Birdlife
Look for seabirds such as crested terns, short-tailed shearwaters, pied cormorants, lesser frigate birds, Australasian gannets and noddys feeding in the waters around the headland. The majestic white-bellied sea eagle, the whistling kite with its shrill call, and the distinctive rust brown and white Brahminy kite are a few of the birds-of-prey commonly seen gliding over the shoreline and headlands in search of small mammals, crabs and fish. And of course, Australia’s iconic kookaburra with its distinctive laugh, might be found sitting on the balcony of your accommodation or near the island’s eateries.
Goannas
This magnificent lizard which grows up to a metre in length can often be seen on warm days basking happily in the sun. Their prey can include all manner of smaller reptiles, young birds, eggs, snakes and mammals. Meals are often eaten whole; thus the size of their meals may depend on the size of the animals. Kangaroos and Wallabies Grey kangaroos can sometimes be seen feeding on the grass around the North Gorge walk in the early morning and late afternoon. They are accustomed to seeing people and, if observed quietly, a range of their behaviours can be enjoyed at close quarters. Patience is needed to spot the rarer and extremely shy Golden Stradbroke Wallaby. This wallaby is a uniquely coloured variety of the swamp wallaby which only occurs on North and South Stradbroke Islands.
Koalas
North Stradbroke Island has its own population of koalas, found near the western swamps, Swan Bay area and around all of the townships. Koala habitat is protected and managed closely to ensure this unique population is preserved.
Other native animals
There are many other island vertebrate species that are rated as being biologically important. These include the agile wallaby, water mouse, the skink (anamalopus truncates) and the “acid frogs”. Straddie is a wildlife wonderland!
