Lake McLarty Nature Reserve is a 219 ha freshwater lake 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...

 on the Swan Coastal Plain

Swan Coastal Plain

The Swan Coastal Plain in Western Australia is the geographic feature which contains the Swan River as it travels west to the Indian Ocean. The coastal plain continues well beyond the boundaries of the Swan River and its tributaries, as a geological and biological zone, one of Western Australia's...

 of Western Australia

Western Australia

Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...

. The lake is named after a prominent pioneering family which settled in the district in the early 1860s. It lies about 90 km south of Perth

Perth, Western Australia

Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....

 on the eastern side of the Harvey Estuary

Peel-Harvey Estuary

The Peel Harvey Estuary is a natural estuary which lies roughly parallel to the coast of Western Australia and south of the town of Mandurah. The strip of land between the Indian Ocean and the estuary carries the Old Coast Road and to the east is the Forrest Highway which is the main thoroughfare...

 and forms part of the Peel-Yalgorup System Ramsar

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,...

 site. It is an important area for 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, or shorebirds, and is a well-known birdwatching

Birdwatching

Birdwatching or birding is the observation of birds as a recreational activity. It can be done with the naked eye, through a visual enhancement device like binoculars and telescopes, or by listening for bird sounds. Birding often involves a significant auditory component, as many bird species are...

 site.

Description

The lake is oval and shallow with a gently sloping bed. Maximum open water coverage is an area of about 2.1 km (north-south) by 1.25 km (east-west). It lies in a natural depression in the coastal plain and is separated from the eastern shoreline of the Harvey Estuary by a vegetated fossil dune ridge some 600 m across.

Plants

About 30 plant species have been recorded. There are stands of Banbar and Swamp Paperbark

Melaleuca rhaphiophylla

Melaleuca rhaphiophylla, or Swamp Paperbark, is a species of tree which is endemic to the South west region of Western Australia....

 fringing the northern and eastern margins, with a patchy understorey of Broadleaf Cumbungi. The south-western corner is dominated by pasture

Pasture

Pasture is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep or swine. The vegetation of tended pasture, forage, consists mainly of grasses, with an interspersion of legumes and other forbs...

 and the mid-section of the western shore is open eucalypt

Eucalypt

Eucalypts are woody plants belonging to three closely related genera:Eucalyptus, Corymbia and Angophora.In 1995 new evidence, largely genetic, indicated that some prominent Eucalyptus species were actually more closely related to Angophora than to the other eucalypts; they were split off into the...

 woodland

Woodland

Ecologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...

, including Tuarts

Eucalyptus gomphocephala

Eucalyptus gomphocephala is a species of tree, also known as Tuart, in the genus Eucalyptus. Native to the southwest of Western Australia the tree grows to over 35m tall. As a durable hardwood the timber is sought after for scantlings, structural timber, the construction of railway carriages, and...

, Flooded Gums

Eucalyptus rudis

Eucalyptus rudis, Flooded gum, is a medium sized tree with rough, dark and light grey bark, however north of Perth its bark is smooth and very similar to Eucalyptus camaldulensis. Leaves are stalked, alternate, ovate to orbicular 12 x 7 cm, slightly discolourous and dull grey-green...

 and Swamp Peppermints, with a grass

Grass

Grasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns ...

 understorey. Other species present include Spearwood

Kunzea glabrescens

Kunzea glabrescens is a species of Western Australian shrub known by the common name spearwood. It grows 1.5 to 4 metres high in sandy soil and bears yellow flowers in October and November.-External links:**...

, Golden-wreath Wattle

Acacia saligna

Acacia saligna, commonly known by various names including coojong, golden wreath wattle, orange wattle, blue-leafed wattle, Western Australian golden wattle, and, in Africa, Port Jackson willow, is a small tree in the family Fabaceae...

, Swan River Peppermint

Agonis flexuosa

Agonis flexuosa is a species of tree that grows in the south west of Western Australia. It is easily the most common of the Agonis species, and is one of the most recognisable trees of Western Australia, being commonly grown in parks and on road verges in Perth.The species is commonly known as...

 and sheoaks

Allocasuarina

Allocasuarina is a genus of trees in the flowering plant family Casuarinaceae. They are endemic to Australia, occurring primarily in the south. Like the closely related genus Casuarina, they are commonly called sheoaks or she-oaks, they are notable for their long, segmented branchlets that...

. Six species of orchid have been recorded in the reserve, including Pink Fairy

Caladenia latifolia

The Pink Fairy Orchid is species of orchid found across southern Australia.- Description :Caladenia latifolia is a tuberous, perennial herb. The species epithet, latifolia, refers to the leaves which are basal, oblong-lanceolate, glabrous and up to 20 cm long...

 and Cowslip Orchids

Caladenia flava

The Cowslip Orchid or Butter Orchid is species of orchid found across Southwest Australia.- Description :...

.

Birds

The exposed mudflat

Mudflat

Mudflats or mud flats, also known as tidal flats, are coastal wetlands that form when mud is deposited by tides or rivers. They are found in sheltered areas such as bays, bayous, lagoons, and estuaries. Mudflats may be viewed geologically as exposed layers of bay mud, resulting from deposition of...

s around the lake form essential feeding habitat for migratory

Bird migration

Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...

 waders. Some 163 ha of the reserve 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 an 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...

 (IBA) because it regularly supports over 1% of the world populations of Red-necked Stint

Red-necked Stint

The Red-necked Stint is a small migratory wader.- Description :These birds are among the smallest of waders, very similar to the Little Stint, Calidris minuta, with which they were once considered conspecific...

s, 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...

s, White-headed Stilt

White-headed Stilt

The White-headed Stilt or Pied Stilt is a bird in the Recurvirostridae family. It is sometimes treated as a distinct species Himantopus leucocephalus, sometimes included in the Common or Black-winged Stilt as Himantopus himantopus leucocephalus.This shorebird is found in Australia, Brunei,...

s, Red-necked Avocet

Red-necked Avocet

The Red-necked Avocet is a water bird found throughout Australia, except for the northern parts of the Northern Territory....

s and Red-capped Plover

Red-capped Plover

The Red-capped Plover , also known as the Red-capped Dotterel, is a small plover. It breeds in Australia. The species is closely related to the Kentish Plover, Javan Plover and White-fronted Plover.-Description:Red-capped Plovers have white underparts and forehead...

s, and sometimes large numbers of Blue-billed Duck

Blue-billed Duck

The Blue-billed Duck is a small Australian stiff-tailed duck, with both the male and female growing to a length of 40 cm . The male has a slate-blue bill which changes to bright-blue during the breeding season, hence the duck’s common name . The male has deep chestnut plumage during breeding...

s.