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Australia Australia Ramsar wetland

Lake Albert

95 bird species recorded; the most in October.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec65at the peak
Species recorded in each month · tap a month

Mattinbgn · CC BY-SA 3.0

This month here

31 species in January.

The birds you are most likely to see in the month you choose, those that come for the season first. It opens on today's month.

Cape Barren Goose
Cape Barren GooseCereopsis novaehollandiaeSummer visitorJJ Harrison ( https://www.jjharrison.com.au/ ) · CC BY-SA 3.0
Whiskered Tern
Whiskered TernChlidonias hybridaSummer visitorMarek Szczepanek · CC BY-SA 3.0
Australian Pelican
Australian PelicanPelecanus conspicillatusResidentW. Bulach · CC BY-SA 4.0
Pied Cormorant
Pied CormorantPhalacrocorax variusResidentTony Wills · CC BY-SA 3.0
Australian Shelduck
Australian ShelduckTadorna tadornoidesResidentChristian Ursilva from København, Danmark · CC BY-SA 4.0
Silver Gull
Silver GullChroicocephalus novaehollandiaeResidentJJ Harrison ( https://www.jjharrison.com.au/ ) · CC BY-SA 3.0
Great Cormorant
Great CormorantPhalacrocorax carboResidentJJ Harrison ( https://www.jjharrison.com.au/ ) · CC BY-SA 3.0
Masked Lapwing
Masked LapwingVanellus milesResidentJJ Harrison ( https://www.jjharrison.com.au/ ) · CC BY-SA 3.0
Pacific Black Duck
Pacific Black DuckAnas superciliosaResidentStephen Barrell · CC BY 2.0
Black swan
Black swanCygnus atratusResidentTarnishedPath · CC BY-SA 4.0
Great Crested-Tern
Great Crested-TernThalasseus bergiiResidentNoodle snacks · CC BY-SA 3.0
Grey Teal
Grey TealAnas gracilisResidentJJ Harrison ( https://www.jjharrison.com.au/ ) · CC BY-SA 3.0
Sharp-tailed SandpiperVU
Sharp-tailed SandpiperCalidris acuminataSummer visitorAlnus · CC BY-SA 3.0
Australian White Ibis
Australian White IbisThreskiornis moluccaResidentJJ Harrison ( https://www.jjharrison.com.au/ ) · CC BY-SA 3.0
Straw-necked Ibis
Straw-necked IbisThreskiornis spinicollisResidentJJ Harrison ( https://www.jjharrison.com.au/ ) · CC BY 3.0
Pied Stilt
Pied StiltHimantopus leucocephalusResidentJJ Harrison ( https://www.jjharrison.com.au/ ) · CC BY-SA 3.0
Caspian Tern
Caspian TernHydroprogne caspiaResidentMdf · CC BY-SA 3.0
Maned Duck
Maned DuckChenonetta jubataResidentJJ Harrison ( https://www.jjharrison.com.au/ ) · CC BY-SA 3.0
Little Pied Cormorant
Little Pied CormorantMicrocarbo melanoleucosResidentJJ Harrison ( https://www.jjharrison.com.au/ ) · CC BY-SA 3.0
Australian Red-necked Avocet
Australian Red-necked AvocetRecurvirostra novaehollandiaeResidentJJ Harrison ( https://www.jjharrison.com.au/ ) · CC BY-SA 3.0
Little Black Cormorant
Little Black CormorantPhalacrocorax sulcirostrisSummer visitorQuartl · CC BY-SA 3.0
Hardhead
HardheadAythya australisWinter visitorJJ Harrison ( https://tiny.jjharrison.com.au/t/VcHWJIMlVY6vk6hU ) · CC BY-SA 4.0
Black-shouldered Kite
Black-shouldered KiteElanus axillarisWinter visitorFrankzed from Melbourne, Australia · CC BY 2.0
Ardea modestaArdea modestaResident
  • Resident all year
  • Summer visitor comes to breed
  • Winter visitor comes for the winter
  • Passage migrant in spring and autumn

In numbers

95 species, counted.

52out of 100

Our own rating, from the records only: species (50 points), threatened species (20), migrants (20) and protected status — Ramsar, IBA, SPA, observatory (10).

  • 95Speciesrecorded more than once
  • 34Migrantssummer, winter or passage visitors
  • 3ThreatenedVulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered (IUCN)
  • 2,721Recordsopen records within 6 km
  • 9Raptors
  • 20Waders
  • 6Gulls & seabirds
  • 13Ducks & geese
  • 16Herons, ibises & grebes
  • 22Songbirds
  • 9Other birds

From open records (eBird and others, through GBIF, licensed for any use). More birdwatchers mean more records: a quiet place may have more birds than it shows.

The checklist

All 95 species.

By group, with the year in twelve cells: the darker the cell, the more often the bird is recorded that month.

Raptors9 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Black-shouldered KiteElanus axillaris
  • Brown FalconFalco berigora
  • Whistling KiteHaliastur sphenurus
  • Swamp HarrierCircus approximans
  • Nankeen KestrelFalco cenchroides
  • Black KiteMilvus migrans
  • Wedge-tailed EagleAquila audax
  • Australian hobbyFalco longipennis
  • Spotted HarrierCircus assimilis
Waders20 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Masked LapwingVanellus miles
  • Red-necked StintCalidris ruficollisNT
  • Red-capped PloverCharadrius ruficapillus
  • Pied StiltHimantopus leucocephalus
  • Australian Red-necked AvocetRecurvirostra novaehollandiae
  • Sharp-tailed SandpiperCalidris acuminataVU
  • Banded StiltCladorhynchus leucocephalus
  • Marsh SandpiperTringa stagnatilis
  • Black-winged StiltHimantopus himantopus
  • Red-kneed DotterelErythrogonys cinctus
  • Banded LapwingVanellus tricolor
  • Double-banded PloverCharadrius bicinctusNT
  • Common GreenshankTringa nebularia
  • Oriental PratincoleGlareola maldivarum
  • Wood SandpiperTringa glareola
  • Curlew SandpiperCalidris ferrugineaVU
  • Pectoral SandpiperCalidris melanotos
  • Long-toed StintCalidris subminuta
  • Red KnotCalidris canutusNT
  • Far Eastern CurlewNumenius madagascariensis
Gulls & seabirds6 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Silver GullChroicocephalus novaehollandiae
  • Great Crested-TernThalasseus bergii
  • Caspian TernHydroprogne caspia
  • Whiskered TernChlidonias hybrida
  • Gull-billed TernGelochelidon nilotica
  • Fairy TernSternula nereisVU
Ducks & geese13 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Australian ShelduckTadorna tadornoides
  • Pacific Black DuckAnas superciliosa
  • Black swanCygnus atratus
  • Cape Barren GooseCereopsis novaehollandiae
  • Grey TealAnas gracilis
  • Chestnut TealAnas castanea
  • HardheadAythya australis
  • Australasian ShovelerSpatula rhynchotis
  • Maned DuckChenonetta jubata
  • Pink-eared DuckMalacorhynchus membranaceus
  • Freckled DuckStictonetta naevosa
  • Musk DuckBiziura lobata
  • Blue-billed DuckOxyura australis
Herons, ibises & grebes16 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Australian PelicanPelecanus conspicillatus
  • Pied CormorantPhalacrocorax varius
  • Great CormorantPhalacrocorax carbo
  • Great Crested GrebePodiceps cristatus
  • Australian White IbisThreskiornis molucca
  • Ardea modestaArdea modesta
  • Little Black CormorantPhalacrocorax sulcirostris
  • White-faced HeronEgretta novaehollandiae
  • Little Pied CormorantMicrocarbo melanoleucos
  • Straw-necked IbisThreskiornis spinicollis
  • Royal SpoonbillPlatalea regia
  • Great White EgretArdea alba
  • Yellow-billed SpoonbillPlatalea flavipes
  • Hoary-headed GrebePoliocephalus poliocephalus
  • Australasian GrebeTachybaptus novaehollandiae
  • Australasian DarterAnhinga novaehollandiae
Songbirds22 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Australian MagpieGymnorhina tibicen
  • Welcome SwallowHirundo neoxena
  • Common StarlingSturnus vulgaris
  • Magpie larkGrallina cyanoleuca
  • Little RavenCorvus mellori
  • Black-faced CuckooshrikeCoracina novaehollandiae
  • House SparrowPasser domesticus
  • Willie-wagtailRhipidura leucophrys
  • Brown SonglarkMegalurus cruralis
  • Singing HoneyeaterGavicalis virescens
  • New Holland HoneyeaterPhylidonyris novaehollandiae
  • Red WattlebirdAnthochaera carunculata
  • Yellow-rumped ThornbillAcanthiza chrysorrhoa
  • Little GrassbirdMegalurus gramineus
  • White-fronted ChatEpthianura albifrons
  • Australasian PipitAnthus novaeseelandiae
  • SkylarkAlauda arvensis
  • Superb Fairy-wrenMalurus cyaneus
  • SilvereyeZosterops lateralis
  • Golden-headed CisticolaCisticola exilis
  • European GoldfinchCarduelis carduelis
  • Tree MartinPetrochelidon nigricans
Other birds9 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • CootFulica atra
  • Black-tailed NativehenGallinula ventralis
  • Western SwamphenPorphyrio porphyrio
  • GalahEolophus roseicapilla
  • Crested PigeonOcyphaps lophotes
  • Rock DoveColumba livia
  • Australasian SwamphenPorphyrio melanotus
  • Australian CrakePorzana fluminea
  • Dusky MoorhenGallinula tenebrosa

Monthly presence relative to all bird records that month, so a busy month does not inflate every species.

When to go

The most species in October.

Species recorded in each month, with the usual temperature and rain.

  1. Jan3129°/16°18 mm
  2. Feb4228°/15°16 mm
  3. Mar5326°/14°29 mm
  4. Apr5222°/12°30 mm
  5. May3018°/10°45 mm
  6. Jun2115°/7°48 mm
  7. Jul5714°/7°50 mm
  8. Aug3415°/7°45 mm
  9. Sep3918°/8°42 mm
  10. Oct6522°/10°23 mm
  11. Nov4525°/12°22 mm
  12. Dec3927°/14°25 mm
  • Bar: species recorded that month.
  • Temperature: average maximum / minimum (NASA, 1991–2020).
  • Rain: monthly total.

The place

Lake Albert.

Lake in South Australia

Lake Albert is a wetland of international importance (Ramsar) in Australia.

95 bird species have been recorded here more than once, in 2,721 open records.

The most recorded are the Australian Pelican, the Silver Gull and the Pied Cormorant.

8 species come for the summer, 24 for the winter and 2 only pass through.

3 are threatened worldwide, including Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Curlew Sandpiper and Fairy Tern.

The most species are recorded in October.

MeningieLakeAlbert
Mattinbgn · CC BY-SA 3.0

Get there and watch

  • Lake Albert Foreshorecampsite · 7.3 km · 4 within 10 km
  • Meningie's Waterfront Motelplace to stay · 7.4 km · 2 within 10 km
  • Meningienearest town · 8.6 km in a straight line
  • Adelaide International Airport (ADL)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 102 km in a straight lineCar hire at ADL airport (Adelaide)Discover Cars · sponsored link

Plan the visit

A guided walk, a bed nearby, a car.

Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.

From above

The place and its surroundings.

The satellite image of the 6 × 6 km around the place, with the bird hides, towers and trails that OpenStreetMap shows.

Lake Albert seen from above (Sentinel-2)
Seen from above: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 6 × 6 km, north up. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Around, in OpenStreetMap

  • 4campsites within 10 kmLake Albert Foreshore, Meningie Lions Jubilee Park, Lake Albert Caravan Parkl and 1 more
  • 2places to stay within 10 kmMeningie's Waterfront Motel
  • bird hides within 6 km
  • observation towers within 6 km
  • marked trails within 4 km
  • visitor centres within 6 km
  • viewpoints within 5 km
  • car parks within 3 km
  • restaurants and cafés within 3 km

Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit. A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet.

In our other atlases

Around Lake Albert.

The lakes, beaches, islands, rivers and mountains around this place, and its night sky, in the family's atlases.

Peakyas21 mountains within 25 km
Meningie Hill · 8.9 kmMount Misery · 11 kmMount Sandy · 13 kmNunkamung Hill · 14 kmElephant Hill · 15 kmMcDougall Hill · 16 kmSandy Peak · 19 kmMason Lookout · 20 km

Figures from the sister sites' databases (Wikidata, HydroATLAS, GeoNames, OpenStreetMap). Links open when each site is online.

Photographs

The place, as people saw it.

MeningieLakeAlbert (cropped)
Mattinbgn · CC BY-SA 3.0
Ashville SA 5259, Australia - panoramio
Matthew Summerton · CC BY-SA 3.0
Meningie SA 5264, Australia - panoramio
Matthew Summerton · CC BY-SA 3.0

Other places nearby.

Lake Albert

Australia

  • 52Birdyas Score
  • 95Species
  • 34Migrants
  • 3Threatened

Coorong National Park

Australia · 53 km

  • 67Birdyas Score
  • 148Species
  • 48Migrants
  • 7Threatened

See the guide

Lake Alexandrina

Australia · 23 km

  • 49Birdyas Score
  • 76Species
  • 27Migrants
  • 3Threatened

See the guide

Wyperfeld, Big Desert and Ngarkat Important Bird Area

Australia · 182 km

  • 51Birdyas Score
  • 94Species
  • 27Migrants
  • 3Threatened

See the guide

Where these figures come from

Name and typeWikidata (Q1584088) · CC0
Birds2,721 open bird records within 6 km (GBIF, CC0 and CC BY 4.0 only; mostly eBird, Cornell Lab of Ornithology)
See these recordsgbif.org
SpeciesGBIF Backbone Taxonomy · CC BY 4.0; Wikidata (CC0); Wikimedia Commons
AltitudeCopernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
Temperature and rainNASA POWER (CERES SYN1deg, 2001–2020; MERRA-2)
What is around© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
ImagesEOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons
Sister atlasesPeakyas

Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.

The family

Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers, canyons, caves, dark skies, viewpoints, birdwatching or forests?

Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, in seven languages.