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The site was identified as important in 2009 because it was regularly supporting significant populations of the species listed below, meeting ('triggering') IBA criteria.

Populations meeting IBA criteria ('trigger species') at the site:

Species	Red List1	Season	Year(s)	Size	IBA criteria
Australian Shelduck Tadorna tadornoides	LC	non-breeding	1986-2008	1,548-6,108 individuals	A4i
Banded Stilt Cladorhynchus leucocephalus	LC	non-breeding	1986-2008	4,000 individuals	A4i
Red-necked Avocet Recurvirostra novaehollandiae	LC	non-breeding	1986-2008	1,915-4,000 individuals	A4i
Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus	LC	non-breeding	1986-2008	3,290-5,000 individuals	A4i

1. The current IUCN Red List category. The category at the time of the IBA criteria assessment (2009) may differ.

Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 2009. The most recent assessment (2008) is shown below.

Pressure (threats to the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Natural system modifications	happening now	majority/most of area/population (50-90%)	slow but significant deterioration	high
Pollution	happening now	majority/most of area/population (50-90%)	slow but significant deterioration	high
Residential and commercial development	likely in long term (beyond 4 years)	small area/few individuals (<10%)	slow but significant deterioration	low
Agricultural expansion and intensification	happening now	some of area/population (10-49%)	no or imperceptible deterioration	low

Response (conservation actions taken for the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Protected areas	Management plan	Other action	Result
Not assessed	Not assessed	Not assessed	not assessed

Year	Protected Area	Designation	% overlap with IBA
1963	Broadwater	Nature Reserve	4
1972	Sabina	Nature Reserve	2
1990	Vasse-Wonnerup System	Ramsar Site, Wetland of International Importance	36
1991	Unnamed WA41568	Nature Reserve	1
1997	Unnamed WA44838	Nature Reserve	2
2008	Unnamed WA49385	Nature Reserve	<1
2009	Unnamed WA50270	5(1)(h) Reserve	6
2009	Unnamed WA50017	Nature Reserve	<1

Habitat1	Habitat detail	% of IBA
Marine Coastal/Supratidal		major (>10)
Artificial/Terrestrial	Improved grassland & pasture	minor (<10)

1. IUCN Habitat classification.

Land use	% of IBA
nature conservation and research	major (>10)
water management	major (>10)
rangeland/pastureland	minor (<10)

Parts of five protected areas (managed by DEC), freehold land and unallocated Crown Land (managed by the Shire of Busselton).

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Busselton Wetlands (Australia). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/busselton-wetlands-iba-australia on 23/11/2024.