Gwydir Wetlands facts for kids

The Gwydir Wetlands are a huge area of wetlands in north-eastern New South Wales, Australia. They are connected to the Gwydir River. When these wetlands get enough water, they become a very important place for many waterbirds to breed and raise their young.

The Gwydir wetlands are an important site for nankeen night herons

What are the Gwydir Wetlands?

The Gwydir Wetlands are located between the towns of Moree and Mungindi. This area is in the Moree Plains Shire, close to the border with Queensland.

These wetlands are part of the floodplain of the Gwydir River. The river splits into two main paths called the Gingham and Big Leather watercourses. When there's a lot of water, this area can spread out to cover about 1021 square kilometres! It's like a huge, flat river delta that ends inland, not at the sea. The water flows for about 95 kilometres through natural channels and swamps.

For a long time, the wetlands had their own natural water system. However, after the Copeton Dam was built, the government started controlling the water flow. This has unfortunately made the wetland area much smaller. It used to be about 1000 square kilometres, but now it's closer to 100 square kilometres. Even with less water, the Gwydir Wetlands are still one of the most important places in Australia for waterbirds to breed.

Most of the wetlands are on private land, like the 'Lynworth' and 'Yarrol' properties. The land around them is also important because it provides food for the many waterbirds that visit.

Home to Amazing Birds

The Gwydir Wetlands are so important for birds that BirdLife International has named them an Important Bird Area (IBA). This means they are a globally significant place for bird conservation. When the wetlands are full of water, they support more breeding waterbirds than any other site in Australia!

Imagine this: more than half a million waterbirds can nest here! The wetlands are home to over 1% of the world's population of certain bird species. For example, you might see:

• Australian white ibises (up to 160,000 birds)
• Straw-necked ibises (up to 230,000 birds)
• Nankeen night herons (up to 100,000 birds)
• Intermediate egrets (up to 45,000 birds)

Other waterbirds that have bred here in large numbers include royal and yellow-billed spoonbills, little and great egrets, and glossy ibises. You might also spot rare birds like the Australasian bitterns, Australian painted snipes, and painted honeyeaters.

Protecting the Wetlands: A Ramsar Site

Because the Gwydir Wetlands are so special, about 800 hectares of them were named a Ramsar site on June 14, 1999. A Ramsar site is a wetland that is considered important around the world.

The Australian federal government bought this part of the wetlands for A$10 million. It was the largest privately owned wetland in New South Wales at the time. The plan is to turn this area into a new national park. This will help protect the wetlands, which are home to 160 different kinds of birds and four endangered natural communities.