Lake Hawdon System Important Bird Area
# Lake Hawdon System Important Bird Area

The Lake Hawdon System Important Bird Area comprises an area of 374 square kilometres (144 square miles) covering a series of five coastal lakes in the Limestone Coast of South Australia. They are the most important of a string of regional lakes occupying swale corridors between modern and historical sand dunes.

## Description

The Important Bird Area (IBA) lies between the towns of Robe and Beachport. It includes the following lakes listed in order from north to south - Hawdon, Robe, Eliza, St Clair and George, and the area extending for a distance of one kilometre (0.62 mi) inland from each in order to include habitat used by critically endangered orange-bellied parrots. Characteristics of the lakes are:

* Lake Hawdon – shallow, semi-permanent, brackish lake which is divided into a northern basin measuring six by six kilometres (3.7 by 3.7 mi) and a southern basin measuring nine by four point five kilometres (5.6 by 2.8 mi) with a maximum water depth of about one metre (3.3 ft);
* Lake Robe – 406 hectares (1,000 acres) much smaller than Lake Hawdon
* Lake Eliza – hypersaline coastal lake with maximum depth of 1.4 metres (4 feet 7 inches);
* Lake St Clair – 189 hectares (470 acres) similar to Lake Eliza but more saline
* Lake George – about thirteen by eight kilometres (8.1 by 5.0 mi) with maximum depth of 3.5 metres (11 feet); naturally hypersaline but functions as an estuary with an outlet to the sea.

## Criteria for nomination as an IBA

The wetland system was identified by BirdLife International as an IBA because it regularly supports over 1% of the world populations of red-necked stint, and often of sharp-tailed sandpipers, double-banded plovers and banded stilts. It also provides habitat for orange-bellied parrots, Australasian bitterns, rufous bristlebirds and striated fieldwrens. The adjacent beaches and offshore islets, from Cowrtie Island to Baudin Rocks, sometimes support breeding fairy terns.

## Associated protected areas

While the IBA has no statutory status, it does overlap the following protected areas declared by the South Australian government: Beachport Conservation Park, Lake Robe Game Reserve, Lake St Clair Conservation Park and Little Dip Conservation Park.

