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Waterbirds Report Card

Aquatic Plants

B

Aquatic Plants

Macroinvertebrates

C

Black Bream

D

Waterbirds

D

Fish Kills

A

Water Quality

B

The Vasse Wonnerup wetlands provide habitat to thousands of Australian and international waterbird species as well as supporting one of the largest breeding populations of Black Swans in the state.  In 1990, the wetlands were recognised as a “Wetland of International Importance” under the Ramsar Convention.  The Ramsar status of the wetland is based on two criteria.  Criterion 5 is that the wetland regularly supports 20,000 or more waterbirds and Criterion 6 is that it supports at least 1% of the individuals of a population of Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus), the Red-necked Avocet (Recurvirostra novaehollandiae), the Australian Shelduck (Tadorna tadornoides) and the Australasian Shoveler (Spatula rhynchotis).

Waterbirds monitoring occurs monthly at ten locations across the Vasse and Wonnerup Estuaries and Deadwater. Waterbirds grades were based on the maximum count that occurred between June and the following May, to capture the “Estuary year”. Due to the seasonal nature of waterbirds abundance, waterbird guilds for the wet season (June to October) and the dry season (November to May) have been presented separately.

The overall grade for waterbirds in this Report Card is based on meeting Criterion 5, regularly supporting 20,000 or more waterbirds. Individual grades for each species in Criterion 6 are shown below following methodology developed by the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.”

2023 Waterbirds Grades

Ramsar Criterion 5

D

11,833

Ramsar Criterion 6

Black-winged Stilt

A

1319

Red-necked Avocet

A

1238

Australian Shelduck

B

1044

Australasian Shoveler

E

119

Waterbirds Guilds in Wet and Dry Seasons

Vasse Estuary Wet

x 4
x 4
x 2
x 2
x 1
x 1

Wonnerup Estuary Wet

x 3
x 2
x 2
x 2
x 1
x 1

Vasse Estuary Dry

x 4
x 4
x 4
x 3
x 2
x 3

Wonnerup Estuary Dry

x 3
x 2
x 3
x 2
x 2
x 3

SURFACE DABBLERS (MIXED DIET)

DIVERS (PREDATORY)

DIVERS (VEGETARIAN)

LARGE WADERS (PREDATORY – FISH, INVERTEBRATES)

SMALL WADERS (PREDATORY – INVERTEBRATES)

SHORE LINE (PREDATORY)

Number of birds (per guild)

1 bird = 10-100 individuals

2 birds = 100-500 individuals

3 birds = 500-1000 individuals

4 birds = 1000+ individuals

Waterbirds counts under 10 not included

Key Findings

  • 2023 is the fourth year in a row where criterion 5 has not been met, not meeting requirements of the Ramsar convention.
  • Three of the four key species were present in ‘very good’ to ‘excellent’ numbers in 2023 and have been consistently ‘excellent’ since 2019.
  • The Australasian Shoveler was graded an ‘E’ in 2023 with a maximum count of 119 individuals. This is second year in row where maximum counts have not met the criterion 5 threshold of 250 individuals.
  • International migratory species visit the wetlands in highest numbers during the summer months. The Wonnerup Estuary usually supports the highest number of individuals, however this year the counts were well below counts from the previous 3 years, while the Vasse Estuary counts were similar.

Waterbirds Grades Over Time

Estuary YearWaterbirds > 20,000Black-winged Stilt >1000Red-necked Avocet >1100Australian Shelduck >1100Australasian Shoveler >250Download Reports
2023DAABE
2022CABAE
2021CAAAADownload Report
2020BAAAA
2019AAAAA
2018AAABA
2017DABAE

Grades

A

Excellent

Exceeds population target

B

Very Good

80-99% of target

C

Fair

65-79% of target

D

Poor

50-64% of target

E

Very Poor

below 50% of target

View other report cards

Aquatic Vegetation

B

Aquatic Plants

Macroinvertebrates

C

Black Bream

D

Fish Kills

A

Water Quality

B