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The site was identified as internationally important for bird conservation in 2009 because it was regularly supporting significant populations of the species listed below, meeting IBA criteria.

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

Species	Red List	Season (year/s of estimate)	Size	IBA criteria
Musk Duck Biziura lobata	LC	non-breeding (1981–2008)	2,000 individuals	A4i
Banded Stilt Cladorhynchus leucocephalus	LC	non-breeding (1981–2008)	10,000 individuals	A4i
Hooded Plover Thinornis cucullatus	VU	non-breeding (1995–1999)	43–606 adults	A1, A4i

Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 2009. The most recent assessment (2019) is shown below.

State (condition of the key species' habitats)
Habitat	Quantity (% remaining)	Quality (% carrying capacity)	Result
Marine Coastal/Supratidal	moderate (70–90%)	moderate (70–90%)	unfavourable

Pressure (threats to the key species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Agricultural expansion and intensification	happen­ing now	whole popul­ation/area (>90%)	slow deteri­oration (1–10% over 3 gener­ations)	high
Invasive and other problematic species and genes	happen­ing now	whole popul­ation/area (>90%)	slow deteri­oration (1–10% over 3 gener­ations)	high
Pollution	happen­ing now	most of popul­ation/area (50–90%)	slow deteri­oration (1–10% over 3 gener­ations)	high
Biological resource use	happen­ing now	some of popul­ation/area (10–49%)	no deteri­oration (<1% over 3 gener­ations)	low
Human intrusions and disturbance	happen­ing now	some of popul­ation/area (10–49%)	no deteri­oration (<1% over 3 gener­ations)	low

Response (conservation actions taken for the key species and/or their habitats)
Designation	Planning	Action	Result
Most of site (50–90%) covered (including the most critical parts for important bird species)	A compre­hensive and appropriate manage­ment plan exists that aims to maintain or improve the popul­ations of qualify­ing bird species	Some limited conservation initiatives are in place	medium

Year	Protected Area	Designation (management category)	% coverage of IBA
1914	Woody Lake	Nature Reserve (Ia)	8
1953	Mullet Lake	Nature Reserve (Ia)	14
1973	Lake Warden	Nature Reserve (Ia)	15
1973	Unnamed WA32259	Nature Reserve (Ia)	<1

Habitat	% of IBA	Habitat detail
Marine Coastal/Supratidal	major (>10)

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

The IBA overlaps with four nature reserves managed by the Department of Environment and Conservation but also includes private land e.g. north of Mullet Lake.

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2025) Important Bird Area factsheet: Lake Warden System (Australia). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/lake-warden-system-iba-australia on 21/01/2025.