TYTO Wetlands: Eastern Grass Owl – Tyto longimembris

In 1996, Hinchinbrook Shire Council engaged a wildlife specialist to conduct a study of the TYTO Wetlands area.

The results indicated a healthy bird population, including nine pairs of Eastern Grass Owls (Tyto longimembris).

Before European settlement, extensive native grasslands with paperbark woodland and pockets of rainforest covered the wet tropical floodplains of the Herbert River Delta.

Unfortunately, most of these native grasslands have now been cleared for cane fields and development.

Although the area now known as TYTO Wetlands was not cleared, it had become degraded and was at risk of being converted into cane fields or left as wasteland.

Located in a semi-industrial area, the site was being invaded by introduced pasture grasses and weeds from a nearby refuse tip.

In 1996, Council commissioned a wildlife study of the wetlands, which confirmed a healthy bird population, including nine pairs of Eastern Grass Owls — leading to the name TYTO Wetlands.

The study recorded 114 bird species throughout the year.

In August 1997, with support from Hinchinbrook Shire Council, State Government agencies, local industry and the community, along with funding from the Natural Heritage Trust, the TYTO Restoration Project was launched.

The project aimed to restore and conserve the natural values of the wetlands.

In June 2007, the TYTO Information and Wetlands Centre (now the Hinchinbrook Visitor Information Centre) was opened to the public.

The centre features displays showcasing the natural values of the wetlands and the broader Hinchinbrook region.

TYTO Wetlands and the Visitor Information Centre formed the first stages of the TYTO Precinct.

Today, the number of bird species recorded in the wetlands has increased to 245 — more than a quarter of Australia’s bird species — and the area is also home to Agile Wallabies.