Lake Connewarre State Wildlife Reserve (LCSWR) is a 3411.1 ha Park in Victoria, Australia, that contains a diverse range of unique and significant

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...

s including a

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

, tidal

delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), a letter of the Greek alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * D (NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta") * Delta Air Lines, US * Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19 Delta may also re ...

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

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 ...

salt marsh A salt marsh or saltmarsh, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. It is dominated ...

es and

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur natur ...

Description

Lake Connewarre State Wildlife Reserve is situated on the lower reaches of the Barwon River on Victoria's Bellarine Peninsula, approximately 8 km south-east of

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...

and 65 km south-west of

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. The Reserve holds the largest area of remnant vegetation on the Bellarine Peninsula and contains the most extensive example of ''Wilsonia'' herblands and ''Distichlis'' grasslands in

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 ...

. As well as the saline and tidally affected Lake Connewarre itself, the reserve includes the adjacent freshwater

Reedy Lake Reedy Lake, historically also known as Lake Reedy, is a shallow intermittent freshwater lake or swamp on the lower reaches of the Barwon River, on the Bellarine Peninsula southeast of Geelong in the Australian state of Victoria. Location and ...

and the ephemeral

Murtnaghurt Lagoon Murtnaghurt Lagoon, also known as Murtnaghurt Swamp or Lake Murtnaghurt, is a shallow, ephemeral wetland west of the town of Barwon Heads on the southern coast of the Bellarine Peninsula in Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. It comprise ...

. Part of LCSWR is designated a State Game Reserve and is available for

duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form t ...

and quail

hunting Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...

each year. Other recreational uses include

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

windsurfing Windsurfing is a wind propelled water sport that is a combination of sailing and surfing. It is also referred to as "sailboarding" and "boardsailing", and emerged in the late 1960s from the aerospace and surf culture of California. Windsurfing ga ...

canoeing Canoeing is an activity which involves paddling a canoe with a single-bladed paddle. Common meanings of the term are limited to when the canoeing is the central purpose of the activity. Broader meanings include when it is combined with other acti ...

and

nature study The nature study movement (alternatively, Nature Study or nature-study) was a popular education movement that originated in the United States and spread throughout the English-speaking world in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Nature study ...

. Campbell Point protrudes into Lake Connewarre and contains the oldest dated

Aboriginal Aborigine, aborigine or aboriginal may refer to: *Aborigines (mythology), in Roman mythology * Indigenous peoples, general term for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area *One of several groups of indigenous peoples, see ...

archaeological remains on the Bellarine Peninsula. The deposits have been dated at between 3600 and 5200 years old and are considered significant for their demonstration of

shellfish Shellfish is a colloquial and fisheries term for exoskeleton-bearing aquatic invertebrates used as food, including various species of molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms. Although most kinds of shellfish are harvested from saltwater envir ...

gathering which was uncommon on the central coast of Victoria.

Environment

It is home to over 150

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

species. Several migratory species are listed the under international agreements

Japan Australia Migratory Bird Agreement Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

and the

China Australia Migratory Bird Agreement China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. Twelve plant and animal species are listed as threatened under Victoria's ''Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988'' including the orange-bellied parrot. According to The Action Plan for Australian Birds by the

Natural Heritage Trust The Natural Heritage Trust (NHT), or National Heritage Trust Account was set up in 1997 by means of the ''Natural Heritage Trust of Australia Act 1997'', with the main objective of conserving the "natural capital infrastructure" of Australia. Mon ...

, the orange-bellied parrot (''Neophema chrysogaster'') is critically endangered with approximately 180 mature birds remaining in the wild, and numbers continuing to decline. The reserve is part of the

Bellarine Wetlands Important Bird Area The Bellarine Wetlands Important Bird Area comprises a group of wetland sites, with a collective area of 46 km2, at the western end of the Bellarine Peninsula in Victoria, south-eastern Australia. The site is important for waterbirds and o ...

, identified as such 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 of its importance for orange-bellied parrots and for

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 ...

s.BirdLife International. (2012). Important Bird Areas factsheet: Bellarine Wetlands. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 2012-01-01.

References

{{coord, 38, 14, 13, S, 144, 25, 47, E, region:AU-VIC_type:waterbody, display=title Geography of Geelong Nature reserves in Victoria (state) Bellarine Peninsula Important Bird Areas of Victoria (state)