Birds counted in the Coongie Lakes
A waterbird survey undertaken in the Coongie Lakes in October has helped paint a picture of the health of the wetland that is managed under a Ramsar agreement.
It was an addition to this year’s Eastern Australian Waterbird Survey (EAWS), one of the country’s largest wildlife surveys that has surveyed rivers and wetlands in the Murray Darling Basin for the past 43 years.
The long-term data gained from the EAWS is a powerful tool to observe and assess changes to wetland conditions and their impacts on the environment. It also provides some of the only long-term objective data on Australia’s waterbird populations.
It provided estimates for 83 species of waterbirds that flock to the Cooper Creek floodplain and the Coongie Lakes after rainfall events. It included 18 species listed under International migratory species treaties and a further 22 species that are listed as migratory or marine under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
With the floodplain drying back, the survey noted many small flocks and individual birds, particularly Pacific herons, black duck and yellow-billed spoonbills, while another floodplain also contained black-tailed native hens, grey teal, pied stilts and swamphens.
Along the main channel of Cooper Creek, small flocks of pelicans and cormorants were present, while the shallow edges of the big lakes contained egrets, black duck, black-tailed native hens, Pacific herons, yellow-billed spoonbills and pied stilts.
The expansive freshwater lakes mostly had a few pelicans, hardhead and coot and the edges of the large lakes formed excellent habitat with the shallow waters drying back.
Survey observer Richard Kingsford OA said it was just not possible to survey everything because there was so much flooding.
“We had perhaps as many as 50 per cent of the total count on one large lake that was turning salty,” he said.
“There were thousands of coot, hardhead, black swans and grey teal.
“It was a very impressive lake – tiring to count but exhilarating as well; just spectacular.”
The aerial survey helps to understand the environmental water needs for biodiversity purposes, especially as they relate to waterbirds and wetlands. Changes in waterbird numbers provides a tangible way of indicating and measuring changes in the ecological health of river and wetland systems.
Take a look at the blog written about the aerial survey of the Coongie Lakes.
The aerial survey over the Coongie Lakes was undertaken as part of the Wetland Wonders project, which is funded by the Australian Government Natural Heritage Trust and delivered by the SA Arid Lands Landscape Board, a member of the Commonwealth Regional Delivery Partners panel.
