Wildlife

The Black-fronted Dotterel avoids wading into water of any depth, instead foraging for molluscs, crustaceans and insects on the firm, bare ground fringing freshwater wetlands. It has just one record at Perry Lakes — the species could likely be seen more often if water levels were managed to expose moist mudflats.

The Australian White Ibis digs with its long curved bill for its favourite foods — crayfish and mussels — then hammers the mussels open against a hard surface to reach the soft body inside. A regular but inconsistent visitor to Perry Lakes, it nests colonially in dense reedbeds elsewhere but hasn’t been recorded breeding here.

A single Straw-necked Ibis can eat up to 2,000 insects a day, foraging mostly across open grassland and wetland margins for freshwater crayfish, frogs, beetles and grasshoppers. It’s a regular but inconsistent visitor to Perry Lakes, nesting colonially in dense reedbeds elsewhere, though it hasn’t been recorded breeding here.

The Dusky Moorhen breeds co-operatively, with groups of up to seven apparently unrelated adults — sometimes including older siblings — sharing the care of the young. It’s consistently recorded at Perry Lakes and known to have bred here, building a bulky nest of sticks, reeds, bark and grass just above the waterline.

Despite a largely vegetarian diet of reed and rush shoots, the Purple Swamphen has a reputation as an egg thief and will take ducklings when it can catch them, grasping food with its long toes as it eats. It’s consistently recorded at Perry Lakes and is known to have bred here.

The Buff-banded Rail feeds mainly in the early morning and evening, taking crustaceans, molluscs, insects, seeds, fruit, frogs and even carrion. It’s commonly seen at Perry Lakes and has bred here recently, building an unlined cup-shaped nest of grasses or reeds hidden in long grass or rushes.

Little is known about the Baillon’s Crake’s breeding habits beyond a likely spring-to-early-summer season. Feeding mostly on aquatic insects, seeds, snails and small vertebrates, it’s being recorded more often at Perry Lakes in recent seasons — probably a result of pumped water inflows and increased observer attention.

The Spotless Crake depends on dense vegetation cover, especially stands of Typha, foraging in shallow water and mud for seeds, fruit and a wide range of invertebrates including worms, spiders and beetles. It’s being recorded more often at Perry Lakes in recent seasons, probably due to pumped water inflows and growing observer interest.

The Australian Spotted Crake’s breeding habits are poorly known — usually simple pairs, though one report described a scattered group of 30 nests. It needs stable water levels through the breeding season from August to February, and is being recorded more often at Perry Lakes, likely thanks to pumped water inflows and keener observers.

A nocturnal hunter, the Nankeen Night-heron feeds after dark on fish, frogs, freshwater crayfish and insects, and can breed in colonies of several thousand alongside egrets, cormorants and ibises. It’s recorded at Perry Lakes eight months of the year, though as a night bird it may go undetected the rest of the time.

South-west WA’s Pied Stilts belong to a separate subspecies, feeding on aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates in water as shallow as 20 centimetres. The species is often recorded at Perry Lakes, though it doesn’t consistently occur or breed here, nesting instead on a small platform built into a shallow ground depression.

A nomadic species, the White-necked Heron forages by wading through shallow water or stalking through wet grass in search of fish, amphibians, crustaceans and insects. It builds a loose stick platform in trees overhanging water, solitarily or in loose colonies, and is recorded at Perry Lakes about half the year.

The Little Egret nests three to seven metres up in the forks of trees standing in water, keeping some distance even from the nests of its own species within a colony. Usually a solitary hunter, it feeds on fish, frogs and insects in the shallows at Perry Lakes.

Though not considered threatened, the Great Egret is internationally protected as a migratory species under the EPBC Act and recognised as migratory in WA. Usually a solitary hunter, it was seen hunting in groups of up to 35 at Perry Lakes in March 2024 — an unusual gathering likely drawn by abundant Gambusia.

The Yellow-billed Spoonbill feeds by striding through shallow water, sweeping its bill side to side for back swimmers, freshwater crayfish, shrimp and fish. An unusually large gathering of around 35 birds was recorded across East and West Lakes in March 2024, likely drawn by a glut of Gambusia.

Unlike the large moulting flocks that gather at Galup (Lake Monger), the Australian Shelduck turns up at Perry Lakes mostly in pairs or small groups, grazing on grass, algae, insects and molluscs on land or in shallow water. It’s recorded here every month of the year, though probably hasn’t bred at the reserve.

Western Australia’s state bird emblem, the Black Swan needs at least 40 metres of clear open water to take flight, and often travels after dark. Though usually sedentary outside the breeding season, it’s recorded at Perry Lakes in every month of the year, where it has bred successfully.

The Eurasian Coot builds a nest of aquatic vegetation that floats or anchors to a submerged log, and has bred successfully at Perry Lakes. It was especially suited to the lake’s lower water levels before pumped inflow began, and is now recorded in nearly every month of the year.

The most common duck on the reserve, the Pacific Black Duck nests in tree hollows — often reusing other species’ old nests — or in trampled reeds close to water, and breeds successfully most years at Perry Lakes. It’s also thought to be particularly susceptible to H5 bird flu.

Shy and reliant on dense vegetation for cover, the Australasian Shoveller does most of its filter-feeding on insects, crustaceans and seeds at night. It’s an uncommon breeder in south-west WA, and while it hasn’t been recorded in every month at Perry Lakes, it isn’t known to have nested there yet.

The Pink-eared Duck’s bill is fringed with fine grooves that filter microscopic plants and animals from the water as it feeds. Pairs are thought to be monogamous and long-lasting, sometimes taking over a Eurasian Coot’s old nest, and this nomadic species has bred at Perry Lakes — most likely on the East Lake island.

Wary and quick to keep its distance from the shore, the Hardhead dives for mussels and other freshwater shellfish in deeper water. It’s an uncommon breeder in south-west WA, recorded at Perry Lakes around six months of the year, though not yet known to have nested there.

The Little Pied Cormorant forages for invertebrates — including yabbies — in relatively shallow water, often nesting in loose colonies alongside other waterbirds. It’s recorded at Perry Lakes around six months of the year, though it isn’t yet known to have bred there.

Like other grebes, the Australasian Grebe eats its own feathers and feeds them to its chicks — thought to help cushion any sharp fish bones they swallow. It builds a floating nest anchored to a submerged branch or reed, and has bred successfully at Perry Lakes most years.

Little Black Cormorants can gather in flocks of several thousand elsewhere, feeding in a frenzy as they follow schools of fish — though that spectacle is unlikely on a lake as small as Perry Lakes. They breed colonially in waterside trees, and are recorded here six to eight months of most years.

The Australasian Darter hunts underwater, spearing fish from below with its sharp bill before flicking them to the surface and swallowing them head-first. In hot weather, adults have been seen pouring water from their bills into nestlings’ gullets. At Perry Lakes it’s recorded just a few months a year, needing a sustained deep wetland.