Curl Curl Lagoon Friends Inc.

Lagoon Waterbirds

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Our lagoon supports a significant population of waterbirds.  Numbers vary but at any one time there may be between about 60 and 200 individual birds, with anywhere up to 30+ species but typically between 10 to 20.  When the lagoon is full, different species of waterfowl paddle around to feed; when it empties, different species arrive to feed in the shallow water and the mud banks.

 

Since early 2017, a group of volunteers have been carrying out monthly counts of the lagoon's waterbirds. These counts have shown that the greatest influence on bird numbers is the presence or absence of drought - during drought, as occurred between 2017 and early 2020, the lagoon becomes a refuge for birds from the country's interior.  When the rains come, many birds leave the lagoon and head to inland waterways.

 

For more information, refer to the report "Waterbirds of Curl Curl Lagoon -an analysis of 5 years of survey data".

  

(Russell Beardmore, May 2024).