Lake Muir Nature Reserve is a

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood ...

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

. It encompasses

Lake Muir Lake Muir is a freshwater lake, with a larger surrounding wetlands area, that is located in the South West region of Western Australia. The lake lies near Muir Highway, north of Walpole and southeast of Manjimup. Description The lake has a ...

and several smaller lakes and wetlands. It is an important refuge for water birds, and home to several rare plants and plant communities.

Geography

The reserve is located in the

South West Southwest is a compass point. Southwest, south-west, south west, southwestern or south-western or south western may also refer to: * Southwest (direction), an intercardinal direction Geography *South West Queensland, Australia *South West (Weste ...

region, in the shires of Manjimup and Cranbook, 55 km south east of Manjimup.Muir Byenup Wetlands
South West NRM Strategy, South West Catchments Council. Accessed 3 May 2022. The lakes and swamps form a partly-interconnected system. They vary in size, with Lake Muir the largest. The lakes and swamps also vary in salinity, from freshwater to saline, and include both seasonal and permanent wetlands on peat and inorganic substrates.

Muir Highway Muir Highway, also called Muirs Highway, is a Western Australian highway linking Manjimup and Mount Barker, which is on the Albany Highway. It is signed as State Route 102 and is long. It provides a shorter distance between the cities of Bu ...

passes through the northern end of the reserve, north of Lake Muir. Lake Muir Observatory is located off the highway at the north end of the lake. It has an observatory and 110-metre boardwalk for viewing the lake along with shelter, picnic tables, and toilets, and is a popular rest stop for travelers.Lake Muir Observatory
Department of Parks and Wildlife, Government of Western Australia. Accessed 4 March 2022. The reserve is bounded on the south by Lake Muir National Park.

Flora and fauna

The reserve protects several wetland plant communities which are now rare outside coastal

Southwest Australia Southwest Australia is a biogeographic region in Western Australia. It includes the Mediterranean-climate area of southwestern Australia, which is home to a diverse and distinctive flora and fauna. The region is also known as the Southwest Au ...

. The swamps are mostly dominated by

sedge The Cyperaceae () are a family of graminoid (grass-like), monocotyledonous flowering plants known as wikt:sedge, sedges. The family (biology), family is large; botanists have species description, described some 5,500 known species in about 90 ...

s and shrubs, and the reserve includes the largest natural sedgelands in Western Australia. The swamps are home to three species of nationally vulnerable orchids – Harrington's spider orchid ('' Caladenia harringtoniae''), Christine's spider orchid ('' Caladenia christineae''), and the tall donkey orchid ('' Diuris drummondii''). It is also the location of a localized Kunzea species Kunzea micrantha. The open lakes are used for

moulting In biology, moulting (British English), or molting (American English), also known as sloughing, shedding, or in many invertebrates, ecdysis, is a process by which an animal casts off parts of its body to serve some beneficial purpose, either at ...

by thousands of

Australian shelduck The Australian shelduck (''Tadorna tadornoides''), also known as the chestnut-breasted shelduck or mountain duck, is a shelduck, a group of large goose-like ducks part of the bird family Anatidae. The genus name ''Tadorna'' comes from Celtic ...

(''Tadorna tadornoides''), and provide a drought refuge for tens of thousands of ducks and other water birds, including

Australian little bittern The black-backed bittern (''Botaurus dubius''), also known as the black-backed least bittern or Australian little bittern, is a little-known species of heron in the family Ardeidae found in Australia and vagrant to southern New Guinea. Formerly ...

(''Ixobrychus dubius''),

spotless crake The spotless crake (''Zapornia tabuensis'') is a species of bird in the rail family, Rallidae. It is widely distributed species occurring from the Philippines, New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand across the southern Pacific Ocean to the Marquesas ...

(''Zapornia tabuensis''),

black swan The black swan (''Cygnus atratus'') is a large Anatidae, waterbird, a species of swan which breeds mainly in the southeast and southwest regions of Australia. Within Australia, the black swan is nomadic, with erratic migration patterns dependent ...

(''Cygnus atratus''), and

eurasian coot The Eurasian coot (''Fulica atra''), also known as the common coot, or Australian coot, is a member of the rail and crake bird family, the Rallidae. It is found in Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and parts of North Africa. It has a slaty-bla ...

(''Fulica atra''). The swamps support a significant population of

Australasian bittern The Australasian bittern (''Botaurus poiciloptilus''), or Matuku-hūrepo in Māori language, Māori, is a stocky, sizeable and elusive heron-like bird native to the Wetland, wetlands of Australia, New Zealand, and New Caledonia.Heather, B. D., & ...

(''Botaurus poiciloptilus''). Vulnerable fauna present in the reserve include Balston's pygmy perch (''Nannatherina balstoni''), Muir's corella (''Cacatua pastinator pastinator''), forest red-tailed black cockatoo (''Calyptorhynchus banksii''),

chuditch The western quoll (''Dasyurus geoffroii'') is Western Australia's largest endemic mammalian carnivore. One of the many marsupial mammals native to Australia, it is also known as the chuditch. The species is currently classed as near-threatened. ...

(''Dasyurus geoffroii''),

numbat The numbat (''Myrmecobius fasciatus''), also known as the noombat or walpurti, is an insectivorous marsupial. It is diurnal and its diet consists almost exclusively of termites. The species was once widespread across southern Australia, but i ...

(''Myrmecobius fasciatus''),

woylie The woylie or brush-tailed bettong (''Bettongia penicillata'') is a small, near threatened mammal native to forests and shrubland of Australia. A member of the rat-kangaroo family ( Potoroidae), it moves by hopping and is active at night, diggi ...

(''Bettongia penicillata''), and

quokka The quokka (; ''Setonix brachyurus'') is a small macropod about the size of a domestic cat. It is the only member of the genus ''Setonix''. Like other marsupials in the macropod family (such as kangaroos and wallabies), the quokka is herbiv ...

(''Setonix brachyurus'').

Conservation

The reserve was designated in 2001. It was designated a wetland of international importance under the

Ramsar Convention The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of Ramsar site, Ramsar sites (wetlands). It is also known as the Convention on We ...

in the same year. The Ramsar site covers an area of 10,631 ha.

References

{{reflist

External links

Muir-Byenup System
Ramsar Sites Information Service
Muir Byenup Wetlands
South West Catchments Council Nature reserves in Western Australia Ramsar sites in Australia Shire of Manjimup Jarrah Forest