Waterbird surveys of the caley valley wetland in wet and dry seasons, abbot point, queensland

The Caley Valley wetland is a nationally important wetland that is described as one of the most important sites for waterfowl in north Queensland. Yet, the seasonal pattern of waterbird abundance within the wetland remains poorly understood. This study documents a series of five waterbird surveys of the Caley Valley Wetland from February to December 2012, including periods when the freshwater wetland basin was fully inundated or completely dry. The surveys recorded up to 41,000 waterbirds of 74 species using the wetland and adjacent coastline when the main freshwater basin was fully inundated, with a total estimate of a little over 50,000 waterbirds after extrapolating to unsurveyed portions. Particularly notable species counts or estimates included 24,550 ducks (of seven species), 2019 Black Swan Cygnus atratus, 6500 Eurasian Coot Fulica atra, 3184 Purple Swamphen Porphyrio melanotus, 4717 White-headed Stilt Himantopus leucocephalus and 35 Australian Painted Snipe Rostratula australis in June 2012, 1265 Sharp-tailed Sandpiper Calidris acuminata and 54 Latham’s Snipe Gallinago hardwickii in March 2012. Sizeable nesting populations of Black Swan, Australian Pelican Pelecanus conspicillatus, Pied Cormorant Phalacrocorax varius and Australian White Ibis Threskiornis molucca occurred. The waterbird population reduced to approximately 1300 birds once the main freshwater basin dried out. The results of this study confirm the importance of the Caley Valley Wetland for a wide variety of waterbirds on the central Queensland coast and provide a snapshot of the seasonal change in waterbird use of the wetland as the main freshwater basin filled and dried out following a season of approximately average rainfall.