Nepean Island from Norfolk Island. : 無料・フリー素材/写真
Nepean Island from Norfolk Island. / denisbin
| ライセンス | クリエイティブ・コモンズ 表示-改変禁止 2.1 |
|---|---|
| 説明 | Nepean Island is uninhabited and about 1 km off Norfolk. It was named in 1788 by Lieutenant Governor Phillip King after Evan Nepean who was then the Under Secretary of the English Home Department. The island is made of calcareous rock and it is a breeding site for many seabirds. Phillip Island is 6 km off Norfolk. Lieutenant Governor King named it after the governor of NSW Arthur Phillip. Like Nepean Island it is all a national park. It covers 190 hectares (470 acres) and its highest point is 280 metres (920 feet.) The island is of volcanic origin, made of basaltic tuff and lava. Before Europeans arrived Phillip Island had some of its own plants such as a form of wattle/pea plant which is now extinct. The colonists introduced pigs, goats and rabbits to the island which destroyed the vegetation and caused major erosion problems. The pigs and goats were removed long ago but rabbits were not finally exterminated until 1988. A re-forestation and vegetation program is now under way on the island. This has included aerial seeding of Norfolk Island pine seeds. Despite the pest animals a couple of native gecko have survived on Phillip Island and it is also the breeding site for about 12 species of seabirds including: the Providence, White Necked and Kermadec Petrels; Wedge-tailed Shearwater; Australasian Gannet and Sooty Tern. In the 19the century the Sooty Tern was subjected to seasonal egg harvesting by Norfolk locals. The island is important as a breeding site of Grey Noddies (a type of tern or seagull) . These two islands along with the Mt Pitt area make up the Norfolk Island National Park. The park is the only place in the world where the Norfolk Island Parakeet and the White-chested White-eye bird exists. The Norfolk Island Parakeet, a beautiful green bird as shown above, was down to only 4 breeding females and only 28-33 males in 1994 but its population has since rebounded to 200-300 birds. It is still a critically endangered species. The Norfolk White-eye is one of the rarest birds in the world and considered officially extinct by the Australian government since 2000. It is a small brown bird with a large white eye! Its demise is attributed to the introduction of the Silvereye bird from Australia which has taken over the habitat of the Norfolk White-eye. Rats also contributed to their decline by raiding the nests and eating the eggs. The Norfolk Island National Park was actually established in 1986 to try and save this rare bird. In 1978 only 4 birds were known to exist. One bird was sighted in 2000 and an amateur bird watch saw another in 2005. A major survey in 2009 failed to sight any. The Norfolk Island Pine. Its botanical name is Araucaria heterophylla. Although it has a fine symmetrical shape it is not a true pine but it is a conifer. Its origins and family relationships are interesting, providing evidence of Gondwana Land when the continents of Antarctica, Australia, Africa and South America were joined. The Araucaria family has representative plants in other regions of the world with 19 species in the family. 13 of these species are in Vanuatu, the New Hebrides which shares the same volcanic island formation as Norfolk Island. The araucaria in Vanuatu are all similar with needles and large cones like the Norfolk Island pine with the most common one known as the Cook Island pine. In Australia we have 2 species, Araucaria bindwilli- the Bunya pine of Queensland and Araucaria cunninghamii- the Hoop pine, also from Queensland. Both species grow well in Adelaide. In Brazil and Argentina there is the Parana Pine (Araucaria angustifolia) and in Chile is the amazing pre-historic looking Monkey Puzzle Tree (Araucaria araucana.) There are family members in New Guinea as well but surprisingly none in New Zealand. The amazing Norfolk Island pine grows well in sand with salt winds and despite prevailing winds it will grow tall and straight. It is widely planted as an ornamental tree in California, Florida and South Africa as well as Australia and New Zealand. Its timber is of no commercial use. |
| 撮影日 | 2012-01-07 20:03:49 |
| 撮影者 | denisbin |
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| カメラ | DSC-HX30V , SONY |
| 露出 | 0.003 sec (1/400) |
| 開放F値 | f/4.5 |