From Corner Inlet to Alaska in Nine Days

The Amazing Feats of Migratory Birds

A tiny bird the size and weight of a matchbox that flies thousands of kilometres from the Siberian tundra is just one of the amazing stories of Corner Inlet’s migratory birds.

In late Autumn, Corner Inlet’s migratory birds prepare for their annual long haul flight to summer breeding grounds in north-east Asia and Siberia. They preen their feathers and feed intensively to have enough fuel for the epic journeys ahead.

West Gippsland Catchment Management Authority are the managers of the Corner Inlet Ramsar Site and know it is crucial to all work together as a community to provide safe havens for these remarkable world travelling birds.

“Communities working together to enhance and protect Corner Inlet Ramsar site and the migratory birds that call it home is something we have been doing for decades,” said Tanya Cowell, Waterways Project Officer for West Gippsland CMA.

“Our latest project focuses on monitoring and understanding the inlet’s migratory bird populations.”

Summer monitoring by BirdLife Australia staff and volunteers counted just over 27,000 shore and water birds including 9,631 Bar-tailed Godwits and 9,439 Rednecked Stints — two birds with incredible stories.

Red necked stints are the smallest of Australia’s migratory birds, weighing just 30 grams and their annual 15,000 kilometre migration is a truly mighty effort. In their lifetime of about 20 years they travel further than the distance between the Earth and the Moon!

Bar-tailed Godwits are also remarkable with godwits making their 11,000-kilometre journey to Alaska non-stop in nine days!

There are 16 species of international migratory shorebirds that are regularly supported by the Corner Inlet Ramsar site. Many travel to north east Asia and Alaska along what is known as the East Asian Australasian Flyway with habitat destruction being one of their biggest threats.

Corner Inlet became an internationally recognised wetland through the Ramsar convention in 1982. The inlet’s extensive intertidal mudflats provide food for migratory species.

“Rewards of a consistent and sustained effort to protect and enhance Corner Inlet by the CMA, Landcare, Greening Australia, GLaWAC Traditional Owners and partners Parks Victoria, Trust for Nature and BirdLife Australia are definitely paying off,” said Tanya.

“Ongoing monitoring is crucial to understanding the bird populations and threats they face. This can then guide effective management efforts and assist in community education and how special the inlet is and how lucky we are that these birds return each year.”

As a community it is important to recognise and celebrate these amazing birds and how we are working together to protect the incredibly unique habitat that supports these special species,” Tanya said.

The Corner Inlet Ramsar Site Coordination project is supported by the Victorian Government.

West Gippsland CMA is responsible for over 40,000 kilometres of designated waterways across the region and delivers programs for healthy and resilient catchments. All these waterways flow to the Victorian coast, discharging through the Gippsland Lakes, or directly into Bass Strait and the Southern Ocean gl

Protecting wetlands across the world

Corner Inlet is one of the most unique natural wonderlands in Australia supporting outstanding environmental values. It is also recognised worldwide and listed as a wetland of international significance under the Ramsar Convention that was adopted in the Iranian city of Ramsar in the 1970s. Corner Inlet was designated as a Ramsar Wetland in 1982 for its significance for migratory birds and tidal mudflat system enclosed by barrier islands. It is also home to the most southerly White Mangroves in the world and Victoria’s largest areas of broadleaf seagrass.

Critically endangered Far Eastern Curlew