Current view: Text account
Site description (2008 baseline):
Site location and context
The IBA consists of Lake Wyangan, Campbell's, Nericon and Barren Box Swamps, all close to Griffith in southern New South Wales. Barren Box Swamp was an ephemeral swamp; however it has been divided into three, with 60% left as a natural ephemeral wetland, which is wet only in wet years. The impounded 40% is an irrigation drainage wetland used for water storage and recycling, with grazed edges and reed beds, but has the potential to be flooded back to a shallow swamp. North and South Lake Wyangan are permanent water storage facilities with an area of Cumbungi suitable for bitterns. Nericon is a shallow swamp that is usually cattle grazed pasture, but it fills from local rains and can support large numbers of shorebirds. Campbell's Swamp is a black box-lignum swamp with extensive open areas interspersed with stands of Cumbungi and Phragmites, which occasionally fills from local rains or from a water release. When there is sufficient water for rice cultivation in the area, these natural swamps support breeding waterbirds, which feed more widely in the rice fields, and Australasian Bitterns forage and possibly nest in the rice fields. Local rains flood these wetlands irregularly, and less frequently in recent years. However, a water allocation was released for Campbell's Swamp in 2006/7. The IBA could be extended to include Griffith sewage treatment works, about 6 km away, which often support large numbers of Blue-billed Ducks.
The IBA could be extended to include Griffith sewage treatment works, about 6 km away, which often supports large numbers of Blue-billed Ducks, max about 50 in recent years (W. Moller pers. comm. 2008; D. Webb pers. comm. 2008). Nericon Swamp supported high numbers of waterbirds in 1995/6, including 3500 Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (but subsequent counts of only hundreds), 1750 Red-necked Avocet (but usually about 200-400 birds when wet, and absent when dry), and 1800 Chestnut Teal (Birds Australia Murray-Darling Basin waterbird database; D. Webb pers. comm. 2008; W. Moller pers. comm. 2008).
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
Conservation of the endangered Australasian Bittern should be part of the management objectives of Griffith City Council and Murrumbidgee Irrigation. Water allocations should be made to allow occasional natural flooding of these wetlands.
None.
Murrumbidgee Irrigation (Barren Box Swamp) and Griffith City Council (sewage treatment works, trust manager for the Lake Wyangan Wetlands).
Bill Moller (Manager, Griffith & Heritage Sites) and David Webb provided comments on the nomination.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Griffith Wetlands (Australia). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/griffith-wetlands-iba-australia on 27/12/2024.
