Nest Hill Nature Reserve

Protected area in New South Wales, Australia

35°30′26.3″S 147°21′36″E / 35.507306°S 147.36000°E / -35.507306; 147.36000Established1 January 2001 (2001-01-01)^[1]Elevation380–450 m (1,247–1,476 ft)^[1]Area7.59 km² (2.9 sq mi)^[1]Managing authoritiesNSW National Parks & Wildlife ServiceWebsiteNest Hill Nature ReserveSee alsoProtected areas of
New South Wales

Nest Hill Nature Reserve is a protected nature reserve, located in the South Western Slopes region of New South Wales, in eastern Australia.^[1] The 759 ha (1,880-acre) reserve is located approximately 25 km (16 mi) north of Holbrook, and 35 km (22 mi) south of Wagga Wagga.^[1]

History

The reserve lies within Wiradjuri country, however little is known about its historic significance to Aboriginal people.^[1] The lack of permanent water within the reserve suggests that it may have been of low importance.^[1]

The reserve was gazetted as Pulletop State Forest on 4 May 1917,^[2] and managed by the Forestry Commission of NSW for logging and timber harvesting activities.^[3] The state forest was reclassified as a nature reserve on 1 January 2001.^[1] The name Nest Hill is derived from a dominant peak of the same name located 5 km (3.1 mi) south of the reserve.^[1]

Environment

Nest Hill Nature Reserve is situated on the undulating slopes of County Ridge and is relatively flat in comparison to the surrounding landscape.^[1] The reserve is generally dry for most of the year, with flowing water only usually accumulating after summer storms or during the wetter winter months.^[1]

Flora

119 plant species have been recorded within the reserve, of which 91 were native, and 28 were introduced.^[4] Large tree species present within the reserve include white box, red stringybark, red box and scribbly gum.^[4]

Native plant species recorded within the reserve include chocolate lily, twining fringe-lily, bulbine lily, early nancy, dusky fingers, common onion orchid, purple burr-daisy, grass tree, box-leaf wattle, silver wattle, woolly wattle, hairy geebung and creamy candles.^[4]

The reserve has limited native vegetation structure in the midstorey and understorey due to historic livestock grazing and ongoing grazing by kangaroos.^[1]

Fauna

Four species of reptiles, 20 species of birds, and 7 species of mammals have been recorded within the reserve.^[1] Four bird species listed under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 have been recorded within the reserve, including black-chinned honeyeater, brown treecreeper, diamond firetail and speckled warbler.^[3]

Introduced pest species found within the reserve include European fox and European rabbit.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ Nest Hill Nature Reserve: Plan of management (PDF) (PDF). Government of New South Wales. May 2006. ISBN 1-74122-065-3. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
^ "National Park Estate (Southern Region Reservations) Act 2000- Schedule 1". New South Wales Consolidated Acts. Australasian Legal Information Institute. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
^ ^a ^b Nest Hill Nature Reserve Fire Management Strategy (PDF) (PDF). NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service. September 2005. ISBN 1-74137-809-5. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
^ ^a ^b ^c Burrows, Geoff E. (1999). "A survey of 25 remnant vegetation sites in the South Western Slopes, New South Wales". Cunninghamia. 6 (2): 283–314.