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• Text account
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The site was identified as important in 2014 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
Australasian Bittern Botaurus poiciloptilus	VU	resident	-	present	A1
Black Stilt Himantopus novaezelandiae	CR	resident	1979-1992	6-17 individuals	A1, A4i
Wrybill Anarhynchus frontalis	VU	breeding	1979-1992	41-138 breeding pairs	A1, A4i
Black-billed Gull Larus bulleri	NT	breeding	1970-1995	26-81 breeding pairs	A1
Black-fronted Tern Chlidonias albostriatus	EN	breeding	1979-1993	70-224 breeding pairs	A1, A4i

1. The current IUCN Red List category. The category at the time of the IBA criteria assessment (2014) may differ.

Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 2014. The most recent assessment (2014) is shown below.

Pressure (threats to the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Invasive and other problematic species and genes	happening now	some of area/population (10-49%)	moderate to rapid deterioration	high
Climate change and severe weather	likely in short term (within 4 years)	some of area/population (10-49%)	moderate to rapid deterioration	medium
Human intrusions and disturbance	happening now	some of area/population (10-49%)	slow but significant deterioration	medium
Natural system modifications	happening now	some of area/population (10-49%)	slow but significant deterioration	medium

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
1953	Aoraki Mount Cook National Park	National Park	8
1957	Lake Alexandrina Wildlife Refuge	Wildlife Refuge	7
1986	Lake Alexandrina	Scenic Reserve	<1
1987	Lake Alexandrina	Stewardship Area	2
1987	Sibbalds Island	Stewardship Area	<1
1987	Godley Riverbed	Stewardship Area	1
1988	Micks Lagoon	Stewardship Area	<1
1988	Cass River Delta	Stewardship Area	<1
1990	Te Wahipounamu – South West New Zealand	World Heritage Site (natural or mixed)	3
1999	Godley Macaulay	Stewardship Area	<1
1999	Lake Alexandrina	Scenic Reserve	2
2000	Cass River Delta Wildlife Management	Government Purpose Reserve	<1
2016	The Island	Stewardship Area	4

Habitat1	Habitat detail	% of IBA
Grassland		major (>10)
Introduced vegetation		major (>10)
Shrubland		major (>10)
Wetlands (inland)		major (>10)

1. IUCN Habitat classification.

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Godley Cass Rivers (New Zealand). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/godley-cass-rivers-iba-new-zealand on 22/11/2024.