Current view: Text account
Site description (2008 baseline):
Site location and context
This IBA is located 35 km west-north-west of Esperance in south-western Western Australia. The IBA consists of Lake Gore (740 ha), four named satellite lakes (Lake Gidong, Lake Kubitch and Lake Carbul, each 25 to 30 ha, and Quallilup Lake, 200 ha) and about ten unnamed satellite lakes around Lake Gore, and a large (400 ha) swamp, unofficially termed Overflow Swamp, which connects Lake Gore and Quallilup Lake. Mean annual rainfall at Esperance is 568 mm with most falls from May to August. Wetlands in the Lake Gore system are saline to varying degrees. Lake Gore, Lake Gidong and Quallilup Lake are permanent or near-permanent. The remaining wetlands are generally seasonal although after heavy rainfall they may retain water for two or three consecutive dry seasons. Lake Gore receives water from the Dalyup River system and, when full, overflows to Quallilup Lake via Overflow Swamp. Lake Gidong, Lake Kubitch and Lake Carbul receive water from the Coobidge Creek system. In years of exceptional rainfall (e.g. 1986, 1989), overflows from both systems may merge and flow from Overflow Swamp westward via an ill-defined watercourse to Barker Inlet and the ocean. The larger wetlands in the system are fringed by narrow bands, often only one tree in breadth, of Saltwater Paperbark above understorey plants such as Gahnia trifida and Schoenus brevifolius. The saltmarsh areas support samphires (e.g. Suaeda australis, Sarcocornia quinqueflora), grasses (e.g. Sporobolus virginicus) and herbs (e.g. Samolus repens) (DEWHA 2008).
Fairy Tern appears to be an irregular non-breeding visitor: maximum was a colony of 25 which bred at Lake Kubitch in 1984-85 (DEWHA 2008) and 12 counted in 2001 and 2002 at Lake Gore (Atlas of Australian Birds database), but none observed during surveys of Lake Carbul, Lake Kubitch, Lake Gore and Lake Quallilup in November 2002 (Buchanan 2003), and no subsequent published records. At least 55 species of waterbird have been recorded in the Lake Gore system. This figure includes 18 species listed under international conservation agreements, 14 migratory species and 12 species which breed in the system (DEWHA 2008). Lake Gore alone supports more than 10,000 (and probably more than 20,000) waterbirds in most years with a maximum count of 29,273 waterbirds in 1988. Other large wetlands in the system can each support up to 5000 waterbirds. At Lake Gore, there have been notable sub-threshold counts of 3500 Grey Teal, 1000 Hoary-headed Grebe and 625 Red-necked Stint (DEWHA 2008); 4000 Black Swan in 2001 and four counts of 2000-2500 in 2002-2004 (Atlas of Australian Birds database).
Non-bird biodiversity: The beaches of Lake Gore contain shell deposits from a species of ostracod that is abundant at the lake (DEWHA 2008).
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
Monitor water quality and levels, and relate to management actions in catchment and bird numbers. Investigate ways of reducing saline water input from catchment.
Conservation responses/actions for key biodiversity
Lake Gore is recognised as a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar convention. The Lake Gore system is included in a catchment planning strategy for the Esperance Region. Co-operative management of some areas of the catchment is being achieved through the federally-funded Landcare program. The Department of Environment and Conservation (Western Australia) is undertaking research at Lake Gore as part of an initiative to develop an Environmental Management System (EMS) for wetlands on the southern coast of Western Australia. Annual surveys of waterbirds were conducted at Lake Gore from 1981 to 1991. More recently, researches have visited Lake Gore to study and survey Hooded Plover. The Department of Environment and Conservation (Western Australia) has measured parameters of water quality at least annually since 1979. Murdoch University and the University of Western Australia have conducted research on the wetlands fed by Coobidge Creek (DEWHA 2008).
Two Unnamed Nature Reserves - see separate section.
Western Australian State government with management the responsibility of DEC and some private ownership (freehold).
Stuart Halse kindly commented on the nomination and provided data.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Lake Gore System (Australia). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/lake-gore-system-iba-australia on 23/12/2024.
