In the Great Sandy Biosphere region there are 53 species of migratory birds listed under the Australian Government’s Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.
The Great Sandy Biosphere has 46 species of birds listed under the China-Australia Migratory Bird Agreement. This represents 57% of the total number of birds under the agreement.
Shorebirds, otherwise known as waders, commonly feed by wading in shallow water or mud along shores of lakes, rivers and the sea.
Thousands of shorebirds visit the Great Sandy Bisosphere each year to feed, roost and breed.
During a 20-year lifetime, a long-distance migrating shorebird would travel over 400,000km. Long-distance migration involves non-stop flights of 4000km and more, sometimes up to 11,000km.