A MAJOR bird breeding event underway at two lakes near Robinvale has been described at “unprecedented” by the head of a regional environmental water authority.
The event, taking place at lakes Powell and Carpul, about five kilometres south east of Robinvale, comes after the sites received 4300 megalitres of environmental flow in 2024.
Mallee Catchment Management Authority board chair Allison McTaggart said the boost to the health of the local ecosystems was “almost immediate”.
“This was the first time since the 2022 floods that environmental water was delivered to these two particular sites, and the benefits have been so significant and really tell us a lot about the health of the waterways,” she said.
“The presence of this amount of red water milfoil alone says so much; it’s a really important species of aquatic vegetation in the Mallee, and now Lakes Powell and Carpul are absolutely bursting with it.
“This tells us that there is minimal carp in the lakes, and that both lakes are healthy and thriving, which is exactly what we want to see.”
Along with the low number of pest fish and increasing aquatic vegetation, Ms McTaggart said the boom in breeding birds showed the positive impact returning meaningful water to ecosystems could have.
She also said Mallee Catchment Management Authority staff had been out recording the species and number of birds.
“Our team recently discovered a whole raft of different bird species breeding (at the lakes),” Ms McTaggart said.
“There are black swan and Australasian darter nests everywhere across the lakes, almost every single tree with a nest in it, had birds in it too.
“Hoary-headed grebes, Australasian darters, great and pied cormorant numbers were extremely high, and it’s so significant to see these lakes teeming with baby birds settling into their new home.
“Without the environmental water delivery, these lakes would be a completely unsuitable environment for these birds now, as it would be completely dry and desolate.
“The benefits are huge, and the proof is in the pudding, we’ve never seen bird breeding events or aquatic vegetation thriving quite like this at these sites before.
“Thanks to the delivery of water, lakes Powell and Carpul have been completely transformed and are healthy and thriving.
“They’ve become a wonderful, place for recreational activities, including bird watching, kayaking, fishing and camping.”
