Current view: Text account
Site description (2008 baseline):
Site location and context
The Lake Wollumboola IBA covers the whole of this coastal lake and its berm, on the mid-NSW coast near Nowra, south of Sydney. The boundary follows the National Park boundary except it follows the lake shore in the south-west where the National Park extends inland. It is one of the intermittently closed and open lakes or lagoons of the NSW coast. Its shallow depth (Kinhill 2000) and variable salinity permit a dense growth of the macrophyte
Ruppia megacarpa and the algae
Lamprophamnium (Pollard 1994) which support large numbers of waterfowl (Chafer 1996; Environment Australia 2001; Healthy Rivers Commission 2002). The lake is separated from the ocean by a narrow berm (~100 m across) which breeches only when the lake fills to more than 2.5 m mean sea level. Therefore the lake is only sporadically open to the ocean (e.g. in 1991, 1994, 1998), and then only for a very short time. The water level in the lake is therefore governed by inflows from the small catchment, wash-overs from the ocean during high seas and the competing influence of evaporation (Kinhill 2000). The diversity of bird species is inversely related to the water level of the lake (Keating & Pegler 2003). When this is shallow (e.g up to 1.2 m sea level) a wide variety of dabbling ducks, piscivores, large resident and small migratory waders, gulls and terns are supported. Above 1.2 m sea level large populations of Black Swan are still found provided that there is not a rapid rise in water level (e.g. because of high rainfall in the catchment) which denies that species access to its seagrass and macroalgae food supply. Little Tern continue to nest on the berm even at water levels up to 2 m sea level provided a gritty sand area is still present on the berm. The lake bed covers some 10 km
2, and has a relatively small catchment of some 40 km
2. The catchment of the lake is primarily vegetated with dry sclerophyll forest on all boundaries except the north-eastern corner where the small town of Culburra Beach is situated; 25% of the catchment is included in the NSW Jervis Bay NP and 10% of the catchment consists of the Culburra Beach urban area, where stormwater and sewage is controlled by Shoalhaven Shire Council.
Other birds found at Lake Wollumboola include the Little Tern (counts in 1996 = 63; 1997 = 47; 1998 = 36); Hardhead once exceeded the 1% threshold: 5137 in 2002 (Keating & Pegler 2003). Other species include Musk Duck (breeding), Australian Shelduck, Australian Wood Duck, Pacific Black Duck, Australasian Shoveler, Grey Teal, Pink-eared Duck, Hoary-headed Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, Darter, Little Pied Cormorant, Pied Cormorant, Little Black Cormorant, Great Cormorant, Australian Pelican (breeding), White-faced Heron (breeding), Little Egret, White-necked Heron, Great Egret, Intermediate Egret, Nankeen Night-Heron, Australian White Ibis, Royal Spoonbill, Osprey, Whistling Kite, White-bellied Sea-Eagle (breeding), Swamp Harrier, Brown Goshawk, Grey Goshawk, Wedge-tailed Eagle, Brown Falcon, Australian Hobby, Peregrine Falcon, Nankeen Kestrel, Buff-banded Rail (breeding), Spotless Crake, Eurasian Coot, Black-tailed Godwit, Bar-tailed Godwit, Whimbrel, Eastern Curlew, Marsh Sandpiper, Common Greenshank, Terek Sandpiper, Ruddy Turnstone, Great Knot, Red Knot, Sanderling, Red-necked Stint, Pectoral Sandpiper, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Curlew Sandpiper, Buff-breasted Sandpiper, Broad-billed Sandpiper, Pied Oystercatcher (breeding), Sooty Oystercatcher, Black-winged Stilt, Banded Stilt, Red-necked Avocet, Pacific Golden Plover, Grey Plover, Red-capped Plover (breeding), Double-banded Plover, Lesser Sand Plover, Greater Sand Plover, Black-fronted Dotterel , Red-kneed Dotterel, Masked Lapwing (breeding), Australian Pratincole, Kelp Gull, Silver Gull, Gull-billed Tern, Caspian Tern, Crested Tern, White-fronted Tern, Common Tern, Little Tern (breeding), Fairy Tern, Whiskered Tern, White-winged Black Tern, White-fronted Chat, Richard's Pipit.
Non-bird biodiversity: Lake Wollumboola supports a population of the Green and Gold Bell Frog. Vegetation includes Wilsonia backhousei and Cuscuta tasmaniensis.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
Monitor fishing and the numbers of boats, together with their location on the lake. Monitor and regulate expansion of urban development. Monitor fox numbers.
The IBA overlaps with Jervis Bay National Park.
NSW State or local government
The nomination was prepared by Joy Pegler in consultation with the Lake Wollumboola Protection Association.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Lake Wollumboola (Australia). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/lake-wollumboola-iba-australia on 24/11/2024.
