Fivebough and Tuckerbil Swamps are two swamp

Swamp

A swamp is a wetland with some flooding of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water. A swamp generally has a large number of hammocks, or dry-land protrusions, covered by aquatic vegetation, or vegetation that tolerates periodical inundation. The two main types of swamp are "true" or swamp...

s lying close to the Riverina

Riverina

The Riverina is an agricultural region of south-western New South Wales , Australia. The Riverina is distinguished from other Australian regions by the combination of flat plains, warm to hot climate and an ample supply of water for irrigation. This combination has allowed the Riverina to develop...

 town of Leeton

Leeton, New South Wales

Leeton is a town in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. Leeton is situated approximately 550 km west of Sydney and 450 km north of Melbourne in the productive Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area. Leeton is administered by Leeton Shire Council...

 in New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. They lie on Crown Land within the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area

Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area

The Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area is geographically located within the Riverina area of New South Wales was created to control and divert the flow of local river and creek systems for the purpose of food production...

 (MIA). They were recognised as being a Wetland of International Importance through designation under the Ramsar Convention

Ramsar Convention

The Ramsar Convention is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands, i.e., to stem the progressive encroachment on and loss of wetlands now and in the future, recognizing the fundamental ecological functions of wetlands and their economic, cultural,...

 on 21 October 2002 as Ramsar Site 1224.

Description

Fivebough Swamp (34°31′50"S 146°25′55"E) lies 4 km north-east of Leeton. It has an area of 400 ha, is a seasonal, shallow, fresh to brackish wetland in its east and north-west, with permanent water in the south-west of its basin.

Tuckerbil Swamp (34°29′05"S 146°20′55"E) lies 10 km north-west of Leeton and is a 289 ha seasonal, shallow, brackish to saline wetland.

History

Fivebough and Tuckerbil Swamps were recognised for their environmental values as early as 1920 when ornithologist Samuel Albert White

Samuel Albert White

Captain Samuel Albert White was a wealthy Australian racehorse owner, soldier, explorer, conservationist and amateur ornithologist. He was born in Fulham, South Australia and eventually died there. He fought in the South African War 1900-1903, reaching the rank of Captain, which title he...

 reported to the MIA Commissioner that Fivebough Swamp should be proclaimed a sanctuary, and Tuckerbil Swamp a reserve. Keith Collingwood McKeown (1892-1952) entomologist, naturalist, and author, during his time in Leeton (1915-1921) recorded the first bird observations (acknowledged in S. A. White's reports) in Leeton and the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area, including Fivebough and Tuckerbil Swamps. McKeown later became assistant curator entomology (1929-1952) at the Australian Museum. In the late 1970s Fivebough Swamp, along with Tuckerbil swamp during the 1990s, became known for their birdwatching qualities. During 1994-1997 both Fivebough and Tuckerbil Swamps using set methodology were surveyed as part of the RAOU (Birds Australia) Murray-Darling Basin Waterbird Project. The results from the project identifying the wetlands as qualifying under five of the nine Ramsar Convention criteria as Wetlands of International Importance, based on waterbird species diversity, populations, and nationally threatened species. From September 1997 to January 1998 the swamps were managed by a sub committee of the Murrumbidgee Field Naturalists under the direction of the NSW Department of Land and Water Conservation after which time, a formal management committee was appointed by the NSW Department of Land and Water Conservation. This management committee in 2000 became the Fivebough and Tuckerbil Wetlands Management Trust. The Trust developed, 2001-2002, in cosultation with the Leeton community and others the nomination of Fivebough and Tuckerbil Swamps as a Wetland of International Importance and submitted it to the NSW Sate and Commonwealth Governments May 29, 2002, together with a comprehensive plan of management for the swamps. Amongst the objectives of the plan of management are waterbird conservation, education and eco-tourism, with acknowledgment and respect for the cultural significance of the swamps to the local Wiradjuri

Wiradjuri

The Wiradjuri are an Indigenous Australian group of central New South Wales.In the 21st century, major Wiradjuri groups live in Condobolin, Peak Hill, Narrandera and Griffith...

 people.

Ramsar values

The swamps were recognised as being of international importance importance because of the presence, abundance and diversity of their waterbirds, including migratory wader

Wader

Waders, called shorebirds in North America , are members of the order Charadriiformes, excluding the more marine web-footed seabird groups. The latter are the skuas , gulls , terns , skimmers , and auks...

s and threatened species. Both swamps act as waterbird habitat and refuge within an agricultural landscape, gaining some of their habitat values from human uses of the site, such as livestock

Livestock

Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...

 grazing

Grazing

Grazing generally describes a type of feeding, in which a herbivore feeds on plants , and also on other multicellular autotrophs...

, flood mitigation and sewage treatment

Sewage treatment

Sewage treatment, or domestic wastewater treatment, is the process of removing contaminants from wastewater and household sewage, both runoff and domestic. It includes physical, chemical, and biological processes to remove physical, chemical and biological contaminants...

.

Birds

Some of the land covered by the two swamps has been identified by BirdLife International

BirdLife International

BirdLife International is a global Partnership of conservation organisations that strives to conserve birds, their habitats and global biodiversity, working with people towards sustainability in the use of natural resources...

 as a 328 ha Important Bird Area

Important Bird Area

An Important Bird Area is an area recognized as being globally important habitat for the conservation of bird populations. Currently there are about 10,000 IBAs worldwide. The program was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife International...

 because it supports significant numbers of the endangered Australasian Bittern

Australasian Bittern

The Australasian Bittern , also known as the Brown Bittern, is found in south-western and south-eastern Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand, New Caledonia and Ouvea. Populations in Australia and New Zealand have declined in the 20th century.It is a large bittern, patterned and streaked brown, buff...

 and over 1% of the world populations of Glossy Ibis

Glossy Ibis

The Glossy Ibis is a wading bird in the ibis family Threskiornithidae.This is the most widespread ibis species, breeding in scattered sites in warm regions of Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and the Atlantic and Caribbean region of the Americas...

 and Sharp-tailed Sandpiper

Sharp-tailed Sandpiper

The Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Calidris acuminata is a small wader.- Taxonomy :More recently, a review of new data has indicated that this bird should perhaps better be placed into the genus Philomachus- as P...

. The swamps also provide habitat for the Australian Painted Snipe

Australian Painted Snipe

The Australian Painted Snipe is a medium-sized, long-billed, distinctively patterned wader.-Taxonomy:The distinctiveness of the Australian Painted-snipe was recognised by John Gould in 1838 when he described and named it Rostratula australis. However, it was subsequently lumped with the Greater...

 and Tuckerbil serves as an important flocking area for Brolga

Brolga

The Brolga , formerly known as the "Native Companion", is a bird in the crane family. The bird has also been given the name "Australian Crane", a term coined in 1865 by well-known ornithological artist John Gould in his Birds of Australia.The Brolga is a common gregarious wetland bird species in...

s.