Macquarie Marshes facts for kids

The marshes are an important area for white-necked herons

The Macquarie Marshes are a special area of wetlands in northern New South Wales, Australia. They are made up of swamps and floodplains connected to the Macquarie River and its smaller rivers (called tributaries). The water from the Macquarie River and the marshes eventually flows into the Darling River. These marshes are super important because they are a breeding ground for many different waterbirds, especially after big floods.

What are the Macquarie Marshes?

The marshes are a mix of freshwater channels and streams. Some of these waterways always have water because of structures built to control the water flow. Other parts are swamps and floodplains that are wet only sometimes or after floods. The size of the marshes changes a lot depending on how much it has rained and flooded.

In the mid-1950s, the marshes covered a huge area of about 4,780 square kilometers (about 1,845 square miles). But since then, big floods have happened less often, and the marshes don't spread out as much. Most of the marsh area is used for grazing animals, like cattle. However, about 10% of it is protected in the Macquarie Marshes Nature Reserve.

The marshes are home to many different kinds of plants. You can find river red gum trees, large areas of common reed, and meadows filled with water couch grass. The weather here can change a lot. In July, the temperature is around 4°C (39°F), and in January, it can reach about 36°C (97°F). The area usually gets between 300 mm and 400 mm (12 to 16 inches) of rain each year.

Animals of the Marshes

The Macquarie Marshes are a great place for many different animals to live. There are at least eight types of native mammals and six types of mammals that were brought here from other places. You can also find 56 kinds of reptiles, 15 kinds of frogs, and 16 kinds of freshwater fish.

Birds of the Marshes

The Macquarie Marshes are known as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International. This means it's a very important place for birds around the world. The IBA covers about 2,378 square kilometers (918 square miles), which is the largest area the marshes covered during the 1990 floods.

More than 200 different kinds of birds have been seen here! The marshes are especially important because they are home to more than 1% of the world's population of the endangered Australasian bittern. This is a very rare bird.

Many other amazing birds live here too, such as:

• White-necked herons
• Intermediate egrets
• Nankeen night-herons
• Australian white and straw-necked ibises
• Sharp-tailed sandpipers

The IBA also supports a group of diamond firetails. Other birds found in large numbers include glossy ibises, great and little egrets, royal spoonbills, Pacific black ducks, and Caspian terns. You might also spot Australian painted snipes, superb parrots, and different kinds of honeyeaters like the painted and pied honeyeaters.