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The site was identified as important in 2009 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
Blue-billed Duck Oxyura australis	LC	non-breeding	1983-2007	10-1,200 individuals	A1, A4i
Banded Stilt Cladorhynchus leucocephalus	LC	non-breeding	1977-2007	63,000 individuals	A4i
Red-necked Avocet Recurvirostra novaehollandiae	LC	non-breeding	1996-2007	2,440 individuals	A4i
Red-capped Plover Charadrius ruficapillus	LC	resident	1998-2007	1,754 individuals	A4i
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper Calidris acuminata	VU	non-breeding	1983-2007	2,120 individuals	A4i
Red-necked Stint Calidris ruficollis	NT	non-breeding	1998-2007	16,440 individuals	A4i
Fairy Tern Sternula nereis	VU	unknown	1996-2007	100-262 individuals	A1, A4i

1. The current IUCN Red List category. The category at the time of the IBA criteria assessment (2009) may differ.

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.

Pressure (threats to the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Transportation and service corridors	happening now	majority/most of area/population (50-90%)	slow but significant deterioration	high
Residential and commercial development	likely in long term (beyond 4 years)	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
1897	Mealup Point	Nature Reserve	<1
1898	Austin Bay	Nature Reserve	6
1953	Kooljerrenup	Nature Reserve	3
1957	McLarty	Nature Reserve	<1
1963	Creery Island	Nature Reserve	1
1975	Boodalan	Nature Reserve	<1
1989	Unnamed WA41102	5(1)(h) Reserve	<1
1990	Peel-Yalgorup System	Ramsar Site, Wetland of International Importance	94
1995	Len Howard	Conservation Park	<1
1997	Unnamed WA45089	Nature Reserve	<1
1997	Unnamed WA44977	Nature Reserve	<1
2001	Unnamed WA46661	Nature Reserve	1

Habitat1	Habitat detail	% of IBA
Marine Coastal/Supratidal		major (>10)
Marine Intertidal		major (>10)
Marine Neritic		major (>10)
Artificial/Terrestrial	Other urban & industrial areas	minor (<10)

1. IUCN Habitat classification.

Land use	% of IBA
tourism/recreation	70
nature conservation and research	15
urban/industrial/transport	15

Nature Reserves are managed by the Western Australia DEC. Surrounding areas are mostly freehold (privately owned) land or Unallocated Crown Land.

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Peel-Harvey Estuary (Australia). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/peel-harvey-estuary-iba-australia on 23/11/2024.