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Square-tailed Kite (Lophoictinia isura)

The Square-tailed Kite is an uncommon Australian raptor of open forests, woodlands, heathlands and timbered watercourses. It is vulnerable in New South Wales and Victoria, endangered in South Australia and near threatened in the Northern Territory, so clearing of mature trees, riparian vegetation and surrounding foraging habitat can affect breeding pairs and dependent young.

Conservation status

New South Wales, Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016: Vulnerable.

Victoria, Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988: Vulnerable.

South Australia, National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972: Endangered.

Northern Territory, Territory Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 1976: Near threatened.

Breeding season

Timing varies across Australia. Southern birds may migrate north outside the breeding season, while birds in northern and south-eastern Queensland can be resident. The table gives a practical pattern for temperate and southern populations, with regional confirmation required before works.

Confirm local breeding and movement timing with state records, targeted surveys and advice from a qualified raptor ecologist before clearing or construction.

  • Breeding and nesting: Breeding is reported from July to February, with nest building, laying and incubation concentrated from late winter through spring in southern Australia.
  • Young in nest or dependent: Incubation lasts about 40 days, the nestling period about eight weeks and post-fledging dependence about two months. Young may therefore remain associated with the nest area into February.
  • Southern movement: In south-eastern New South Wales, including the south coast, birds arrive in September for summer breeding and leave by March. Southern populations migrate towards tropical areas outside the breeding season.
  • Northern or resident presence: The species is a regular resident in northern and north-eastern New South Wales and occurs as a resident breeding species in south-eastern Queensland. Northern breeding records are less certain, so local survey information should guide timing.
  • Highest clearing risk: Risk is highest from July to February when nests, eggs, nestlings and recently fledged young may be present. Clearing of mature nest trees or nearby woodland can also affect traditional nesting territories outside the active nest period.

Identification

The Square-tailed Kite is a medium-sized, slender raptor with very long, upswept wings and a square-cut or slightly notched tail. Identification is most reliable from its flight shape, pale wing panel and white face.

Adults are brown above and rufous to grey-brown below, with a white face, heavy black crown streaks, black chest streaking and a pale band or panel across the upperwing. In flight, the long, fingered wings are held slightly upswept and show a large white patch near the base of the barred primaries. The tail is long and square-tipped, with dark banding and sharp corners.

Juveniles are more uniformly rufous on the head and body and lack the strongly contrasting white adult face. Colour does not differ markedly between adult males and females, although females are larger.

Body length: 50 to 56 cm

Wingspan: 130 to 145 cm

Male weight: About 500 g

Female weight: About 590 to 680 g

Identification: Similar raptors

Black Kites are generally duller and browner, with a yellow cere and feet, black rather than barred wing tips, and a more deeply forked tail. A widely spread Black Kite tail can appear nearly square, so the white face, wing pattern and long, upswept wings should also be checked.

Little Eagles are bulkier, with a larger head and bill, larger feet and claws, fully feathered legs and a more heavily marked rusty and black-streaked head. The Square-tailed Kite has a finer bill, shorter bare legs and a lighter, more graceful flight profile.

  • Check the white face and black crown streaks on an adult.
  • Check for the pale wing panel and barred, fingered primaries.
  • Check that the tail is square or only slightly notched, rather than deeply forked.
  • Use the combination of long wings, low slow flight and canopy-level hunting rather than a single plumage mark.

Identification: Field signs

The species is usually detected by an overhead or low gliding bird rather than by ground signs. It often flies slowly along timbered watercourses, forest edges and openings, and may be seen singly, in pairs or with dependent young.

Nests are large stick platforms in living trees, often in a substantial fork or on a large horizontal limb. They are usually 8 to 26 m above ground, with a reported mean height of about 18 m. Green leaves are added to the nest and may be renewed during the breeding cycle.

Calls are infrequently heard away from the nest. Reported calls include a hoarse repeated yelp, a high-pitched squeal or wail from females and young, and a shrill chatter or twitter during alarm and nesting activity.

Typical nest height: 8 to 26 m, mean about 18 m

Nest material: Sticks with green leaves

  • Search mature living eucalypts and Angophora near watercourses for large stick platforms.
  • Inspect large horizontal forks and limbs, but avoid approaching or disturbing a suspected active nest.
  • Record repeated low, slow canopy flight along a watercourse or forest edge, especially when associated with a second bird or recently fledged young.

Distribution: National range

The Square-tailed Kite is endemic to Australia and is sparsely distributed across much of the continent. It is associated mainly with coastal and subcoastal forests and woodlands, with inland records following timbered rivers and other suitable wooded corridors.

The species occurs from south-western Australia through northern Australia and along the east coast from Queensland through New South Wales to Victoria. It also occurs in South Australia and the Northern Territory. It is absent from true deserts, inland treeless areas and the highest alpine areas.

Southern birds migrate north in the non-breeding season. In New South Wales, the species is a regular resident in the north, north-east and along major west-flowing rivers, and a summer breeding migrant to the south-east, including the south coast.

  • Western Australia: south-western and coastal or subcoastal wooded areas.
  • South Australia: riverine and mallee-associated wooded areas, including the Murray region.
  • Northern Territory: northern and tropical areas, although some older northern breeding records are considered uncertain.
  • Queensland: coastal and subcoastal forests, woodlands and river corridors.
  • New South Wales: most regions except the driest treeless areas and highest alpine country.
  • Victoria: coastal, inland woodland and riverine areas.

Distribution: Bioregions and strongholds

NSW records cover coastal and subcoastal bioregions, the tablelands, western slopes, inland plains and river systems. The indicative NSW distribution includes the NSW North Coast, South East Corner, Sydney Basin, South Eastern Highlands, New England Tablelands, Nandewar, NSW South Western Slopes, Riverina, Darling Riverine Plains, Cobar Peneplain, Mulga Lands, Broken Hill Complex, Channel Country and Murray Darling Depression.

Important habitat is concentrated in productive eucalypt forests and woodlands, box, ironbark and gum woodlands on inland slopes, and Coolibah or River Red Gum woodland on inland plains. The species is not described as having discrete named subpopulations in the supplied material.

  • Coastal and subcoastal open forest, including the NSW North Coast and south-eastern Queensland.
  • Timbered river corridors, including the major west-flowing rivers of New South Wales and inland Murray and Darling systems.
  • Box, ironbark and gum woodlands on inland slopes.
  • Coolibah and River Red Gum woodland on inland plains.
  • Eucalypt woodland and mallee-associated habitat in parts of South Australia and Victoria.

Distribution: Population information

The total Australian population is uncertain. The NSW review reported global estimates of 1,000 to 10,000 birds or about 7,000 breeding birds, both with limited reliability. The species is highly mobile and dispersive, and there is no evidence of severe population fragmentation, although its woodland habitat has been substantially cleared.

Estimated global population: 1,000 to 10,000 birds, or an alternative estimate of about 7,000 breeding birds

Estimated NSW breeding population: About 100 to 1,000 birds, based on the NSW review's estimate that NSW held about 10 percent of the global estimate

NSW reporting trend: A non-significant 41 percent increase in reporting rate between the first and second national bird atlases

Breeding pair density: About one pair per 170 km² in eastern New South Wales

Habitat: Habitat types

Square-tailed Kites use a wide range of wooded and semi-open habitats, but require mature trees, a supply of small birds and suitable open airspace for low hunting flights. Timbered watercourses are particularly important inland.

The species forages over coastal and subcoastal eucalypt open forests and woodlands, inland riparian woodland, mallee, heathland, shrubland, savannah and open country with scattered trees. It can use vegetated urban areas, including gardens, parks and golf courses, and may nest in urban bushland.

In arid north-western New South Wales it has been recorded in stony country with chenopod and grass ground cover, open acacia scrub and patches of low open eucalypt woodland.

  • Eucalypt open forest and woodland.
  • Riparian woodland along rivers and creeks.
  • Box, ironbark and gum woodland on inland slopes.
  • Coolibah and River Red Gum woodland on inland plains.
  • Coastal heathland and forest edges.
  • Wooded urban and peri-urban areas where prey and mature trees remain.

Habitat: Structure and site context

The species favours fertile forests and woodlands with abundant passerines, mature living trees and openings or edges that support low, slow hunting flights. Nesting landscapes in one NSW study contained a high proportion of young and older regrowth Blackbutt forest within 2 km of nest sites.

Inland nests are generally near water, often within about 100 m of a watercourse. Coastal nests may be farther from water. Retaining connected tree cover, mature nest trees and nearby open flight paths is important when planning clearing or construction.

Reported nest proximity to water: Usually within 100 m in inland and subcoastal areas, but not necessarily near water in coastal forests

Study area around nest sites: 2 km radius used in a NSW habitat selection study

  • Retain mature living eucalypts and Angophora, especially trees with large horizontal forks or limbs.
  • Retain riparian trees and adjoining woodland, not only the immediate nest tree.
  • Maintain forest edges, small clearings and other open flight paths used for hunting.
  • Assess suitable habitat within at least 2 km of a known nest because surrounding vegetation structure may be relevant to nest-site selection.

Habitat: Climate and elevation limits

The supplied material does not provide a defined elevation limit. Records span tropical, temperate, coastal, inland and alpine foothill regions, but the species is absent from the highest alpine areas and true desert or treeless country.

Foraging habitat: Diet

The Square-tailed Kite is a specialist canopy and foliage hunter. It usually searches slowly from the air and takes small prey from outer foliage, nest sites, ground cover or occasionally open watercourse margins.

The main prey is small birds and nest contents, particularly nestlings and fledglings of honeyeaters and other small passerines. Recorded prey includes honeyeaters, Noisy Miner, Little Friarbird, White-naped Honeyeater, Rufous Whistler, Silvereye, House Sparrow and Double-barred Finch.

The diet also includes large insects such as beetles, grasshoppers, crickets, ants, mantises and flying insects, as well as frogs, lizards, snakes and occasional small mammals. There is no convincing evidence that the species regularly eats carrion.

  • Protect foliage-rich trees that support honeyeater and other passerine nests.
  • Retain flowering and structurally diverse eucalypt vegetation where small birds and canopy insects are abundant.
  • Avoid assuming that open ground is non-habitat, as the kite may take flushed birds, insects and reptiles around grass, heath and woodland edges.

Foraging habitat: Foraging method and range

The kite hunts by low, slow quartering and transect flight, often following river corridors, forest edges, heathland boundaries, paddock edges and green belts. It may skim over grass or heath, circle above clearings, or move between and below tree crowns.

Prey is usually taken from the outer foliage by a drop attack or short swoop. The species may also rob enclosed or suspended nests, take prey flushed by disturbance or fire, and occasionally hunt on the ground. It often hunts in the morning and afternoon or evening, with daytime hunting also recorded during breeding.

Eastern NSW home range: Roughly 50 km²

Other reported hunting range: More than 100 km²

Recorded linear hunting route: About 5 to 6 km along a watercourse for one south-eastern Queensland pair

  • Search and assess timbered watercourses and forest edges as linear foraging habitat.
  • Consider the full hunting area around a nest rather than only the nest tree.
  • Use a reported home range of about 50 km² for an eastern NSW breeding pair as a planning reference, noting that other accounts report ranges above 100 km².
  • Do not treat a site as unoccupied solely because a kite is absent during a short ground inspection.

Breeding habitat: Breeding biology

Breeding pairs use mature living trees in open forest, woodland or riparian vegetation, often near a watercourse. The species is territorial, returns to traditional nesting areas and may reuse a nest tree or nearby nesting site over many years.

A large stick platform is built in a living tree, usually in a substantial fork or on a large horizontal limb. Both sexes contribute to nest construction, and green leaves are incorporated into or added to the nest. Pairs generally make one breeding attempt per season.

The incubation period is about 40 days. Nestlings remain in the nest for about eight weeks and may remain dependent after fledging for a further two months. Females usually remain close to the nest during the nestling period, while males commonly supply prey, although both sexes may share care.

Breeding season: Usually July to February in temperate and southern Australia; southern laying records are mainly August to October

Clutch size: Usually 1 to 2 eggs in the NSW profile; the broader review reported 2 to 3 eggs, usually 3, across Australia

Incubation: About 40 days

Nestling period: About 8 weeks

Post-fledging dependence: About 2 months

Age at maturity: Not reported in the supplied sources

Lifespan: Not reported in the supplied sources

Generation length: Estimated at 10 years

Breeding habitat: Nest habitat

Nests are placed 8 to 26 m above ground, with a reported mean height of about 18 m. Nest trees are mature and living, and include eucalypts and Angophora. Inland and subcoastal nests are commonly near watercourses, while coastal nests may occur in forest away from water.

Known nesting territories may be traditional. One territory was used for about 10 years and another for about 15 years. Clearing, tree removal, heavy machinery, noise and fire near an active nest can therefore affect both the current breeding attempt and a repeatedly used site.

Nest height: 8 to 26 m, mean about 18 m

Typical nest tree: Mature living eucalypt or Angophora

Nest distance from water: Usually within 100 m in inland and subcoastal areas

Breeding productivity: About 0.7 young per pair per year in NSW

  • Inspect mature living trees within and near riparian corridors for large stick platforms before clearing.
  • Retain the nest tree and surrounding woodland, including potential replacement nest trees.
  • Use an experienced raptor ecologist to assess any suspected active nest and establish appropriate exclusion and access controls under the relevant state requirements.
  • Schedule vegetation removal outside the local breeding period where practicable, but confirm local occupancy before works.

Sheltering habitat: Roosting and cover

The Square-tailed Kite does not use dens, burrows or hollows as its main shelter. It spends most of its time in flight or in trees, with breeding and roosting activity centred on mature living trees and established nesting territories.

Specific roost tree characteristics are not described in the supplied sources. The species may perch briefly but is seldom on the ground. Mature trees in open forest, woodland, riparian vegetation, coastal forest and urban bushland are therefore the best-supported shelter and resting habitat.

During breeding, the female remains close to the nest and may roost on it at night. Dependent young remain in or near the nesting area for about two months after fledging.

Known shelter structures: Mature living trees, nesting platforms and surrounding woodland

Ground shelter: Not a major habitat feature; the species seldom comes to the ground

  • Retain mature living trees around known or potential nest sites.
  • Retain riparian tree lines and connected woodland that provide perches between hunting flights.
  • Avoid removing large horizontal limbs or potential nest trees during works near a known nesting territory.
  • Treat a large stick platform, even if apparently inactive, as a prompt for further assessment because nesting territories may be reused.

Threats: Clearing and construction

The main project risks are loss of mature trees, clearing of woodland and riparian vegetation, disturbance at nest sites and reduction of small-bird prey. Risks are greatest where works remove a nest tree or reduce the surrounding foraging area.

Clearing, logging and urban or rural-residential expansion reduce nesting and foraging habitat. Removal of mature trees near watercourses can remove current or future nest sites. Road upgrades, subdivision, transmission infrastructure and other linear works can affect traditional nesting territories and surrounding hunting routes.

The species can use fragmented and urban vegetation, but this does not remove the need to retain mature nest trees, riparian woodland, prey habitat and safe flight space.

  • Map mature living eucalypts and Angophora, large stick nests and riparian woodland before clearing.
  • Assess habitat around known nests, including the surrounding 2 km area and the wider hunting range.
  • Retain potential nest trees and nearby mature woodland wherever practicable.
  • Use pre-clearance inspections and an incident response procedure for any nest, adult pair or dependent young found during works.

Threats: Fire, grazing and habitat decline

Frequent or inappropriate fire, grazing and loss of understorey and woodland structure can reduce nesting and feeding resources by reducing the abundance and diversity of small birds. The NSW profile recommends protecting known habitat from fire frequencies that are higher than those recommended for biodiversity retention.

  • Avoid high-frequency burning in known habitat and around nesting patches.
  • Retain vegetation structure that supports honeyeaters and other small canopy birds.
  • Manage grazing and access so riparian trees, regrowth and woodland edges are not progressively degraded.

Threats: Direct mortality and other risks

Illegal shooting and egg collection are recorded threats. Wind farms may cause occasional collision mortality, and transmission lines may cause direct mortality or reduce habitat. The species is manoeuvrable and may generally avoid turbine blades, but collision risk should still be assessed at proposed wind and power infrastructure sites.

The supplied sources do not identify a disease as a major species-specific threat. They also do not provide evidence for a major predator threat or a hydrology change threat, although loss or alteration of timbered watercourses can remove nesting and foraging habitat.

  • Report suspected shooting or egg collection through the relevant state authority.
  • Assess turbine, transmission-line and other overhead infrastructure risks where the species is recorded or suitable riparian woodland is present.
  • Maintain timbered watercourses and avoid unnecessary removal of mature riparian trees.
  • Do not infer that an absence of a nest means the area is unimportant, because nests may be reused and hunting ranges are large.

Survey methodology: 1. Search for nests and nest trees

Survey for Square-tailed Kites should focus on mature trees, timbered watercourses, open forest and woodland, and forest edges. The species is sparsely distributed, highly mobile and can have large hunting ranges, so surveys should combine nest searches with repeated searches for soaring or low quartering birds and calls.

Inspect mature living eucalypts and Angophora trees in open forest, woodland and near forest edges, especially within or near timbered watercourses.

Search trees with large horizontal limbs or forks at about 8 to 26 m above ground. Nests are large stick platforms and may contain green leaves.

Prioritise areas within 100 m of watercourses in inland and subcoastal settings, while also checking mature trees in coastal forests where nests may be farther from water.

Search during the breeding period, generally July to February in temperate areas. Breeding records include nest building from August to November, eggs from September to November, chicks from October to December and fledglings from December to January.

Treat a nest as a potential active nest until an experienced observer establishes otherwise. The species may return to traditional nesting territories and reuse a nest or nearby tree.

Use aerial imagery or other mapping to identify mature tree groups, riparian woodland and forest edges before ground inspection.

Nest height: About 8 to 26 m, with a reported mean of about 18 m

Typical nest setting: Living mature trees in open forest or woodland, often near watercourses

Clutch and breeding timing: Usually 1 to 2 eggs in the NSW profile, with laying generally in winter; other reviews report clutches of 2 to 3 eggs

Incubation and nestling periods: About 40 days of incubation and about 8 weeks in the nest

Survey methodology: 2. Area searches and vantage-point watches

Conduct repeated area searches over open forest, woodland, timbered watercourses, heathland edges, clearings and vegetated urban areas where the species may forage.

Search in the early morning and late afternoon when soaring and low quartering activity may be easier to detect. Continue searches through suitable daylight conditions because the species may hunt throughout the day when breeding.

Use elevated vantage points where available and scan slowly across tree canopies, riparian corridors, forest edges and openings for long, upswept, fingered wings, a white wing patch and a square-tipped tail.

Watch for low, slow flight through or just above the canopy, transect flight along watercourses, and repeated quartering of forest, woodland or edge habitat.

Record all calls and investigate repeated calls near mature trees. The species often occurs singly, in pairs or in family groups, and may be inconspicuous away from the nest.

There is no Square-tailed Kite specific effort standard in the supplied survey guideline extract. Set the search area and repeat visits from the extent of suitable habitat, the number of mature trees and the expected disturbance footprint, and document the rationale.

Typical home range: About 50 km² in eastern NSW, with some sources reporting more than 100 km²

Nest spacing: About 13 km between neighbouring nests in eastern NSW

Flight identification: Long, upswept, fingered wings, a white patch at the wing base and a square-tipped tail

Survey methodology: 3. Habitat and activity assessment

Map open forest, woodland, mallee, heathland, riparian woodland, productive coastal forest and tree-lined drainage lines within and around the project area.

Record mature living eucalypts and Angophora trees, particularly those with broad horizontal limbs, existing stick nests or clear access for large raptors.

Inspect forest edges, openings, paddock interfaces and green belts because the species often hunts along ecotones and over open ground beside trees.

Record nearby habitat used by small birds, especially honeyeaters, because the Square-tailed Kite mainly takes small birds and nest contents from the canopy.

Repeat observations across the breeding period where works could affect mature trees or timbered watercourses. Southern birds may migrate, so absence during one visit does not demonstrate that habitat is unused.

Main NSW habitat: Coastal and subcoastal eucalypt open forest and woodland, inland riparian woodland, box-ironbark-gum woodland and Coolibah or River Red Gum woodland

Main prey: Small birds and nest contents, especially honeyeaters, with insects, reptiles and occasional small mammals also recorded

Movement: Highly mobile and dispersive; southern populations migrate to winter in the tropics

Survey methodology: Minimum effort and reporting

  • Use an experienced bird observer who can distinguish the Square-tailed Kite from the Black Kite, Little Eagle and other similar raptors.
  • Record survey dates, start and finish times, weather, observers, survey routes, vantage points, habitat searched, mature trees inspected, nests found, flight direction and behaviour.
  • Record the location of every sighting, nest, suspected nest and suitable nest tree using accurate coordinates and photographs where this can be done without approaching an active nest.
  • Submit confirmed records, including negative results where required by the project, to the relevant state wildlife database and provide records to the project environmental officer.
  • Report active nests and breeding behaviour to the relevant state agency before clearing or construction proceeds near the site.
  • Do not use playback as a routine method for this species because the supplied documents do not establish a Square-tailed Kite playback protocol or effort standard.

Before habitat disturbance: Avoid and minimise habitat loss

Before works begin, treat mature trees, timbered watercourses and connected open forest or woodland as potential foraging and breeding habitat. The largest project risk is loss or disturbance of nest trees and the surrounding feeding area.

  • Redesign the footprint to retain mature living eucalypts and Angophora trees, especially trees with large horizontal limbs, existing stick nests or potential nest platforms.
  • Retain timbered watercourses and adjoining riparian woodland, including tree lines used for hunting and movement.
  • Retain forest edges, openings and connected stands of woodland that provide access to canopy prey and allow low hunting flights.
  • Avoid removing isolated mature trees where they form part of a riparian corridor or provide a likely nest site.
  • Keep retained habitat connected across roads, utility corridors and construction areas where practicable, because the species uses large hunting areas and moves readily between patches.
  • Do not assume that a site is unimportant because no kite was seen during one survey.

Before habitat disturbance: Approvals, timing and work planning

Temperate breeding period: Generally July to February

NSW state status: Vulnerable

Commonwealth status: Not listed in the supplied sources

  • Check the current EPBC Act status and whether the project affects another nationally listed species, ecological community or other protected matter that may require referral or approval; the Square-tailed Kite itself is not listed under the EPBC Act in the supplied sources.
  • Check the current state listing and obtain any state permits, licences or approvals needed for clearing, nest disturbance, animal handling and wildlife rehabilitation.
  • Schedule tree removal and other high-noise activities outside the local breeding period where practicable, generally July to February in temperate areas, and confirm the timing with the project ecologist and relevant state agency.
  • Prepare a fauna management plan that identifies retained habitat, nest inspection procedures, exclusion areas, stop-work triggers, spotter catcher responsibilities, contact details and reporting requirements.
  • Stage works so that retained riparian trees and woodland remain available while adjoining construction areas are cleared or built.
  • Allow for repeat inspections if works are delayed, the breeding season begins, or a new nest is found.

Before habitat disturbance: Site preparation

  • Complete a pre-clearance survey of all trees and habitat within the disturbance footprint and any proposed access, laydown or spoil areas.
  • Mark retained mature trees, riparian vegetation, suspected nest trees and no-go areas on plans and on the ground.
  • Establish exclusion fencing around retained trees, active nests and retained habitat before machinery enters the site.
  • Set exclusion distances from an active nest using the approved fauna management plan and advice from the relevant state agency, because the supplied sources do not prescribe a universal buffer.
  • Brief machinery operators, supervisors and fauna spotter catchers on the identification features, likely habitat, stop-work triggers and incident reporting process.
  • Check that nearby wildlife carers and a veterinarian can receive injured birds before clearing starts.

During habitat disturbance: Daily controls and spotter catcher procedures

The fauna spotter catcher should keep the work area under observation and coordinate each clearing step with the operator. Stop work if a kite, active nest or unexpected breeding activity is detected in or near the disturbance area.

  • Inspect the work area each day before machinery starts, including mature trees, riparian vegetation, access tracks and any tree identified during the pre-clearance survey.
  • Use a qualified and authorised fauna spotter catcher for clearing that may affect trees, woodland, watercourses or known habitat.
  • Direct machinery to work from the cleared edge towards retained habitat so fauna has an opportunity to move away, while avoiding driving animals towards roads, water or active machinery.
  • Keep the spotter catcher close enough to see the clearing face, but outside the machinery exclusion zone and in direct communication with the operator.
  • Clear in small stages and pause regularly to inspect trees, canopy edges and the ground for birds, nests or injured fauna.
  • Maintain nest and habitat exclusion fencing, and prevent plant, workers and storage materials from entering marked areas.
  • Stop work immediately if an active nest, adult repeatedly defending a tree, dependent young, injured kite or kite trapped within the work area is found.

During habitat disturbance: Animal encounters and habitat features

  • Do not chase, catch or handle a flying Square-tailed Kite unless this is necessary to prevent immediate harm and the person is authorised under the relevant state requirements.
  • If a kite is found on the ground, trapped or injured, isolate the area, keep people and machinery away, and contact the authorised fauna handler, veterinarian or wildlife carer.
  • Place an injured bird in a suitable dark, ventilated container only when directed by an authorised handler, and do not provide food or water unless instructed by a veterinarian or wildlife carer.
  • Release a healthy bird only under the direction of the authorised fauna handler and into nearby retained habitat that is safe, connected and outside the active work area.
  • Do not remove an active nest, eggs or dependent young. Obtain advice and approval from the relevant state agency before any action is taken.
  • Retain mature trees and large horizontal limbs wherever possible. If a nest tree must be removed under an approved action, use the fauna management plan and an appropriately experienced raptor specialist to determine the method and timing.
  • Inspect hollows, logs, rocks, burrows and wetlands as general fauna habitat before disturbance, even though these features are not identified as primary Square-tailed Kite nest resources in the supplied sources.
  • Do not destroy riparian trees or canopy habitat under the assumption that the kite only uses the ground or nest tree.

During habitat disturbance: Records, incidents and stop-work decisions

  • Record every sighting, nest, call, flight path, interaction with machinery, injury, rescue, relocation and work stoppage on the same day.
  • Record the date, time, coordinates, behaviour, habitat, direction of movement, photographs where appropriate and the names of the observer and authorised handler.
  • Notify the site supervisor and project environmental officer immediately when a nest, dependent young or injured kite is found.
  • Keep the work area closed until the environmental officer confirms that the approved control measures and any state agency requirements have been met.
  • Report deaths, injuries, nest disturbance and unauthorised clearing through the project incident process and to the relevant state authority where required.
  • Update the fauna management plan and exclusion mapping if the species is detected in a new area or a nest is found.

After habitat disturbance: Completion checks and monitoring

Post-clearance checks should confirm that no bird, nest or retained habitat feature was affected and that exclusion controls remain effective. Monitoring should focus on retained mature trees, riparian corridors and any known nesting territory.

  • Inspect the cleared area and the edge of retained habitat after each clearing stage for injured birds, displaced nests, fallen eggs or damage to marked trees.
  • Check active or suspected nest trees from a distance after noisy works, tree removal nearby or major changes to access and lighting.
  • Maintain monitoring through the local breeding period, generally July to February in temperate areas, where works occurred near a nest or traditional nesting territory.
  • Repeat area searches from suitable vantage points and along timbered watercourses to determine whether birds continue to forage in retained habitat.
  • Record whether retained mature trees, riparian vegetation, forest edges and movement routes remain intact and accessible.
  • Keep exclusion fencing, signage and no-go controls in place until construction risks have ended and the environmental officer authorises removal.

After habitat disturbance: Reporting and corrective action

  • Provide the project owner and relevant regulator with a completion report covering survey effort, detections, nests, habitat retained, incidents, rescues, work stoppages and corrective actions.
  • Submit confirmed sightings and nest records to the relevant state wildlife database, subject to any sensitive-location controls required by the database manager.
  • Investigate any unexpected decline in sightings, nest abandonment, injury or habitat damage and obtain advice from a raptor ecologist or relevant state agency.
  • Repair damaged exclusion fencing, restore access controls and remove construction materials from retained riparian and woodland habitat.
  • Apply approved offsets or other compensatory measures where required by a planning approval, state consent or environmental assessment.

Rehabilitation actions: Restore habitat structure

Rehabilitation should restore the tree and riparian structure used for hunting and nesting. It will not replace a mature nest tree quickly, so avoid removal first and treat planting as a long-term measure.

  • Protect retained mature eucalypts and Angophora trees from root damage, soil compaction, fire impacts and altered drainage.
  • Replant locally appropriate eucalypt and Angophora species in riparian corridors, open forest and woodland edges where trees have been removed, using local provenance where required by the project.
  • Restore continuous bands of trees along timbered watercourses and reconnect isolated woodland patches where the project has created gaps.
  • Maintain a mix of mature trees, developing canopy trees, open edges and clear flight paths because the species hunts through and above the canopy and along ecotones.
  • Retain fallen timber and other ground features where they do not create a project hazard, because they support prey and general fauna habitat even though they are not the kite's main nest resource.
  • Do not install a nest box as a substitute for retaining a suitable mature tree unless a raptor ecologist and the relevant authority approve the design and location.

Rehabilitation actions: Manage fire, weeds and disturbance

  • Apply a fire regime that protects known habitat and avoids fire frequencies likely to reduce woodland, riparian trees or the small bird prey used by the kite.
  • Control weeds without damaging retained trees, riparian vegetation or nesting habitat.
  • Manage feral predators and domestic animals where they threaten ground-dwelling prey or rehabilitation plantings, using approved site methods.
  • Keep lighting, noise, vehicle access and future maintenance activities away from retained nest trees and riparian corridors where practicable.
  • Protect revegetation from grazing, browsing and construction traffic until plants are established.

Rehabilitation actions: Success measures and follow-up

  • Monitor planted trees for survival, growth and canopy development, with replacement planting where approved performance targets are not met.
  • Measure the area and continuity of restored riparian and woodland habitat against the approved rehabilitation plan.
  • Inspect retained and rehabilitated habitat during the breeding period for Square-tailed Kite sightings, low hunting flights, calls, nest building and use of mature trees.
  • Track the condition and use of known nest trees and report any new nest or repeated breeding activity to the project environmental officer and relevant state agency.
  • Continue monitoring for the period specified in the approval or rehabilitation plan, because planted trees will take substantially longer than one breeding season to provide mature nest structure.
  • Submit monitoring results, records and corrective actions to the approval authority and relevant state wildlife database where required.

Sources