Current view: Text account
Site description (2008 baseline):
Site location and context
The IBA consists of three separate properties located about 75 km north-west of Swan Hill in Victoria, which support remnant mallee vegetation used by breeding Malleefowl. The three properties are: (1) Wandown Flora and Fauna Reserve; (2) Menzies Nature Conservation Reserve; and (3) Boundary Bend, a property owned and managed by Trust For Nature. The area experiences a warm, dry climate; mean maximum temperatures range from 15.7
oC in July to 33
oC in January and mean annual rainfall is 320 mm at the nearby town of Balranald. The three properties are located on calcareous dunefields with sandy or loamy soils. The vegetation on the three properties is dominated by mallee shrubland and mallee woodland communities with patches of semi-arid non-eucalypt woodland. The northernmost portion of Boundary Bend is dominated by Lignum and other non-mallee communities and thus could potentially be excluded from the IBA.
More than 120 species of birds have been recorded in the IBA including Striated Grasswren, Shy Heathwren, Black Honeyeater, Flame Robin, Southern Scrub-robin, Chestnut Quail-thrush, Chestnut-crowned Babbler and Black Honeyeater (Atlas of Australian Birds database). Regent Parrot is a seasonal visitor (mainly spring and summer) in flocks of 5-30 and formerly up to 100+ birds (N. Macfarlane pers. comm. 2007; Atlas of Australian Birds database). Striated Grasswren, Shy Heathwren, Southern Scrub-robin and Chestnut-crowned Babbler were recorded in the IBA during the 1970s but may no longer occur there.
Non-bird biodiversity: The IBA contains more than 200 species of plants, including several that are listed as threatened in Victoria. The IBA provides habitats for at least two species of small native mammal, Mitchell's Hopping Mouse and Brush-tailed Possum. The biota of the IBA includes at least two species, Malleefowl and Yellow Swainson-pea (Swainsona pyrophila), which are threatened at national level, and 15 species which are threatened in Victoria.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
Implement appropriate fire management procedures. Eradicate or otherwise control pest animals.
Conservation responses/actions for key biodiversity
Menzies Nature Conservation Reserve (formerly Menzies Block) was acquired by the Victorian Department of Conservation Environment in 1992 (Benshemesh 2003). Boundary Bend (formerly O'Brees) was acquired by Trust for Nature in 2001 (Trust for Nature 2007).
Menzies Nature Conservation Reserve and Wandown Flora and Fauna Reserve are contained within the IBA.
State government (Parks Victoria); private (Trust for Nature).
Site access / Land-owner requests
Wandown Flora and Fauna Reserve and Menzies Nature Conservation Reserve are unrestricted public access. Permission for access to Boundary Bend should be sought from Trust for Nature.
Neil Macfarlane, Victorian Malleefowl Recovery Group, Mid-Murray Field Naturalists and Joe Benshemesh assisted with the nomination.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Wandown (Australia). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/wandown-iba-australia on 22/12/2024.
