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Australia Australia Important Bird Area

Eric Singleton Bird Sanctuary

197 bird species recorded; the most in August and from November to January.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec143at the peak
Species recorded in each month · tap a month

Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX IT Services GmbH (contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data), CC BY 4.0, with relief shading from Copernicus WorldDEM-30

This month here

143 species in January.

The birds you are most likely to see in the month you choose, those that come for the season first. It opens on today's month.

Willie-wagtail
Willie-wagtailRhipidura leucophrysResidentJJ Harrison ( https://www.jjharrison.com.au/ ) · CC BY-SA 4.0
Pacific Black Duck
Pacific Black DuckAnas superciliosaResidentStephen Barrell · CC BY 2.0
Australian Raven
Australian RavenCorvus coronoidesResidentJJ Harrison ( https://tiny.jjharrison.com.au/t/ZoQvcc05qhmjQ9eE ) · CC BY-SA 4.0
Coconut Lorikeet
Coconut LorikeetTrichoglossus haematodusResidentgailhampshire from Cradley, Malvern, U.K · CC BY 2.0
Australian White Ibis
Australian White IbisThreskiornis moluccaResidentJJ Harrison ( https://www.jjharrison.com.au/ ) · CC BY-SA 3.0
Singing Honeyeater
Singing HoneyeaterGavicalis virescensResidentWampy · CC BY 3.0
Red Wattlebird
Red WattlebirdAnthochaera carunculataResidentJJ Harrison ( https://www.jjharrison.com.au/ ) · CC BY-SA 3.0
Australian Magpie
Australian MagpieGymnorhina tibicenResidentJJ Harrison ( https://www.jjharrison.com.au/ ) · CC BY-SA 3.0
Little Corella
Little CorellaCacatua sanguineaResidentCharles J. Sharp · CC BY-SA 4.0
Coot
CootFulica atraResidentNoodle snacks · CC BY-SA 3.0
Magpie lark
Magpie larkGrallina cyanoleucaResidentJJ Harrison ( https://www.jjharrison.com.au/ ) · CC BY-SA 3.0
Dusky Moorhen
Dusky MoorhenGallinula tenebrosaResidentJJ Harrison ( https://www.jjharrison.com.au/ ) · CC BY 3.0
Australasian Grebe
Australasian GrebeTachybaptus novaehollandiaeResidentJJ Harrison ( https://www.jjharrison.com.au/ ) · CC BY-SA 3.0
Maned Duck
Maned DuckChenonetta jubataResidentJJ Harrison ( https://www.jjharrison.com.au/ ) · CC BY-SA 3.0
Australasian Swamphen
Australasian SwamphenPorphyrio melanotusResidentMike Prince from Bangalore, India · CC BY 2.0
Laughing Dove
Laughing DoveSpilopelia senegalensisResidentGiles Laurent · CC BY-SA 4.0
Australasian Darter
Australasian DarterAnhinga novaehollandiaeResidentJJ Harrison ( https://www.jjharrison.com.au/ ) · CC BY-SA 4.0
Rainbow Bee-eater
Rainbow Bee-eaterMerops ornatusSummer visitorJJ Harrison ( https://www.jjharrison.com.au/ ) · CC BY 3.0
Little Black Cormorant
Little Black CormorantPhalacrocorax sulcirostrisResidentQuartl · CC BY-SA 3.0
Brown Honeyeater
Brown HoneyeaterLichmera indistinctaResidentAviceda · CC BY-SA 3.0
Little Pied Cormorant
Little Pied CormorantMicrocarbo melanoleucosResidentJJ Harrison ( https://www.jjharrison.com.au/ ) · CC BY-SA 3.0
Grey Teal
Grey TealAnas gracilisResidentJJ Harrison ( https://www.jjharrison.com.au/ ) · CC BY-SA 3.0
New Holland Honeyeater
New Holland HoneyeaterPhylidonyris novaehollandiaeResidentJJ Harrison ( https://www.jjharrison.com.au/ ) · CC BY-SA 2.5
Eastern Spotted Dove
Eastern Spotted DoveSpilopelia chinensisResidentChathunidewminidissa · CC BY-SA 4.0
  • Resident all year
  • Summer visitor comes to breed
  • Winter visitor comes for the winter
  • Passage migrant in spring and autumn

In numbers

197 species, counted.

65out of 100

Our own rating, from the records only: species (50 points), threatened species (20), migrants (20) and protected status — Ramsar, IBA, SPA, observatory (10).

  • 197Speciesrecorded more than once
  • 47Migrantssummer, winter or passage visitors
  • 5ThreatenedVulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered (IUCN)
  • 168,512Recordsopen records within 6 km
  • 16Raptors
  • 3Owls
  • 17Waders
  • 9Gulls & seabirds
  • 16Ducks & geese
  • 22Herons, ibises & grebes
  • 66Songbirds
  • 48Other birds

From open records (eBird and others, through GBIF, licensed for any use). More birdwatchers mean more records: a quiet place may have more birds than it shows.

The checklist

All 197 species.

By group, with the year in twelve cells: the darker the cell, the more often the bird is recorded that month.

Raptors16 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • OspreyPandion haliaetus
  • Australian hobbyFalco longipennis
  • Whistling KiteHaliastur sphenurus
  • Nankeen KestrelFalco cenchroides
  • Black-shouldered KiteElanus axillaris
  • Swamp HarrierCircus approximans
  • Little EagleHieraaetus morphnoides
  • Peregrine FalconFalco peregrinus
  • White-bellied Sea-EagleHaliaeetus leucogaster
  • Wedge-tailed EagleAquila audax
  • Brown GoshawkAccipiter fasciatus
  • Brown FalconFalco berigora
  • Square-tailed KiteLophoictinia isura
  • Collared SparrowhawkAccipiter cirrocephalus
  • Spotted HarrierCircus assimilis
  • Eastern OspreyPandion cristatus
Owls3 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Southern BoobookNinox boobook
  • Eastern Barn OwlTyto javanica
  • Australian Masked OwlTyto novaehollandiae
Waders17 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Pied StiltHimantopus leucocephalus
  • Pied OystercatcherHaematopus longirostris
  • Common SandpiperActitis hypoleucos
  • Black-fronted DotterelElseyornis melanops
  • Black-winged StiltHimantopus himantopus
  • Banded LapwingVanellus tricolor
  • Red-kneed DotterelErythrogonys cinctus
  • Banded StiltCladorhynchus leucocephalus
  • Australian Red-necked AvocetRecurvirostra novaehollandiae
  • Red-capped PloverCharadrius ruficapillus
  • Ruddy TurnstoneArenaria interpresNT
  • Grey PloverPluvialis squatarolaVU
  • Wood SandpiperTringa glareola
  • Curlew SandpiperCalidris ferrugineaVU
  • Red-necked StintCalidris ruficollisNT
  • Great KnotCalidris tenuirostris
  • Australian Painted-snipeRostratula australis
Gulls & seabirds9 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Silver GullChroicocephalus novaehollandiae
  • Great Crested-TernThalasseus bergii
  • Caspian TernHydroprogne caspia
  • Fairy TernSternula nereisVU
  • Whiskered TernChlidonias hybrida
  • Pacific GullLarus pacificus
  • White-headed PetrelPterodroma lessonii
  • Blue PetrelHalobaena caerulea
  • Sooty TernOnychoprion fuscatus
Ducks & geese16 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Pacific Black DuckAnas superciliosa
  • Maned DuckChenonetta jubata
  • Black swanCygnus atratus
  • Grey TealAnas gracilis
  • Australian ShelduckTadorna tadornoides
  • HardheadAythya australis
  • Blue-billed DuckOxyura australis
  • Australasian ShovelerSpatula rhynchotis
  • Pink-eared DuckMalacorhynchus membranaceus
  • Musk DuckBiziura lobata
  • MallardAnas platyrhynchos
  • Cairina moschataCairina moschata
  • Chestnut TealAnas castanea
  • Freckled DuckStictonetta naevosa
  • Grass Whistling DuckDendrocygna eytoni
  • Greylag GooseAnser anser
Herons, ibises & grebes22 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Australian White IbisThreskiornis molucca
  • Australasian GrebeTachybaptus novaehollandiae
  • Australasian DarterAnhinga novaehollandiae
  • Little Pied CormorantMicrocarbo melanoleucos
  • Little Black CormorantPhalacrocorax sulcirostris
  • Australian PelicanPelecanus conspicillatus
  • White-faced HeronEgretta novaehollandiae
  • Great White EgretArdea alba
  • Yellow-billed SpoonbillPlatalea flavipes
  • Great CormorantPhalacrocorax carbo
  • Nankeen Night HeronNycticorax caledonicus
  • Little EgretEgretta garzetta
  • Straw-necked IbisThreskiornis spinicollis
  • Pied CormorantPhalacrocorax varius
  • Hoary-headed GrebePoliocephalus poliocephalus
  • Great Crested GrebePodiceps cristatus
  • White-necked HeronArdea pacifica
  • Glossy IbisPlegadis falcinellus
  • Ardea modestaArdea modesta
  • Royal SpoonbillPlatalea regia
  • Australasian BitternBotaurus poiciloptilusVU
  • Australian Little BitternIxobrychus dubius
Songbirds66 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Willie-wagtailRhipidura leucophrys
  • Red WattlebirdAnthochaera carunculata
  • Australian RavenCorvus coronoides
  • Australian MagpieGymnorhina tibicen
  • Singing HoneyeaterGavicalis virescens
  • Magpie larkGrallina cyanoleuca
  • Brown HoneyeaterLichmera indistincta
  • New Holland HoneyeaterPhylidonyris novaehollandiae
  • Welcome SwallowHirundo neoxena
  • SilvereyeZosterops lateralis
  • Striated PardalotePardalotus striatus
  • Tree MartinPetrochelidon nigricans
  • Black-faced CuckooshrikeCoracina novaehollandiae
  • Rufous WhistlerPachycephala rufiventris
  • WeebillSmicrornis brevirostris
  • Rhipidura albiscapaRhipidura albiscapa
  • Western GerygoneGerygone fusca
  • White-cheeked HoneyeaterPhylidonyris niger
  • Grey ButcherbirdCracticus torquatus
  • Australian Reed-WarblerAcrocephalus australis
  • Little GrassbirdMegalurus gramineus
  • Yellow-rumped ThornbillAcanthiza chrysorrhoa
  • Little WattlebirdAnthochaera lunulata
  • MistletoebirdDicaeum hirundinaceum
  • Splendid FairywrenMalurus splendens
  • Purple-backed FairywrenMalurus assimilis
  • Spotted PardalotePardalotus punctatus
  • Spotted ScrubwrenSericornis maculatus
  • Western SpinebillAcanthorhynchus superciliosus
  • Australian PipitAnthus australis
  • Tawny-crowned HoneyeaterGliciphila melanops
  • Australian White-winged TrillerLalage tricolor
  • Fairy MartinPetrochelidon ariel
  • Inland ThornbillAcanthiza apicalis
  • Black-faced WoodswallowArtamus cinereus
  • Red-capped RobinPetroica goodenovii
  • Varied SittellaDaphoenositta chrysoptera
  • Grey ShrikethrushColluricincla harmonica
  • Gilbert's HoneyeaterMelithreptus chloropsis
  • White-backed SwallowCheramoeca leucosterna
  • Australian Golden WhistlerPachycephala pectoralis
  • Scarlet RobinPetroica boodang
  • Yellow-plumed HoneyeaterPtilotula ornata
  • Brown-headed HoneyeaterMelithreptus brevirostris
  • Western ThornbillAcanthiza inornata
  • Yellow-throated MinerManorina flavigula
  • Grey FantailRhipidura fuliginosa
  • White-fronted ChatEpthianura albifrons
  • Australasian PipitAnthus novaeseelandiae
  • Eurasian BlackbirdTurdus merula
  • Little WattlebirdAnthochaera chrysoptera
  • White-breasted RobinEopsaltria georgiana
  • Brown SonglarkMegalurus cruralis
  • Restless FlycatcherMyiagra inquieta
  • Western Yellow RobinEopsaltria griseogularis
  • European GoldfinchCarduelis carduelis
  • Yellow-faced HoneyeaterCaligavis chrysops
  • Grey CurrawongStrepera versicolor
  • White-fronted HoneyeaterPurnella albifrons
  • Spiny-cheeked HoneyeaterAcanthagenys rufogularis
  • Superb Fairy-wrenMalurus cyaneus
  • Jacky-winterMicroeca fascinans
  • Rufous TreecreeperClimacteris rufus
  • Dusky WoodswallowArtamus cyanopterus
  • Rufous SonglarkMegalurus mathewsi
  • Common StarlingSturnus vulgaris
Other birds48 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Coconut LorikeetTrichoglossus haematodus
  • CootFulica atra
  • Dusky MoorhenGallinula tenebrosa
  • Australasian SwamphenPorphyrio melanotus
  • Laughing DoveSpilopelia senegalensis
  • Eastern Spotted DoveSpilopelia chinensis
  • Little CorellaCacatua sanguinea
  • GalahEolophus roseicapilla
  • Rock DoveColumba livia
  • Australian RingneckBarnardius zonarius
  • KookaburraDacelo novaeguineae
  • Red-tailed Black CockatooCalyptorhynchus banksii
  • Carnaby's Black CockatooZanda latirostris
  • Crested PigeonOcyphaps lophotes
  • Rainbow Bee-eaterMerops ornatus
  • Buff-banded RailGallirallus philippensis
  • Sacred KingfisherTodiramphus sanctus
  • Long-billed CorellaCacatua tenuirostris
  • Spotless CrakePorzana tabuensis
  • Red-capped ParrotPurpureicephalus spurius
  • Western SwamphenPorphyrio porphyrio
  • Shining cuckooChrysococcyx lucidus
  • Australian CrakePorzana fluminea
  • Common BronzewingPhaps chalcoptera
  • Pallid cuckooCuculus pallidus
  • Black-tailed NativehenGallinula ventralis
  • Fan-tailed CuckooCacomantis flabelliformis
  • Horsfield's Bronze CuckooChrysococcyx basalis
  • Tawny FrogmouthPodargus strigoides
  • Baillon's CrakePorzana pusilla
  • Western CorellaCacatua pastinator
  • Sulphur-crested CockatooCacatua galerita
  • Elegant ParrotNeophema elegans
  • Pacific SwiftApus pacificus
  • Baudin's Black CockatooZanda baudiniiCR
  • Western RosellaPlatycercus icterotis
  • Brown QuailSynoicus ypsilophorus
  • Pink CockatooCacatua leadbeateri
  • CockatielNymphicus hollandicus
  • BudgerigarMelopsittacus undulatus
  • Red JunglefowlGallus gallus
  • Stubble QuailCoturnix pectoralis
  • Rose-ringed ParakeetPsittacula krameri
  • Indian PeafowlPavo cristatus
  • Carnaby's Black CockatooCalyptorhynchus latirostris
  • Musk LorikeetGlossopsitta concinna
  • Diamond DoveGeopelia cuneata
  • Black-eared CuckooChrysococcyx osculans

Monthly presence relative to all bird records that month, so a busy month does not inflate every species.

When to go

The most species in August and from November to January.

Species recorded in each month, with the usual temperature and rain.

  1. Jan14326°/19°18 mm
  2. Feb13327°/20°17 mm
  3. Mar13226°/19°20 mm
  4. Apr12823°/18°34 mm
  5. May13021°/16°84 mm
  6. Jun12119°/14°113 mm
  7. Jul12518°/14°128 mm
  8. Aug14118°/14°106 mm
  9. Sep12818°/14°70 mm
  10. Oct13320°/14°32 mm
  11. Nov14022°/16°25 mm
  12. Dec13925°/18°12 mm
  • Bar: species recorded that month.
  • Temperature: average maximum / minimum (NASA, 1991–2020).
  • Rain: monthly total.

The place

Eric Singleton Bird Sanctuary.

Wetland sanctuary in Western Australia

Eric Singleton Bird Sanctuary is an Important Bird Area (BirdLife) in Australia.

197 bird species have been recorded here more than once, in 168,512 open records.

The most recorded are the Willie-wagtail, the Red Wattlebird and the Coconut Lorikeet.

28 species come for the summer, 17 for the winter and 2 only pass through.

5 are threatened worldwide, including Fairy Tern, Baudin's Black Cockatoo and Australasian Bittern.

The most species are recorded in August and from November to January.

Eric Singleton Bird Sanctuary seen from above (Sentinel-2)
Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX IT Services GmbH (contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data), CC BY 4.0, with relief shading from Copernicus WorldDEM-30

Get there and watch

Plan the visit

A guided walk, a bed nearby, a car.

Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.

From above

The place and its surroundings.

The satellite image of the 6 × 6 km around the place, with the bird hides, towers and trails that OpenStreetMap shows.

Eric Singleton Bird Sanctuary seen from above (Sentinel-2)
Seen from above: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 6 × 6 km, north up. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Around, in OpenStreetMap

  • 1bird hides within 6 km
  • 8visitor centres within 6 kmSwan Valley Visitor Centre, Enquiries Desk, Munda Biddi Trail Foundation and 5 more
  • 5viewpoints within 5 kmRay Hookway Platform, Public Viewing Area and 3 more
  • 218car parks within 3 km
  • 35restaurants and cafés within 3 km
  • 11campsites within 10 kmCentral Caravan Park, Perth Vineyards Holiday Park (Big 4), Queens Grove Caravan Village and 8 more
  • 115places to stay within 10 kmCountry Comfort, The Sebel Residence, ECCO Apartments and 112 more
  • observation towers within 6 km
  • marked trails within 4 km

Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit. A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet.

In our other atlases

Around Eric Singleton Bird Sanctuary.

The lakes, beaches, islands, rivers and mountains around this place, and its night sky, in the family's atlases.

Peakyas26 mountains within 25 km
Mount Eliza · 9.2 kmBuckland Hill · 18 kmCantonment Hill · 20 kmMount Gunjin, Western Australia · 21 kmMonument Hill · 21 kmEleanor Rocks · 23 kmEntrance Rocks · 23 kmBeagle Rocks · 24 km
Cascadyas1 waterfalls within 15 km
Lesmurdie Falls50 m · 13 km

Figures from the sister sites' databases (Wikidata, HydroATLAS, GeoNames, OpenStreetMap). Links open when each site is online.

Other places nearby.

Eric Singleton Bird Sanctuary

Australia

  • 65Birdyas Score
  • 197Species
  • 47Migrants
  • 5Threatened

Thomsons Lake

Australia · 26 km

  • 68Birdyas Score
  • 186Species
  • 66Migrants
  • 5Threatened

See the guide

Forrestdale Lake

Australia · 26 km

  • 66Birdyas Score
  • 168Species
  • 61Migrants
  • 5Threatened

See the guide

Harvey Estuary

Australia · 88 km

  • 69Birdyas Score
  • 192Species
  • 67Migrants
  • 5Threatened

See the guide

Where these figures come from

Name and typeWikidata (Q98755870) · CC0
Birds168,512 open bird records within 6 km (GBIF, CC0 and CC BY 4.0 only; mostly eBird, Cornell Lab of Ornithology)
See these recordsgbif.org
SpeciesGBIF Backbone Taxonomy · CC BY 4.0; Wikidata (CC0); Wikimedia Commons
AltitudeCopernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
Temperature and rainNASA POWER (CERES SYN1deg, 2001–2020; MERRA-2)
What is around© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
ImagesEOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons
Sister atlasesPeakyas, Coastya, Lakeyas, Darkskyas, Cascadyas, Riveryas

Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.

The family

Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers, canyons, caves, dark skies, viewpoints, birdwatching or forests?

Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, in seven languages.