron's Tree Frog | Litoria peronii | Common |
Note: Species marked with * are introduced species. Species marked with # are added to the list based on our own observations and not in the original management plan.