Moulting Lagoon Important Bird Area facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Designations
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| Official name: Moulting Lagoon | |
| Designated: | 16 November 1982 |
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| Reference #: | 251 |
| Official name: Apsley Marshes | |
| Designated: | 16 November 1982 |
| Reference #: | 255 |
The Moulting Lagoon Important Bird Area is a special wetland in eastern Tasmania, Australia. It's made up of two connected wetlands: Moulting Lagoon and the Apsley Marshes. These areas are found at the top of Great Oyster Bay, near the Freycinet Peninsula, between the towns of Swansea and Bicheno.
Both parts of this area are so important that they are listed separately under the Ramsar Convention. This is an international agreement that protects wetlands around the world. Moulting Lagoon is named this way because it's a traditional place where black swans come to shed their feathers. It's a very important home for many different kinds of waterbirds.
Contents
What is Moulting Lagoon?
Moulting Lagoon is like a big, mostly closed-off bay. It formed where the Swan and Apsley Rivers meet the ocean. A long sand spit called Nine Mile Spit helps protect it from the open sea. The Apsley Marshes are next to the lagoon and help by storing and cleaning floodwater from the Apsley River. This water then slowly flows into the lagoon.
The ground here is mostly made of gravel and sand. The area gets about 611 mm of rain each year. In winter, the average high temperature is 13 °C, and in summer, it's 22 °C. The water level in the lagoon changes with the tides, from 0.3 m at the top to 0.8 m at the mouth.
Even though the lagoon is usually influenced by the ocean's tides, a lot of fresh water can flow in from the Swan River during heavy rains. But in hot, dry weather, some parts of the lagoon can become twice as salty as seawater! The lagoon has both deep and shallow areas, surrounded by muddy flats and saltmarshes. The western side of the lagoon has been cleared for farms, while the eastern side still has most of its natural plants.
Plants of the Lagoon
About 25 km2 of the lagoon's bottom is covered in Zostera seagrasses. Along the edges of the lagoon, you can find different types of plants growing in bands. These include beaded glasswort, jointed rush, and Poa grass tussocks. Further from the water, there are swamp paperbark trees and silver wattle. You might also see Oyster Bay pine trees or open fields.
The Apsley Marshes have areas with many paperbark trees, some saltmarsh, and large areas of common reed. There are also freshwater aquatic plants.
Birds of the Lagoon
BirdLife International has named this 63 km2 area an Important Bird Area (IBA). This is because it regularly hosts more than 1% of the world's population of black swans and pied oystercatchers.
Many other waterbirds also visit the lagoon in large numbers. These include Australian shelducks, chestnut teals, Australasian shovellers, and musk ducks. You can also spot different types of cormorants like black-faced and little pied cormorants. Grebes like hoary-headed and great crested grebes are also present.
Other birds you might see are crested and Caspian terns, white-faced herons, and masked lapwings. Different plovers, such as red-capped and double-banded plovers, and red-necked stints also visit. Moulting Lagoon is home to the largest group of common greenshanks in Tasmania.
History of the Area
Long ago, the Oyster Bay Tribe used this area a lot, especially for collecting swan eggs. This was before European settlers arrived in the early 1800s. By the late 1820s, most of the good farming land in the region had been taken by European settlers.
Later, the lagoon became a popular spot for waterfowl hunting, especially for chestnut teal and Australian shelduck. In 1918, much of the lagoon was declared a sanctuary for waterfowl. However, in 1928, it went back to being regular government land.
In 1959 and 1980, some parts of the lagoon were given legal protection. But efforts to protect the whole area were met with resistance from duck hunters and local people. Eventually, in 1988, it was declared a game reserve. This meant that seasonal hunting could still happen in much of the area, though the use of lead shot for hunting ended in 2005. Today, people use the lagoon for fun activities like boating and fishing, and also for oyster farming.
Ramsar Listing: Protecting the Wetlands
On November 16, 1982, most of what would become the Moulting Lagoon Game Reserve was given a special status. It was named Ramsar site 251, covering 4760 ha. Also, a 940 ha area of the Apsley Marshes was named Ramsar site 255. These areas were listed mainly because they are extremely important habitats for waterbirds, especially black swans.
