2021
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Large areas of the Lowbidgee floodplain received Commonwealth and NSW environmental water over winter 2020 including areas known to support waterbird breeding and feeding habitat in Gayini Nimmie-Caira, South Redbank (Yanga National Park) and North Redbank.
Additional monitoring under the Monitoring, Evaluation and Research project was funded to understand responses of waterbirds to environmental watering actions in the 2020-2021.
Key findings of this monitoring included:
- 20 active waterbird colonies in the Murrumbidgee Selected Area during the October 2020 to February 2021 period were detected.
- In total there were 17 sites that supported colonial waterbird nesting in the Lowbidgee Floodplain and three active colonies in the Mid-Murrumbidgee Wetlands.
- In total 13 colonially-nesting species were recorded breeding, including Nationally endangered Australasian bittern and NSW listed blue-billed duck
- The colonial nesting waterbird breeding response following environmental water delivery in the Lowbidgee was the largest event recorded in the Murray-Darling Basin in 2020-2021.
- The 2020-2021 event was the largest breeding event initiated and maintained purely with water for the environment.
Monitoring informed delivery of NSW and Commonwealth environmental water over summer 2020-2021 to ensure water levels were maintained in key colony sites in the Gayini Nimmie-Caria wetlands and the northern part of Yanga National Park.