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The Goyder Lagoon is a large
ephemeral swamp
A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...
in the
Australian state
The states and territories are federated administrative divisions in Australia, ruled by regional governments that constitute the second level of governance between the federal government and local governments. States are self-governing ...
of
South Australia in the state's
Far North region. The lake is part of the
Diamantina River floodplain, lying beside the
Birdsville Track close to the state border with
Queensland.
It is located within the gazetted locality of
Clifton Hills Station
Clifton Hills Station is a pastoral lease that operates as a cattle station in the far north of South Australia.
Description
It is situated approximately south of Birdsville and north west of Innamincka. The property encompasses part of th ...
which is occupied by the
pastoral lease
A pastoral lease, sometimes called a pastoral run, is an arrangement used in both Australia and New Zealand where government-owned Crown land is leased out to graziers for the purpose of livestock grazing on rangelands.
Australia
Pastoral lease ...
of the same name.
[
Exceptionally large floods in the Georgina-]Mulligan
Mulligan may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Mulligan (games), a second chance given to a player to perform a certain move or action
* ''Mulligans'' (film), a 2008 movie
* ''Mulligan'' (TV series), an animated sitcom
Places
* Mulligan, New ...
River system may contribute water to the north-western side of Goyder Lagoon via Eyre Creek and the Warburton River
The Warburton River (or Warburton Creek) is a freshwater stream in the far north of South Australia that flows in a south westerly direction and discharges into the eastern side of Lake Eyre. It is one of the state's largest rivers, and is part ...
. Most of the lagoon consists of shallow, braided micro-channels. It lies within the Median annual rainfall is and average maximum summer temperatures are .George Goyder
George Woodroffe Goyder (24 June 1826 – 2 November 1898) was a surveyor in the Colony of South Australia during the latter half of the nineteenth century.
He rose rapidly in the civil service, becoming Assistant Surveyor-General by 1856 ...
, the Surveyor General of South Australia
The Surveyor General of South Australia (also stylised Surveyor-General) is a position originally created for the Surveyor General for the colony of South Australia. The post is held by an official responsible for government surveying
Survey ...
from 1861 to 1894.
Environment protection and other classifications
While Goyder Lagoon itself is not part of any protected area
Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...
, it does receive consideration for protection under the provisions of state planning legislation on the basis of its location within “a variety of environments including arid and wetland environments, ranges and riverine environments.”Directory of Important Wetlands in Australia A Directory of Important Wetlands in Australia (DIWA) is a list of wetlands of national importance to Australia published by the governmental agency Environment Australia. Intended to augment the list of wetlands of international importance under t ...
as the Diamantina River Wetland System and an area of land nominated as an important bird area
An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations.
IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...
by BirdLife International
BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...
, an international non-governmental organization, as the Goyder Lagoon Important Bird Area.[
]
Diamantina River Wetland System
Goyder Lagoon is located at the southern extent of the Diamantina River Wetland System, which is listed on the Directory of Important Wetlands in Australia because it is considered a “good example of a major, unregulated, arid zone river with a relatively pristine biota, an exceptional hydrological environment and extensive uncultivated floodplains.”
Goyder Lagoon Important Bird Area
Goyder Lagoon is located within an area of which has been identified by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area (IBA) principally because, when flooded, it supports large numbers of waterbirds, with a total of 170,000 estimated from aerial surveys in 2002. The IBA supports over 1% of the world populations of freckled duck
The freckled duck (''Stictonetta naevosa)'' is a waterfowl species endemic to Australia. The freckled duck has also been referred to as the monkey duck or oatmeal duck. These birds are usually present in mainland Australia, but disperse to coas ...
s, Australian tern
The Australian tern or Australian gull-billed tern (''Gelochelidon macrotarsa'') is a tern in the family Laridae. The genus name is from Ancient Greek ''gelao'', "to laugh", and ''khelidon'', " swallow". It was previously considered conspecifi ...
s and breeding royal spoonbills. A small population of yellow chat
The yellow chat (''Epthianura crocea'') is a small passerine bird endemic to Australia.Houston, W., Porter, G., O’Neill, P., and Elder, R. (2004). "The ecology of the critically endangered yellow chat Epthianura crocea macgregori on Curtis Isla ...
s occurs at the Koonchera waterhole. Other bird species for which the site is important include the letter-winged kite
The letter-winged kite (''Elanus scriptus'') is a small, rare and Irruptive growth, irruptive bird of prey that is endemism, found only in Australia. Measuring around in length with a wingspan of , the adult letter-winged kite has predominantl ...
, inland dotterel, grey and Eyrean grasswren
The Eyrean grasswren (''Amytornis goyderi'') is a small grasswren from the Passerine family Maluridae. This is a cryptically plumaged and uncommon bird endemic to arid regions of Central Australia. The species was discovered by F.W. Andrews i ...
s, black and pied honeyeater
The pied honeyeater (''Certhionyx variegatus'') is a species of bird in the family of honeyeaters Meliphagidae and the sole species in the genus '' Certhionyx'' (Christidis & Boles 2008). This species is also known as the black and white honeyeat ...
s, gibberbird
The gibberbird (''Ashbyia lovensis'') is a species of chat within the passerine birds.
Taxonomy
This species, also formerly known as the desert chat, is endemic to Australia and the only species within the genus ''Ashbyia''.Pizzey, Graham; Doyle ...
, banded whiteface
The banded whiteface (''Aphelocephala nigricincta'') is a species of bird in the family Acanthizidae. It is endemic to dryer regions of Australia.
The ornithologist Alfred John North described the banded whiteface as ''Xerophila nigricincta'' in ...
, chirruping wedgebill and cinnamon quail-thrush
The cinnamon quail-thrush (''Cinclosoma cinnamomeum'') is cryptic arid-zone species that is endemic to Australia. This small to medium-sized species of bird is found in the arid and semi-arid regions of central Australia.
Taxonomy
This species ...
. In particular, the lagoon is reported as being the site of the largest waterbird aggregations which are found on its southern side including several species of cormorant
Phalacrocoracidae is a family of approximately 40 species of aquatic birds commonly known as cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed, but in 2021 the IOC adopted a consensus taxonomy of seven ge ...
s, ducks, heron
The herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 72 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genera ''Botaurus'' and ''Ixobrychus ...
s and ibises.
See also
* List of lakes of South Australia
References
{{Wetlands
Wetlands of South Australia
Lakes of South Australia
Far North (South Australia)
Lake Eyre basin
Floodplains of Australia