Location & Description

Pathilda Reserve is located across a steep east-facing slope on Scotland Island.  The Reserve occupies 0.4 hectares and runs from Thompson Street, between residential properties, straddling Florence Terrace, to the waterfront.

• View on Location Map

Walking Tracks & Access

The two roads allow access to the Reserve, although no track exists in the area above Florence Terrace.  The foreshore, which provides a sandy beach and water access, is also used for dinghy storage

Plants

The Reserve, divided by Florence Terrace, supports a remnant Spotted Gum Forest community (Corymbia maculata).

Animals

There is a large active Whistling Kite nest in a mature Spotted Gum near the water’s edge.  The presence of this species indicates the importance of the bushland for fauna.  During 1996/97 an adjoining resident recorded two sightings of Echidna and a Diamond Python was found on their property. 

The Reserve and its foreshore association with a sandy beach and no seawalls provide potential nesting  habitat for Little Penguin known to feed in the surrounding waters and intertidal habitat for aquatic invertebrates.

Special Features

• Pathilda Reserve protects an example of bushland of Scotland Island in a similar condition to that which occurred when the area was first visited by Europeans
• it includes an example of Spotted Gum Forest, a plant community significant in NSW
• it provides forest, creekline and intertidal habitat for a range of native fauna
• it contributes to the landscape quality of Scotland Island and Pittwater, providing a record of the original landscape and the changes wrought by urban development
• it is an education resource and a contact point with history and nature for residents
• it allows urban residents to undertake informal recreational pursuits in a bushland setting
• it is an important part of the habitat and wildlife corridor for faunal movement from the Peninsula to the National Park

Related Info

• View on Location Map
• To find out more about Pathilda Reserve, download its Plan of Management
• Find out more about Pittwater's amazing Vegetation Communities
• See the native animal species lists for Pittwater