Katandra Bushland Sanctuary

Katandra Bushland Sanctuary is an area designated for the conservation of its native flora and fauna typical of the Hawkesbury Sandstone country. During a two-year period (March 1998 – April 2000) a study undertaken by Mr George Hangay was carried out in order to survey the fauna of the sanctuary. Excerpts from that study are given here with Mr Hangay’s kind permission. Vertebrates Four classes of vertebrates are represented in the Sanctuary: mammals (Mammalia), birds (Aves), reptiles (Reptilia) and amphibians (Amphibia). To the visitors birds are the most conspicuous forms of animal life in the Sanctuary as many species can be seen even during a short walk. On sunny days a number of reptiles can also be encountered. Most of the mammals and amphibians in the Sanctuary are nocturnal.
Mammals (Mammalia) Common Echidna Tachyglossus aculeatus Brown antechinus Antechinus stuartii Spotted quoll Dasyurops maculatus Long-nosed bandicoot Parameles nasuta Brush-tailed possum Trichosurus vulpecula Ring-tailed possum Pseudocheirus peregrinus Eastern pigmy-possum Cercartetus nanus		Sugar glider Petaurus breviceps Feathertail glider Acrobatus pygmaeus Bush rat Rattus fuscipes Swamp rat Rattus lutreolus Grey-headed fruit bat Pteropus poliocephalus Swamp wallaby Wallabia bicolor
Birds (Aves) Birds regularly seen in the sanctuary are included in the following list. Some are resident and some are nomadic so will be seen at different times of the year.
Superb lyrebird Rufous fantail Eastern yellow robin Golden whistler Red-browed fire-tail White-eared honeyeater Sacred kingfisher Brown thornbill Grey butcherbird Yellow-faced honey eater Sacred kingfisher Eastern spinebill	Little wattlebird Fan-tailed cuckoo Pied currawong Rainbow lorikeet Eastern rosella New Holland honeyeater Noisy Miner Brown treecreeper Boobook owl Australian Magpie Lark (Peewee) Grey fantail	Galah Grey thrush Eastern whipbird Magpie White-cheeked honeyeater Buff-rumped thornbill White-browed scrub wren Red-whiskered bulbul Tawny frogmouth Silvereye	Red wattlebird Spotted pardalote Laughing kookaburra Black-faced cuckoo-shrike Willie wagtail Superb blue wren Jacky winter Dollar bird Australian raven (crow) Variegated wren Cicada bird
Reptiles (Reptilia) Long-necked tortoise Chelodina longicollis Southern leaf-tailed gecko Phyllurus platurus Burton’s snake lizard Lialis burtonis Bearded dragon Amphibolorus barbatus Jacky lizard Amphibolorus muricatus Eastern water dragon Physignathus leuseurii Heath monitor Varanus rosenbergi Lace monitor Varanus varius		Copper-tailed skink Ctenotus taeniolatus Skink Ctenotus robustus White’s skink Egernia whitii Eastern water skink Eulamprus quoyii Eastern blue-tongued lizard Tiliqua scincoides Carpet python Morelia spilota Golden crowned snake Cacophis squamulosus Red-bellied black-snake Pseudechis porphyriacus
Amphibians (Amphibia) Spotted grass frog Limnodynastes tasmaniensis Common eastern froglet Crinia signifera		Freycinet’s frog Litoria freycineti Lesueur’s frog Litoria lesueuri
Invertebrates A display of some of the insect specimens collected during the fauna survey can be seen on display in the yurt. However, a great percentage of the invertebrate fauna found in Katandra remains "invisible" to the casual observer. Many species are minute, cryptic and/or nocturnal. The bio-mass of the small organisms, which live in the soil and leaf litter, in decaying wood and in the foliage outweighs the bio-mass of the vertebrate animals. Their presence and survival is vital for the biological balance of the Sanctuary.