The Gwydir Wetlands comprise a system of irregularly inundated

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

s associated with the

Gwydir River Gwydir River (locally wɑe̯də, a major inland perennial river of the Barwon catchment within the Murray–Darling basin, is located in the Northern Tablelands, North West Slopes, and Orana districts of New South Wales, Australia. The ri ...

in the

North West Slopes The North West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia, refers generally to the area west of the Northern Tablelands, to the north of the Central West region and to the east of the Far West region. Despite its name, the region is in north- ...

region of north-eastern

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. When flooded they form an important site for breeding

waterbird A water bird, alternatively waterbird or aquatic bird, is a bird that lives on or around water. In some definitions, the term ''water bird'' is especially applied to birds in freshwater ecosystems, although others make no distinction from seabi ...

Description

The wetlands lie between the towns of Moree and

Mungindi Mungindi is a town and locality on the border of New South Wales (NSW) and Queensland, Australia. The town is within Moree Plains Shire in New South Wales. Within Queensland, the locality is split between the Shire of Balonne (the western part) ...

in the

Moree Plains Shire Moree Plains Shire is a local government area in the North West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia. The northern boundary of the Shire is located adjacent to the border between New South Wales and Queensland. The Shire is located adja ...

near the state border with

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

. They consist of the inland

floodplain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...

of the Gwydir River that splits into the Gingham and Big Leather water courses and creating, when fully flooded, a 1021 km² wetland some 45 km west of Moree. The extensive wetland area is a good example of an inland terminal delta. The floodwater extends for about 95 km through a series of natural and constructed channels and swamps. Once a closed system, since the building of the 1364 GL

Copeton Dam Copeton Dam is a major clay core and rock fill embankment dam with nine radial gates and a gated concrete chute spillway across the Gwydir River upstream of Bingara in the New England region of New South Wales, Australia. The dam's purpose incl ...

, water flows have been controlled by the State Government water authorities to the detriment of the wetlands. Despite the consequent reduction of the wetland area from about 1000 km² to 100 km², it is still one of the most significant waterbird breeding sites in Australia.BirdLife International. (2012). Important Bird Areas factsheet: Gwydir Wetlands. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 2012-01-02. The wetlands are contained in the pastoral properties of 'Lynworth' and 'Yarrol', and in parts of 'Boonoke' and 'Old Dromana', with the surrounding land being important as providing feeding habitat for waterbirds.

Birds

The wetlands have been identified 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 ...

(IBA) 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 ...

because they support more breeding waterbirds than any other Australian site when they adequately flooded. Of more than half a million nesting waterbirds the wetlands may hold over 1% of the world populations of Australian white (up to 160,000 birds) and

straw-necked ibis The straw-necked ibis (''Threskiornis spinicollis'') is a bird of the ibis and spoonbill family Threskiornithidae. It can be found throughout Australia, New Guinea, and parts of Indonesia. Adults have distinctive straw-like feathers on their neck ...

es (up to 230,000), nankeen night herons (up to about 100,000) and

intermediate egret The intermediate egret, median egret, smaller egret, or yellow-billed egret (''Ardea intermedia'') is a medium-sized heron. Some taxonomists put the species in the genus ''Egretta'' or ''Mesophoyx''. It is a resident breeder from east Africa a ...

s (up to about 45,000). Other waterbirds that have bred in the area in relatively large numbers include

royal Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

and yellow-billed spoonbills,

little Little is a synonym for small size and may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Little'' (album), 1990 debut album of Vic Chesnutt * ''Little'' (film), 2019 American comedy film *The Littles, a series of children's novels by American author John P ...

and

great egret The great egret (''Ardea alba''), also known as the common egret, large egret, or (in the Old World) great white egret or great white heron is a large, widely distributed egret. The four subspecies are found in Asia, Africa, the Americas, and ...

s, and

glossy ibis The glossy ibis (''Plegadis falcinellus'') is a water bird in the order Pelecaniformes and the ibis and spoonbill family Threskiornithidae. The scientific name derives from Ancient Greek ''plegados'' and Latin, ''falcis'', both meaning "sickle" a ...

es.

Australasian bittern The Australasian bittern (''Botaurus poiciloptilus''), also known as the brown bittern or matuku hūrepo, and also nicknamed the "bunyip bird", is a large bird in the heron family Ardeidae. A secretive bird with a distinctive booming call, it is ...

Australian painted snipe The Australian painted-snipe (''Rostratula australis'') is a medium-sized, long-billed, distinctively patterned wader. Taxonomy The distinctiveness of the Australian painted-snipe was recognised by John Gould in 1838 when he described and named ...

s and

painted honeyeater The painted honeyeater (''Grantiella picta'') is a species of honeyeater in a monotypic genus. Taxonomy A member of the family Meliphagidae, ''Grantiella picta'' is the sole species under this genus. The painted honeyeater was first described ...

s have been recorded.

Ramsar site

Some 800 ha of the privately owned Gwydir wetlands were designated on 14 June 1999 as a

Ramsar site A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O) *** Permanent 8 ha (P) *** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts) **

Important Bird Areas of New South Wales Wetlands of New South Wales Murray-Darling basin Ramsar sites in Australia Floodplains of Australia North West Slopes