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Red Goshawk (Erythrotriorchis radiatus)

The red goshawk is a large, secretive Australian raptor of coastal and subcoastal open forests, woodlands, tropical savannas, river corridors, wetlands and rainforest edges. It has very large territories and depends on mature trees near water for nesting, so clearing, fragmentation, fire and changes to wetlands can affect breeding pairs well beyond the area being cleared.

Conservation status

Commonwealth, EPBC Act 1999: Endangered.

Queensland, Nature Conservation Act 1992: Endangered.

New South Wales, Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016: Endangered.

Western Australia, Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016: Endangered.

Northern Territory, Territory Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 1976: Vulnerable.

Breeding season

Timing varies between northern and south-eastern Australia. The months below combine the documented northern and eastern patterns and should be adjusted for local climate, records and breeding observations.

The species can breed over many months. Project timing should be based on local records, current nest checks and advice from the relevant state or territory wildlife authority.

  • Breeding and laying: Courtship and nest building can begin in April in the north. Breeding is generally May to October in northern Australia, with laying usually July to September. In south-eastern Australia, laying is generally August to October.
  • Eggs and nestlings: Incubation lasts about 39 to 43 days. Nestlings remain in the nest for about 51 to 53 days or longer, so occupied nests may be present from the dry season into late spring or early summer.
  • Dependent young: Young may remain totally dependent for 25 to 30 days after fledging, partly dependent for another 40 to 50 days and associated with parents for 4 to 5 months. In northern Australia, young may remain around the natal territory until the end of the year.
  • Movement and dispersal: Some adults move to coastal plains and permanent wetlands during winter in eastern Australia. Juveniles may disperse at any time after independence and can travel hundreds of kilometres. Satellite-tracked adults have moved more than 1,000 km.
  • Highest clearing risk: Clearing or disturbance is most likely to harm the species from about April to November, when courtship, laying, incubation, nestling care and dependent young may occur. Local northern and south-eastern timing should take precedence.

Identification

The red goshawk is a large, powerful, rufous-brown hawk that is usually seen alone and can remain concealed in the canopy. It is difficult to detect and identify, particularly when it flies below the canopy or through dense foliage.

Adults are 45 to 60 cm long with a wingspan of 100 to 135 cm. The plumage is generally rufous-brown, with boldly scalloped or chequered upperparts, a pale and dark-streaked head, rufous body feathers and a two-toned underwing. In flight, the broad wings show pale barred flight feathers contrasting with rufous body feathers.

Adult males are smaller and more boldly mottled, with rufous underparts. Adult females are larger, more heavily built, paler below and more heavily streaked, with some white on the underbody. Juveniles have a rich rufous head and underparts, which helps separate them from adults.

Female weight: About 1.1 kg.

Male weight: About 0.6 to 0.63 kg.

Typical behaviour: Solitary and secretive, usually silent and often concealed in foliage.

Identification: Similar raptors

In flight, check the combination of large size, powerful build, rufous upperparts, a pale barred underwing and fast, low flight through or above woodland. The species may be confused with a brown falcon, square-tailed kite, adult female swamp harrier, juvenile or immature black-breasted buzzard, juvenile spotted harrier or dark-morph little eagle.

The red goshawk is distinguished from many similar raptors by its boldly scalloped rufous upperparts and rufous thighs. Reliable identification can be difficult from a brief or distant view, so photographs, flight direction, habitat, call and behaviour should be recorded where possible.

Identification: Field signs

The most useful field sign is the large stick nest. Nests are basket-shaped or relatively flat and untidy, about 0.5 to 1.2 m across, and are placed on a substantial horizontal limb or fork near the top of a tall living tree. A nest may be reused, and pairs may have alternate nests within the same territory.

Calls are not usually given frequently, but recorded calls include harsh or strident crowing notes, higher-pitched male calls, explosive alarm notes and other cacking or raucous shrieks. The species leaves no diagnostic tracks, scats, sloughs or eyeshine signs that are useful for routine project surveys.

Nest size: About 0.5 to 1.2 m across; some accounts give approximately 1.2 by 0.7 m.

Typical nest tree: Usually one of the tallest living trees in the stand, commonly more than 20 m tall.

Nest proximity to water: Usually within 1 km of permanent water in older records, and generally within 2.5 km in the newer habitat description.

  • Search the tallest trees in suitable forest, woodland and riparian vegetation for large stick nests.
  • Record the tree species, tree height, nest height, nest condition, nearby watercourse or wetland and any observed adult activity.
  • Keep nest locations confidential and avoid unnecessary access to active or suspected nest sites.

Distribution: National range

The red goshawk is endemic to Australia and is sparsely distributed across northern and eastern coastal and subcoastal areas. The breeding range has contracted markedly in the south-east, while the current status of some former areas remains uncertain because the species is difficult to detect.

The current breeding range extends from the Kimberley in Western Australia through the Northern Territory and Queensland to Cape York Peninsula, with breeding also recorded on the Tiwi Islands. Low-density breeding may persist in the Wet Tropics and Einasleigh Uplands, but records are scarce.

Historically, the species occurred from north-eastern New South Wales through Queensland and the Northern Territory to northern Western Australia. It is considered to have declined to extinction in New South Wales and to have largely disappeared from south-east Queensland, although some historically occupied areas have not been recently surveyed.

  • Western Australia: Kimberley, including the Victoria River and north-western river systems near the Northern Territory border.
  • Northern Territory: Top End, Tiwi Islands, Kakadu, Nitmiluk, Litchfield and major river systems, with occasional inland records.
  • Queensland: Cape York Peninsula, northern Queensland, the Wet Tropics, Einasleigh Uplands and some gorge or escarpment country; records from south-east Queensland are now very scarce.
  • New South Wales: formerly coastal and subcoastal north-east NSW, with the species now probably functionally extinct there.
  • Central Australia and the Pilbara: occasional records may represent dispersing juveniles or adults moving from northern breeding areas.

Distribution: Strongholds and population structure

Important areas include the Kimberley, the Top End, the Tiwi Islands and Cape York Peninsula. The Tiwi Islands have supported a substantial concentration of the known population, while northern Queensland and Cape York have been described as strongholds in eastern Australia.

Older assessments described two subpopulations, one on the Tiwi Islands and one on the mainland. Satellite tracking indicates that birds can cross the Gulf Plains and the approximately 27 km water gap between the Tiwi Islands and mainland Australia, so the population may be better treated as one interconnected subpopulation.

Older population estimate: About 1,400 mature individuals, including approximately 200 on the Tiwi Islands and 1,200 on the mainland.

More recent estimate: About 900 to 1,400 mature individuals.

Population trend: An ongoing decline is inferred, with major breeding-range contraction since 1980.

Breeding density: Older estimates range from about one breeding pair per 10 km of creek or river in core areas to about one pair per 20 km in earlier estimates.

Distribution: Movement

Some adults remain within their territories year round. In eastern Australia, some birds move from inland or range areas to coastal plains and permanent wetlands during winter. Satellite-tracked adults have travelled more than 1,000 km, and recent tracking has recorded movements exceeding 1,500 km.

Juveniles can disperse widely and account for some records well outside the breeding range. A record away from the usual range should not be dismissed without considering suitable habitat, the bird's secretive behaviour and the possibility of juvenile dispersal.

Recorded adult movement: More than 1,000 km, with some satellite-tracked movements exceeding 1,500 km.

Breeding home range: About 120 to 200 km² in two radio-tracked adults.

Habitat: Vegetation communities

Red goshawks need extensive, relatively intact native vegetation with permanent or seasonal water and enough large birds to support a low-density predator. The species may use several adjoining vegetation types, but breeding is rarely recorded in heavily fragmented vegetation.

Overall habitat includes coastal and subcoastal tall open forest and woodland, tropical savanna crossed by wooded or forested rivers, gallery forest, freshwater wetlands and their margins, and rainforest edges. Favoured areas are generally fertile, biologically rich and structurally varied.

Recorded vegetation includes open eucalypt forest, tall open forest, paperbark swamp sclerophyll forest, mixed eucalypt and bloodwood woodland, Darwin stringybark woodland, woollybutt woodland, cadjeput or paperbark riparian vegetation, and vegetation mosaics containing rainforest, woodland and clearings.

  • Look for intact or mostly intact native vegetation adjoining rivers, creeks, lagoons, swamps or other permanent water.
  • Give particular attention to ecotones between open woodland, forest, riparian vegetation, wetland margins and rainforest edges.
  • Treat remnant vegetation with mature trees near water as potential habitat even where no bird has been recorded recently.

Habitat: Structure and topography

Resident pairs prefer extensive woodland and forest with a mosaic of open vegetation types that allows fast manoeuvring flight. Very dense vegetation and very open country are generally less suitable, although birds may hunt along the boundary between them.

In eastern Queensland and northern New South Wales, records are often associated with rugged country, gorges, escarpments and plateaus where lowland habitat has been cleared. In northern Australia, birds also use lowland river systems and tall open woodland.

Tree height relevant to nesting: Usually more than 20 m, with the tallest trees in a local stand often selected.

Habitat threshold near nests: Breeding success was reduced when more than 25% of forest and woodland within 4 km of nests was cleared on the Tiwi Islands.

  • Retain large, widely spaced canopy trees and an open or semi-open understorey suitable for low, fast flight.
  • Maintain riparian vegetation, wetland margins, mature trees and connections between adjacent forest and woodland patches.
  • Assess habitat beyond the clearing footprint because a pair may forage several kilometres from its nest.

Habitat: Climate and elevation

The species occurs mainly in tropical and warm-temperate parts of northern and eastern Australia. It uses lowland coastal plains, river corridors, rugged uplands, plateaus and escarpments, and may move inland after breeding.

The documents do not provide a reliable upper elevation limit. Habitat assessment should therefore be based on vegetation structure, water, prey and mature trees rather than elevation alone.

Foraging habitat: Diet

The red goshawk is a specialist bird hunter that needs a high density and diversity of medium to large birds. It hunts through open forest, woodland, riparian vegetation, wetland margins and habitat edges, often from concealed perches.

Birds make up about 95% of the diet. Recorded prey includes lorikeets, doves, pigeons, parrots, cockatoos, kookaburras, waterbirds, brush-turkeys, passerines, crows and other medium to large birds. Mammals, reptiles and insects are also taken.

Males generally take smaller birds, such as rainbow lorikeets and bar-shouldered doves. Females can take larger prey, including blue-winged kookaburras, red-tailed black-cockatoos and other large birds.

Birds in diet: About 95%.

Common avian prey size: Many prey items are in the 100 to 250 g range, although larger birds are also taken.

Other prey: Mammals, reptiles and insects, including hares, lizards, snakes and grasshoppers.

Foraging habitat: Hunting methods

The species commonly hunts from a concealed perch beneath or within the canopy, then dashes or glides to seize prey on the ground, from a perch or in the air. It also quarters slowly above the canopy, follows waterways or edges at low height, and may launch a fast pursuit or stoop from higher airspace.

It is most active in the early morning and late afternoon, although adults may hunt at other times when feeding young. At midday, birds may remain quiet in deep shade.

Distance from nest while provisioning: The tracked female flew 5 to 7 km and the male 7 to 10 km during the breeding season.

Recorded hunting trips: Birds have been recorded flying 6 to 10 km to hunting areas.

  • Retain open flight paths below and beside the canopy, especially along rivers, wetland margins, tracks, clearings and forest edges.
  • Protect mature trees and concealed perches throughout the home range, not only trees containing a nest.
  • Assess the effect of clearing on prey habitat, including wetlands, hollow-bearing trees and riparian vegetation.

Foraging habitat: Foraging resources

Important prey habitat includes biologically rich woodland and forest, freshwater wetlands, river margins, paperbark vegetation, hollow-bearing trees and vegetation with abundant pigeons, parrots, waterbirds and other medium to large birds.

Loss of hollow-bearing trees, wetland degradation, livestock grazing, feral herbivores and altered fire can reduce prey abundance or make woodland too dense for effective hunting.

Breeding habitat: Breeding biology

Breeding pairs use the same territories and nest areas over many years. They need a very tall living tree with a strong horizontal limb or fork, nearby water and enough intact forest or woodland for hunting and raising young.

Pairs are probably monogamous and may maintain the same territory year after year. The male builds the large stick nest and provides most food during incubation and early chick-rearing. The female incubates the eggs, while both adults feed the young after hatching.

Nests may be reused or replaced by alternate nests within the same territory. Young remain dependent after fledging and may stay with their parents for several months.

Breeding season: Generally April to October in northern Australia, with laying usually July to September; in south-eastern Australia, laying is generally August to October. Some sources describe breeding activity from June to November.

Clutch size: One to two eggs.

Incubation: About 39 to 43 days.

Nestling period: About 51 to 53 days or longer.

Post-fledging dependence: Fully dependent for about 25 to 30 days, partly dependent for another 40 to 50 days, and potentially associated with parents for 4 to 5 months.

Age at first breeding: Not well known.

Lifespan: Not established in the supplied documents.

Breeding habitat: Nest habitat

Nests are usually placed in the tallest trees in a local stand. Suitable trees are living, mature and structurally strong, with a substantial horizontal limb or fork that supports a large stick platform and allows adults to approach with sticks.

Nest trees are generally in or beside intact open forest, woodland or riparian vegetation and close to permanent water. Breeding is rare in fragmented native vegetation, although nests have been recorded in roadside remnant forest and plantation buffers on the Tiwi Islands.

Nest tree height: Usually more than 20 m; trees from 18.5 to 40.5 m have been recorded, with trees over 30 m often identified as suitable in survey guidance.

Nest distance from water: Usually within 1 km of permanent water in the recovery plan; newer advice identifies breeding habitat within 2.5 km of a watercourse.

Nearest known nest spacing: Once an active nest is located, another nest is unlikely to be within 6.5 km, based on survey guidance.

  • Retain all large living trees that could support a nest, including trees without a currently visible nest.
  • Protect riparian stands of tall paperbarks and tall eucalypt woodland near creeks, rivers, wetlands, gorges and escarpments.
  • Avoid clearing or intensive disturbance within the wider hunting area around a nest, because breeding success can fall when more than 25% of forest and woodland within 4 km is removed.

Sheltering habitat: Roosting and cover

The species does not use dens, burrows or hollows as shelter. Adults shelter and roost in concealed canopy positions, while nests provide shelter for eggs and dependent young.

Adults often perch quietly in dense shade within or below the canopy, particularly during the middle of the day. They may also use concealed perches along rivers, forest edges, roads, clearings and wetland margins.

Maintain mature canopy trees, dense shaded foliage, large limbs and connected forest around known or potential territories. Clearing isolated nest trees can increase exposure to wind, storms and other disturbance.

  • Retain mature trees and shaded canopy within and around riparian corridors, wetlands and open woodland.
  • Avoid creating isolated tall trees by removing surrounding vegetation, particularly near known nest trees.
  • Keep access, machinery, lighting and noise away from suspected nest trees during the breeding season.

Sheltering habitat: Nest shelter

The stick nest is the main shelter for eggs and nestlings. It is a large platform near the top of a tall living tree, often in a horizontal fork. Nest trees may be beside a river, wetland, road or clearing, but the surrounding native vegetation remains important for concealment, prey access and adult flight.

Nest diameter: About 0.5 to 1.2 m.

Nest placement: Near the top of a tall living tree, commonly on a substantial horizontal limb or fork.

Alternative nests: Alternate nests may occur in the same territory, commonly within 200 m of each other but sometimes more than 800 m apart.

Threats: Clearing and fragmentation

The main risk to red goshawks on development sites is the loss or degradation of native forest, woodland, riparian vegetation and wetlands across a very large home range. A project can affect a pair without clearing a nest tree if it removes hunting habitat, prey habitat or trees that provide future nest sites.

Clearing for agriculture, urban development, infrastructure, mining and forestry has caused major declines, particularly in New South Wales and eastern Queensland. Nests are vulnerable because the tallest trees are often selected for clearing or timber harvest.

Fragmentation can reduce prey availability, remove flight paths and expose nest trees to storms. On the Tiwi Islands, breeding success was reduced when more than 25% of forest and woodland within 4 km of a nest was cleared.

Clearing threshold linked to reduced breeding success: More than 25% of forest and woodland cleared within 4 km of a nest.

Known habitat loss since 2000: Approximately 3 million hectares of known and potential habitat, according to the newer consultation document.

  • Survey suitable habitat before clearing, including the tallest tree groups, riparian vegetation, wetland margins and large remnant patches.
  • Do not assume a site is unimportant because no bird is seen during a short inspection.
  • Assess direct and cumulative clearing within the likely home range, not only within the project boundary.
  • Retain mature and potential nest trees, connected native vegetation and open flight paths.

Threats: Fire and vegetation change

Reduced fire frequency can thicken woodland and make hunting difficult by closing the understorey. Conversely, intense or late dry-season fires can destroy nest trees, kill nestlings or cause nest abandonment.

Fire planning should maintain an open understorey beneath large, widely spaced trees while protecting riparian vegetation, wetlands, nest trees and young during the breeding season.

  • Avoid hot, late dry-season fires near known or suspected nest trees.
  • Use fire regimes that retain tall riparian trees, mature woodland and suitable low-level flight paths.
  • Check for active nests before planned burns and monitor known territories after fire.

Threats: Water, prey and grazing

Draining or degrading wetlands can reduce waterbirds and other prey. Loss of hollow-bearing trees can reduce prey species that depend on tree hollows. Livestock and feral herbivores can damage riparian vegetation, compact soil, reduce regeneration and remove understorey used by prey.

Changes to rivers, creeks, wetlands and riparian vegetation can therefore affect both foraging habitat and breeding success, even where the nest tree is retained.

  • Protect permanent water, wetland margins, river banks and riparian tree cover.
  • Prevent intensive grazing and trampling in high-value breeding and foraging habitat.
  • Retain hollow-bearing trees and mature vegetation that support parrots, pigeons, waterbirds and other prey.

Threats: Disturbance, roads and other hazards

The supplied documents do not identify a species-specific road mortality rate. Roads and tracks can nevertheless increase access to nest sites, expose nest trees beside cleared corridors, increase noise and facilitate fire or vegetation removal. Treat new roads, widening works and repeated machinery access near a nest as potential breeding risks.

Other reported risks include illegal egg collecting, shooting, secondary poisoning from pesticides or rodenticides, disease such as Psittacine Beak and Feather Disease, cyclones and storms that collapse nests, and climate-driven heat, drought and extreme fire.

  • Keep nest locations confidential and limit access to known nest sites.
  • Do not use rodenticides or other poisons where contaminated prey could be taken by the species.
  • Inspect tall trees and riparian habitat before road construction, widening, bridge works, utility installation or vegetation maintenance.
  • Apply disease hygiene and avoid moving contaminated material between nest or roost areas where disease risk is suspected.

Threats: Survey response on projects

The species is very secretive and generally silent, so absence during a short fauna inspection is not reliable. Survey guidance recommends searching the tallest forest trees for characteristic nests, using aerial photographs to identify likely stands, searching river banks and driving slowly along woodland tracks while scanning tall trees.

The Australian survey guidance gives an effort guide of 80 hours over 10 days for area searches, with vehicles warranted where needed to cover larger areas. Call playback has had some success during the breeding season, but nest searches are the main detection method.

Survey effort guide: Area searches: 80 hours over 10 days.

Most likely detection: Location of a characteristic nest, supplemented by soaring birds, calls and repeated observations.

  • Use experienced raptor observers and review historical records, habitat mapping and aerial imagery before fieldwork.
  • Search suitable habitat during the breeding season, when nest occupancy and adult activity are most likely to be detected.
  • Search all tall tree groups near water and inspect potential nest trees from suitable vantage points without approaching unnecessarily.
  • Treat a suspected nest as occupied until an appropriately timed assessment establishes otherwise.

Survey methodology: 1. Nest searches

Red goshawks are secretive, occur at low density and are most reliably detected by locating nests or observing adults in suitable tall forest near water. A negative survey does not establish absence unless the survey covers suitable habitat with enough effort and experienced observers.

Search for large stick nests in the tallest trees within suitable habitat, especially near permanent water, rivers, wetlands, forest edges and clearings.

Use aerial photographs or other imagery to identify tall forest patches before ground searches, then inspect the tallest trees from the ground or by slowly driving suitable tracks.

In subcoastal woodland, search trees above 20 metres and, where present, groups of the tallest trees in the area. Inland, search tall trees along major river banks.

Red goshawk nests are commonly near water and may be within 1 kilometre of a watercourse or wetland. Nests can be large, flat stick platforms supported by a substantial horizontal limb.

Recommended area-search effort: 80 hours over 10 days, as a guide to finding one nest; for areas under 50 hectares, the guideline indicates about 50 hours over eight days.

Typical nest-tree height: Usually above 20 metres, with the tallest trees in the local stand often selected.

Typical nest separation: Once an active nest is located, another nest is not likely to be within 6.5 kilometres.

  • Keep nest locations confidential and provide them only to people who need the information for assessment, protection or monitoring.

Survey methodology: 2. Vantage-point and area searches

Search from ridges, mountain tops and other clear vantage points for soaring birds over forests, wetlands and forest edges, particularly in eastern Australia.

Drive slowly through tropical woodland tracks where safe, scanning groups of tall trees for nests and watching for birds flying low across open areas or along forest edges.

Use experienced observers because the species is very secretive, generally silent and difficult to distinguish from other raptors.

Home range: Up to 200 square kilometres.

Most useful detection period: Adults may be seen soaring or moving over forests and swamps, while nests are most likely to provide evidence of presence.

  • Conduct searches in suitable weather with clear visibility and enough light to inspect tall trees and detect soaring birds.
  • Record all suspected sightings with coordinates, date, time, habitat, behaviour, flight direction and photographs where possible.

Survey methodology: 3. Call playback and seasonal observations

Call playback has had some success during the breeding season, but use it only where authorised and where it will not increase disturbance at a nest.

In northern Australia, focus breeding-season work from May to October, with nest building from May, egg laying from July to September and fledging from October to December.

In eastern Australia, some birds move between nest areas and coastal plains in winter, so include permanent wetlands and adjoining forest in seasonal searches.

Northern breeding period: Generally May to October, with fledging from October to December.

Eastern seasonal movement: Some birds move from ranges to coastal plains and permanent wetlands in winter.

  • Stop playback immediately if a red goshawk responds, approaches, displays distress or if a nest is located.
  • Do not use playback as the sole basis for declaring the species absent.

Survey methodology: Minimum effort and reporting

  • Complete a desktop assessment of records, mapped habitat, historic nests, tall forest, waterways, wetlands and likely flight paths before field work.
  • Use the 80 hour, 10 day area-search guide where the species may occur and document any justified alternative effort.
  • Have surveyors experienced in identifying red goshawks and distinguishing them from square-tailed kites, brown falcons, female swamp harriers, juvenile black-breasted buzzards and juvenile spotted harriers.
  • Submit confirmed and credible suspected records to the relevant state or territory wildlife database and provide records to the Australian Government Species of National Environmental Significance system where relevant.
  • Report nest locations promptly to the project ecologist and relevant wildlife authority, while restricting access to the location.
  • Record survey dates, observer names, methods, effort, weather, visibility, habitat searched, photographs, calls, nest status and reasons for concluding that the species was absent or present.

Before habitat disturbance: Avoid and minimise habitat loss

Treat all suitable red goshawk habitat as potentially occupied until surveys and assessment show otherwise. The species has low density, large home ranges and a breeding range that has contracted substantially, so clearing of one tall forest patch or waterway may affect a breeding territory.

Important nest setting: Tall trees, commonly above 20 metres, near a watercourse or wetland.

Documented fragmentation threshold: More than 25 percent forest clearance within 4 kilometres of a nest was associated with reduced breeding success on the Tiwi Islands.

  • Retain extensive, connected native forest and woodland, especially tall stands near rivers, creeks, wetlands and forest edges.
  • Retain all known or potential nest trees, including the tallest mature trees with large horizontal limbs within and near riparian habitat.
  • Retain foraging habitat that provides open flight beneath a canopy of large, widely spaced trees, permanent water and abundant bird prey.
  • Avoid clearing or fragmenting habitat within a breeding home range where practicable, because breeding success on the Tiwi Islands declined when more than 25 percent of forest within 4 kilometres of nests was cleared.
  • Avoid draining wetlands and retain riparian vegetation, wetland margins and connections between breeding, foraging and seasonal movement areas.
  • Use existing cleared corridors and previously disturbed areas for access, compounds, roads and services wherever practicable.

Before habitat disturbance: Approvals and project planning

  • Check the current EPBC Act listing before work because the supplied Australian Government material includes both the earlier Vulnerable advice and a later proposed transfer to Endangered, and confirm the current status with the Department.
  • Refer the action under the EPBC Act if it may have a significant impact on the nationally listed species or its habitat.
  • Check state and territory threatened-species legislation, development approvals, clearing controls, forestry rules and wildlife permit requirements before clearing or relocating fauna.
  • Obtain approval for any capture, handling, transport or release activity and use only people authorised under the relevant state or territory law.
  • Prepare a species-specific fauna management plan that identifies known and potential nests, retained habitat, no-go areas, buffers, wetland controls, stop-work triggers and reporting contacts.
  • Stage works to avoid active breeding where practicable, with particular care from May to October in northern Australia and during the relevant local breeding period in eastern Australia.
  • Consult Traditional Owners and Indigenous ranger groups about culturally appropriate management, monitoring and fire practices.

Before habitat disturbance: Pre-clearance preparation

  • Complete the nest and habitat survey before finalising clearing limits, access routes or tree-felling methods.
  • Mark retained tall trees, nest trees, riparian vegetation, wetlands, flight corridors and no-go areas on plans and on the ground.
  • Fence or otherwise delineate exclusion areas where this can protect retained habitat without creating a hazard or blocking animal movement.
  • Brief machinery operators and fauna spotter catchers on the red goshawk identification features, nest appearance, exclusion areas and stop-work procedure.
  • Plan a quiet observation period if a nest, pair or dependent young is found, and obtain advice from the relevant wildlife authority before work proceeds near it.

During habitat disturbance: Daily controls and machinery interface

Red goshawks are usually detected by their nest, flight behaviour or habitat context rather than by ground capture. The fauna spotter catcher must therefore control vegetation removal and watch tall trees, waterways and open flight areas throughout the work.

  • Inspect the work area each day before starting and confirm that exclusion zones, nest-tree markers and wetland controls remain in place.
  • Use a qualified fauna spotter catcher during clearing and other activities that may affect retained trees, riparian vegetation, wetlands or known habitat.
  • Keep machinery outside marked exclusion areas and use a spotter to maintain direct communication with operators during every tree or vegetation removal task.
  • Clear progressively in small stages towards retained habitat, allowing animals to move away from the work area without being driven into roads, machinery or isolated vegetation.
  • Stop work if a red goshawk, active nest, dependent young or previously unknown nest is found, and notify the project ecologist and site supervisor.

During habitat disturbance: Fauna handling and found animals

  • Do not attempt to catch an adult red goshawk unless the person is authorised, trained and equipped under the relevant wildlife legislation.
  • Keep people, vehicles and machinery away from the animal and allow it to leave naturally where it is uninjured and not trapped.
  • If an injured or exhausted bird is found, contain it only under approved direction and arrange urgent transfer to an authorised wildlife carer or veterinarian.
  • If relocation is approved for a dependent or trapped bird, use a nearby retained area with suitable tall forest, open hunting habitat and access to water, as directed by the wildlife authority.
  • Do not move eggs, nestlings or a nest without specific approval and advice from the relevant wildlife authority.
  • Record the bird's condition, exact location, time, photographs, actions taken, release or treatment location and the names of authorised personnel.

During habitat disturbance: Habitat features and stop-work triggers

  • Treat tall mature trees, large horizontal limbs, riparian vegetation, wetlands, open woodland, logs, rocks and ground debris as potential habitat for prey and other fauna, and retain them where they are within the approved footprint.
  • Do not fell a tall tree that could support a nest until it has been inspected and the project ecologist has cleared it for removal.
  • Keep sediment, dust, fuel, concrete washout and other pollutants out of rivers, wetlands and drainage lines that support prey species.
  • Stop work for any confirmed or suspected nest, courtship, alarm behaviour, repeated adult flights to one tree, dependent young, injured bird or unexpected clearing outside the approved area.
  • Stop work if fire, smoke, noise or other activity is causing a breeding bird to repeatedly leave a nest or if a nest tree is threatened by fire or machinery.
  • Escalate any stop-work event to the site environmental manager, fauna spotter catcher, project ecologist and relevant authority before restarting.

During habitat disturbance: Records and incident reporting

  • Maintain daily records of cleared area, retained habitat, trees inspected, nests searched for, wildlife encounters, handling events, injuries, releases, stop-work events and corrective actions.
  • Photograph and map any nest, bird or habitat feature that affects the work, but keep sensitive nest coordinates confidential.
  • Report any suspected offence, unauthorised clearing, nest disturbance, injury or mortality to the relevant wildlife authority in accordance with approval conditions.
  • Update the fauna management plan when monitoring or incidents show that the controls are not protecting the species or its habitat.

After habitat disturbance: Post-clearance checks

Post-clearance work must confirm that retained habitat and any nest or wetland controls remain effective. The project should continue monitoring where clearing or construction has affected a known territory, nest area or important foraging habitat.

  • Inspect the cleared boundary, retained tall trees, riparian vegetation, wetlands and access tracks for injured fauna, isolated animals, damaged nest trees and unapproved disturbance.
  • Check for new or previously overlooked nests in retained tall forest and along waterways after machinery has left the area.
  • Remove temporary fencing only when it will not expose retained habitat or wildlife to further project impacts.
  • Repair erosion, drainage changes, sediment controls and accidental damage to retained vegetation immediately.

After habitat disturbance: Monitoring and adaptive controls

Breeding productivity reference: The recovery plan records about 0.9 young fledged per attended nest and 1.3 young per successful nest in northern Australia during 1987 to 1990.

  • Monitor known nests and retained habitat through the breeding period where required by approval conditions or the fauna management plan.
  • Record territory occupancy, nest use, breeding activity, nest success, adult sightings, fledged young and habitat condition using consistent methods.
  • Continue monitoring after construction where noise, lighting, traffic, wetland changes, fire or vegetation loss may affect hunting, nesting or prey availability.
  • Increase buffers, restrict noisy work, modify lighting or change work timing if monitoring records disturbance, breeding failure or loss of habitat function.

After habitat disturbance: Reporting and offsets

  • Submit monitoring results, incident reports, verified records and updated habitat mapping to approval authorities and the relevant state wildlife database.
  • Demonstrate compliance with EPBC Act conditions, state approvals, clearing limits, nest protections and rehabilitation commitments.
  • Apply any approved offset or conservation agreement required for residual significant impacts, and ensure it protects suitable tall forest, woodland, waterways, wetlands and prey habitat.
  • Do not use an offset as a substitute for avoiding or minimising impacts to a known nest, breeding territory or habitat critical to survival.

Rehabilitation actions: Restore habitat structure

Rehabilitation should restore connected native forest and woodland with permanent or seasonal water, open flight space and mature trees for future nesting. Red goshawk habitat develops slowly, so protect existing trees and retain suitable future nest trees wherever possible.

Potential breeding-tree size: Breeding trees are commonly above 20 metres, with the tallest stands selected locally; later advice identifies trees above 14 metres within 2.5 kilometres of water as potential breeding habitat.

Foraging habitat: Coastal and subcoastal tall open forest and woodland, wooded rivers and creeks, freshwater wetlands and rainforest edges.

  • Replant locally appropriate native trees and shrubs that recreate tall open forest, woodland, riparian vegetation and rainforest edges used by the species.
  • Prioritise restoration beside rivers, creeks, wetlands and drainage lines, and reconnect isolated remnants with native vegetation corridors.
  • Retain and protect existing mature trees because replacement trees will take decades to provide suitable nest structures.
  • Restore an open understorey beneath large, widely spaced trees where this matches the local reference vegetation and supports efficient hunting.
  • Reinstate natural wetland water regimes where practicable and prevent drainage, sedimentation and weed invasion.

Rehabilitation actions: Manage fire, grazing and prey habitat

  • Use fire planning that maintains an open hunting understorey without burning nest trees, riparian vegetation or active nests.
  • Reduce the risk of late dry-season wildfires reaching nesting trees and vulnerable young.
  • Work with Traditional Owners and Indigenous ranger groups to develop locally appropriate burning practices.
  • Exclude intensive grazing from high-value breeding habitat and manage stock to prevent trampling and loss of riparian regeneration.
  • Control weeds and feral herbivores where they reduce understorey recovery, wetland condition or the abundance of bird prey.
  • Avoid pesticides and rodenticides near retained habitat and manage chemical use to reduce secondary poisoning risk.

Rehabilitation actions: Nest resources and monitoring

  • Retain naturally occurring hollow-bearing and large mature trees, even where they are not currently occupied, because red goshawks select the tallest trees with strong horizontal limbs for large stick nests.
  • Do not install nest boxes as a substitute for retaining suitable mature trees unless a species specialist and the relevant authority approve the design and placement.
  • Replace removed logs, rocks and other ground structure where this supports prey and broader fauna recovery, without obstructing waterways or creating fire hazards.
  • Monitor plant survival, tree growth, canopy development, understorey structure, wetland condition, prey indicators, red goshawk sightings and any nest use.
  • Set success measures before planting, including survival of native plants, recovery of riparian cover, weed control, stable wetland function, retained connectivity and confirmed use by red goshawks or their prey.
  • Review rehabilitation at least annually during the approval period and adapt watering, weed control, grazing, fire and pest measures when targets are not met.

Sources