Gluepot Reserve is a 540 km² nature reserve

Nature reserve

A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...

 established by Birds Australia

Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union

The Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union, also known as Birds Australia, was founded in 1901 to promote the study and conservation of the native bird species of Australia and adjacent regions. This makes it Australia's oldest national birding association. It is also Australia's largest...

 in 1997 by the purchase, through a public appeal, of Gluepot Station, a pastoral lease

Pastoral lease

A pastoral lease is Crown land that government allows to be leased, generally for the purposes of farming.-Australia:Pastoral leases exist in both Australian commonwealth law and state jurisdictions....

 in the semi-arid

Semi-arid

A semi-arid climate or steppe climate describes climatic regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not extremely...

 mallee

Mallee (habit)

Mallee is the growth habit of certain eucalypt species that grow with multiple stems springing from an underground lignotuber, usually to a height of no more than ten metres...

 region of South Australia

South Australia

South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...

. The decision to purchase Gluepot Station, Birds Australia's first reserve, was taken in order to protect its outstanding floral and faunal values, under threat because of an application by the lessee to burn the property to provide grazing for sheep. Gluepot is part of the Riverland Biosphere Reserve which forms part of the 12,200 km² Riverland Mallee Important Bird Area

Riverland Mallee Important Bird Area

The Riverland Mallee Important Bird Area comprises a 12,200 km2 tract of mallee habitat and riverine woodland extending from near Waikerie in the Riverland region of eastern South Australia north-eastwards into south-western New South Wales....

, identified as such 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...

 for its importance in the conservation of mallee birds and their habitats.

Nearly 200 species of birds have been recorded at Gluepot. These include the nationally threatened Malleefowl

Malleefowl

The Malleefowl is a stocky ground-dwelling Australian bird about the size of a domestic chicken...

, Regent Parrot

Regent Parrot

The Regent Parrot is a bird of the parrot family . It has predominantly yellow plumage with a green tail. The bird is found primarily in eucalyptus groves and other wooded areas of subtropical southwestern Australia, as well as to a smaller area of subtropical and temperate southeastern Australia...

, Red-lored Whistler

Red-lored Whistler

The Red-Lored Whistler is similar, in many respects, to the Gilbert Whistler, to which it is clearly related, and from which it must be distinguished: the range of the Red-lored Whistler falls entirely within that of the Gilbert Whistler. The two species share the same habitat, behaviour and even...

 and Black-eared Miner

Black-eared Miner

The Black-eared Miner, Manorina melanotis, is an endangered honeyeater endemic to mallee woodland in south-eastern Australia. It is closely related to the much more widely distributed Yellow-throated Miner M. flavigula and the taxonomic status of the Black-eared Miner is the subject of some...

. A further 33 species are considered to be regionally threatened. Scarlet-chested Parrot

Scarlet-chested Parrot

The Scarlet-chested Parrot , known alternately as Scarlet-breasted parrot, Orange-throated parrot or Splendid parrot, is a parrot endemic to central South Australia and inland southern Western Australia...

s are known to have bred on Gluepot in the past, and still visit the reserve.