Swan Estuary Marine Park

The Swan River and its tributaries are among the most prominent features of the Perth metropolitan area. The river and its foreshores provide habitats for a large variety of terrestrial and aquatic plants and animals.

The Swan Estuary Marine Park protects three biologically important areas of Perth's beautiful Swan River. Swan Estuary Marine Park encompasses Alfred Cove, 190 hectares adjacent to the suburbs of Attadale and Applecross; Pelican Point, a 40 hectare area in Crawley; and Milyu, 95 hectares adjacent to the Como foreshore and Kwinana Freeway.

These areas encompass mudflats, seagrass beds and intertidal vegetation such as sedges and saltmarsh, which provide many different habitats for a host of animals. The most important of these, due to their international significance, are the migratory wading birds.

Up to 10 000 waders visit these three areas every summer. They come from as far afield as Asia, America, Mongolia and Siberia. About 33 species of these species are protected under the Japan-Australia and China-Australia Migratory Bird Agreements. Most notable among these are the tiny red-necked stint. Although only 30-40 grams, these birds regularly fly thousands of miles from their breeding areas in Arctic Siberia to the warm mudflats of the Swan Estuary.

The estuarine mudflats contain high concentrations of food which replenish the energy of the exhausted birds after their long flight south. The birds move between the intertidal flats of the three areas of the marine park according to where feeding and roosting sites are available.

The transitory waders are fascinating birds. Different species arrive at varying times between August and November. Because other wetlands are too full of water at this time of the year, the Swan Estuary (and the coast) are used as the first resting and feeding spots. Some of the birds will be sporting their breeding plumage when they arrive. Others will moult to their breeding glory in February. Most birds will have left the Perth region by late March. Pelicans, ibis, egrets and other birds also reside in the estuary.