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Australia Australia Ramsar wetland

Thomsons Lake

186 bird species recorded; the most from December to January.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec153at the peak
Species recorded in each month · tap a month

Ivana Martinovic · CC BY-SA 4.0

This month here

153 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.

Pied Stilt
Pied StiltHimantopus leucocephalusSummer visitorJJ Harrison ( https://www.jjharrison.com.au/ ) · CC BY-SA 3.0
Great White Egret
Great White EgretArdea albaSummer visitorCalibas · CC BY-SA 3.0
Straw-necked Ibis
Straw-necked IbisThreskiornis spinicollisSummer visitorJJ Harrison ( https://www.jjharrison.com.au/ ) · CC BY 3.0
Australian Raven
Australian RavenCorvus coronoidesResidentJJ Harrison ( https://tiny.jjharrison.com.au/t/ZoQvcc05qhmjQ9eE ) · CC BY-SA 4.0
Glossy Ibis
Glossy IbisPlegadis falcinellusSummer visitorEgretta_garzetta_Plegadis_falcinellus_Syracuse.jpg : Gabriele Iuvara derivative work: MPF · CC BY-SA 2.0
Australian White Ibis
Australian White IbisThreskiornis moluccaResidentJJ Harrison ( https://www.jjharrison.com.au/ ) · CC BY-SA 3.0
Willie-wagtail
Willie-wagtailRhipidura leucophrysResidentJJ Harrison ( https://www.jjharrison.com.au/ ) · CC BY-SA 4.0
Pacific Black Duck
Pacific Black DuckAnas superciliosaResidentStephen Barrell · CC BY 2.0
Splendid Fairywren
Splendid FairywrenMalurus splendensResidentAviceda · CC BY-SA 3.0
Australian Shelduck
Australian ShelduckTadorna tadornoidesResidentChristian Ursilva from København, Danmark · CC BY-SA 4.0
Grey Teal
Grey TealAnas gracilisResidentJJ Harrison ( https://www.jjharrison.com.au/ ) · CC BY-SA 3.0
Australian Magpie
Australian MagpieGymnorhina tibicenResidentJJ Harrison ( https://www.jjharrison.com.au/ ) · CC BY-SA 3.0
White-faced Heron
White-faced HeronEgretta novaehollandiaeResidentRuss · CC BY 2.0
Rainbow Bee-eater
Rainbow Bee-eaterMerops ornatusSummer visitorJJ Harrison ( https://www.jjharrison.com.au/ ) · CC BY 3.0
Black swan
Black swanCygnus atratusResidentTarnishedPath · CC BY-SA 4.0
Coconut Lorikeet
Coconut LorikeetTrichoglossus haematodusResidentgailhampshire from Cradley, Malvern, U.K · CC BY 2.0
Yellow-billed Spoonbill
Yellow-billed SpoonbillPlatalea flavipesSummer visitorJJ Harrison ( https://www.jjharrison.com.au/ ) · CC BY-SA 4.0
Welcome Swallow
Welcome SwallowHirundo neoxenaResidentBenjamint444 · CC BY-SA 3.0
Little Pied Cormorant
Little Pied CormorantMicrocarbo melanoleucosResidentJJ Harrison ( https://www.jjharrison.com.au/ ) · CC BY-SA 3.0
Australasian Swamphen
Australasian SwamphenPorphyrio melanotusResidentMike Prince from Bangalore, India · CC BY 2.0
Whistling Kite
Whistling KiteHaliastur sphenurusResidentPeter Gaylard from Australia · CC BY 2.0
Grey Butcherbird
Grey ButcherbirdCracticus torquatusResidentTatiana Gerus · CC BY 2.0
Red Wattlebird
Red WattlebirdAnthochaera carunculataResidentJJ Harrison ( https://www.jjharrison.com.au/ ) · CC BY-SA 3.0
Swamp Harrier
Swamp HarrierCircus approximansResidentJude from New Zealand · CC BY-SA 2.0
  • Resident all year
  • Summer visitor comes to breed
  • Winter visitor comes for the winter
  • Passage migrant in spring and autumn

In numbers

186 species, counted.

68out 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).

  • 186Speciesrecorded more than once
  • 66Migrantssummer, winter or passage visitors
  • 5ThreatenedVulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered (IUCN)
  • 42,815Recordsopen records within 6 km
  • 17Raptors
  • 2Owls
  • 29Waders
  • 9Gulls & seabirds
  • 14Ducks & geese
  • 20Herons, ibises & grebes
  • 55Songbirds
  • 40Other 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 186 species.

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

Raptors17 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Whistling KiteHaliastur sphenurus
  • Swamp HarrierCircus approximans
  • Australian hobbyFalco longipennis
  • Little EagleHieraaetus morphnoides
  • Wedge-tailed EagleAquila audax
  • Black-shouldered KiteElanus axillaris
  • White-bellied Sea-EagleHaliaeetus leucogaster
  • Nankeen KestrelFalco cenchroides
  • Peregrine FalconFalco peregrinus
  • OspreyPandion haliaetus
  • European HobbyFalco subbuteo
  • Square-tailed KiteLophoictinia isura
  • Brown GoshawkAccipiter fasciatus
  • Brown FalconFalco berigora
  • Spotted HarrierCircus assimilis
  • Eastern OspreyPandion cristatus
  • Crested Honey BuzzardPernis ptilorhynchus
Owls2 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Southern BoobookNinox boobook
  • Eastern Barn OwlTyto javanica
Waders29 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Pied StiltHimantopus leucocephalus
  • Common GreenshankTringa nebularia
  • Australian Red-necked AvocetRecurvirostra novaehollandiae
  • Red-kneed DotterelErythrogonys cinctus
  • Sharp-tailed SandpiperCalidris acuminataVU
  • Wood SandpiperTringa glareola
  • Banded StiltCladorhynchus leucocephalus
  • Red-necked StintCalidris ruficollisNT
  • Pectoral SandpiperCalidris melanotos
  • Masked LapwingVanellus miles
  • Black-tailed GodwitLimosa limosaNT
  • Black-fronted DotterelElseyornis melanops
  • Long-toed StintCalidris subminuta
  • Oriental PratincoleGlareola maldivarum
  • Black-winged StiltHimantopus himantopus
  • Marsh SandpiperTringa stagnatilis
  • Banded LapwingVanellus tricolor
  • Red-capped PloverCharadrius ruficapillus
  • Pacific Golden PloverPluvialis fulva
  • Common SandpiperActitis hypoleucos
  • Grey PloverPluvialis squatarolaVU
  • Curlew SandpiperCalidris ferrugineaVU
  • RuffCalidris pugnax
  • Pied OystercatcherHaematopus longirostris
  • Gray-tailed TattlerTringa brevipes
  • Red KnotCalidris canutusNT
  • Great KnotCalidris tenuirostris
  • Inland PloverPeltohyas australis
  • Far Eastern CurlewNumenius madagascariensis
Gulls & seabirds9 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Silver GullChroicocephalus novaehollandiae
  • Caspian TernHydroprogne caspia
  • Franklin's GullLeucophaeus pipixcan
  • White-winged TernChlidonias leucopterus
  • Great Crested-TernThalasseus bergii
  • Whiskered TernChlidonias hybrida
  • Antarctic Giant-PetrelMacronectes giganteus
  • Australian TernGelochelidon macrotarsa
  • Fairy TernSternula nereisVU
Ducks & geese14 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Pacific Black DuckAnas superciliosa
  • Black swanCygnus atratus
  • Australian ShelduckTadorna tadornoides
  • Grey TealAnas gracilis
  • Musk DuckBiziura lobata
  • Australasian ShovelerSpatula rhynchotis
  • HardheadAythya australis
  • Blue-billed DuckOxyura australis
  • Maned DuckChenonetta jubata
  • Pink-eared DuckMalacorhynchus membranaceus
  • Chestnut TealAnas castanea
  • MallardAnas platyrhynchos
  • Freckled DuckStictonetta naevosa
  • Raja ShelduckRadjah radjah
Herons, ibises & grebes20 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Australian White IbisThreskiornis molucca
  • White-faced HeronEgretta novaehollandiae
  • Australian PelicanPelecanus conspicillatus
  • Little Pied CormorantMicrocarbo melanoleucos
  • Great White EgretArdea alba
  • Straw-necked IbisThreskiornis spinicollis
  • Glossy IbisPlegadis falcinellus
  • Yellow-billed SpoonbillPlatalea flavipes
  • Little Black CormorantPhalacrocorax sulcirostris
  • Australasian GrebeTachybaptus novaehollandiae
  • Hoary-headed GrebePoliocephalus poliocephalus
  • White-necked HeronArdea pacifica
  • Little EgretEgretta garzetta
  • Great CormorantPhalacrocorax carbo
  • Australasian DarterAnhinga novaehollandiae
  • Great Crested GrebePodiceps cristatus
  • Nankeen Night HeronNycticorax caledonicus
  • Pied CormorantPhalacrocorax varius
  • Ardea modestaArdea modesta
  • Reef HeronEgretta sacra
Songbirds55 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Australian RavenCorvus coronoides
  • Willie-wagtailRhipidura leucophrys
  • Australian MagpieGymnorhina tibicen
  • Red WattlebirdAnthochaera carunculata
  • Splendid FairywrenMalurus splendens
  • SilvereyeZosterops lateralis
  • Rhipidura albiscapaRhipidura albiscapa
  • Welcome SwallowHirundo neoxena
  • New Holland HoneyeaterPhylidonyris novaehollandiae
  • Singing HoneyeaterGavicalis virescens
  • Striated PardalotePardalotus striatus
  • Tree MartinPetrochelidon nigricans
  • Western GerygoneGerygone fusca
  • Grey ButcherbirdCracticus torquatus
  • Magpie larkGrallina cyanoleuca
  • Brown HoneyeaterLichmera indistincta
  • Black-faced CuckooshrikeCoracina novaehollandiae
  • WeebillSmicrornis brevirostris
  • Rufous WhistlerPachycephala rufiventris
  • Australian Reed-WarblerAcrocephalus australis
  • Yellow-rumped ThornbillAcanthiza chrysorrhoa
  • Little WattlebirdAnthochaera lunulata
  • Spotted ScrubwrenSericornis maculatus
  • Little GrassbirdMegalurus gramineus
  • Grey ShrikethrushColluricincla harmonica
  • Spotted PardalotePardalotus punctatus
  • White-cheeked HoneyeaterPhylidonyris niger
  • Inland ThornbillAcanthiza apicalis
  • Scarlet RobinPetroica boodang
  • Varied SittellaDaphoenositta chrysoptera
  • White-backed SwallowCheramoeca leucosterna
  • MistletoebirdDicaeum hirundinaceum
  • Australian PipitAnthus australis
  • Australian Golden WhistlerPachycephala pectoralis
  • House CrowCorvus splendens
  • Western ThornbillAcanthiza inornata
  • Gilbert's HoneyeaterMelithreptus chloropsis
  • Chestnut-breasted MannikinLonchura castaneothorax
  • Western SpinebillAcanthorhynchus superciliosus
  • Black-faced WoodswallowArtamus cinereus
  • Red-capped RobinPetroica goodenovii
  • Australian White-winged TrillerLalage tricolor
  • White-fronted ChatEpthianura albifrons
  • Dusky WoodswallowArtamus cyanopterus
  • Little WattlebirdAnthochaera chrysoptera
  • Tawny-crowned HoneyeaterGliciphila melanops
  • Little CrowCorvus bennetti
  • Grey CurrawongStrepera versicolor
  • Grey FantailRhipidura fuliginosa
  • Purple-backed FairywrenMalurus assimilis
  • White-browed ScrubwrenSericornis frontalis
  • Sunda Zebra FinchTaeniopygia guttata
  • European GoldfinchCarduelis carduelis
  • Fairy MartinPetrochelidon ariel
  • Rufous SonglarkMegalurus mathewsi
Other birds40 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Coconut LorikeetTrichoglossus haematodus
  • GalahEolophus roseicapilla
  • Australasian SwamphenPorphyrio melanotus
  • Australian RingneckBarnardius zonarius
  • KookaburraDacelo novaeguineae
  • CootFulica atra
  • Little CorellaCacatua sanguinea
  • Red-capped ParrotPurpureicephalus spurius
  • Eastern Spotted DoveSpilopelia chinensis
  • Crested PigeonOcyphaps lophotes
  • Rainbow Bee-eaterMerops ornatus
  • Laughing DoveSpilopelia senegalensis
  • Common BronzewingPhaps chalcoptera
  • Red-tailed Black CockatooCalyptorhynchus banksii
  • Dusky MoorhenGallinula tenebrosa
  • Rock DoveColumba livia
  • Sacred KingfisherTodiramphus sanctus
  • Carnaby's Black CockatooZanda latirostris
  • Spotless CrakePorzana tabuensis
  • Australian CrakePorzana fluminea
  • Fan-tailed CuckooCacomantis flabelliformis
  • Shining cuckooChrysococcyx lucidus
  • Baillon's CrakePorzana pusilla
  • Long-billed CorellaCacatua tenuirostris
  • Black-tailed NativehenGallinula ventralis
  • Buff-banded RailGallirallus philippensis
  • Western SwamphenPorphyrio porphyrio
  • Elegant ParrotNeophema elegans
  • Regent ParrotPolytelis anthopeplus
  • Horsfield's Bronze CuckooChrysococcyx basalis
  • Pallid cuckooCuculus pallidus
  • Western RosellaPlatycercus icterotis
  • Tawny FrogmouthPodargus strigoides
  • Red-collared LorikeetTrichoglossus rubritorquis
  • Brown QuailSynoicus ypsilophorus
  • Painted ButtonquailTurnix varius
  • Sulphur-crested CockatooCacatua galerita
  • Stubble QuailCoturnix pectoralis
  • Swift ParrotLathamus discolorCR
  • Carnaby's Black CockatooCalyptorhynchus latirostris

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

When to go

The most species from December to January.

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

  1. Jan15326°/19°18 mm
  2. Feb13927°/20°17 mm
  3. Mar13326°/19°20 mm
  4. Apr12423°/18°34 mm
  5. May11721°/16°84 mm
  6. Jun11019°/14°113 mm
  7. Jul10518°/14°128 mm
  8. Aug10218°/14°106 mm
  9. Sep11718°/14°70 mm
  10. Oct12220°/14°32 mm
  11. Nov13522°/16°25 mm
  12. Dec14625°/18°12 mm
  • Bar: species recorded that month.
  • Temperature: average maximum / minimum (NASA, 1991–2020).
  • Rain: monthly total.

The place

Thomsons Lake.

Lake within Thomsons Lake Nature Reserve in the south of Perth, Western Australia

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

186 bird species have been recorded here more than once, in 42,815 open records.

The most recorded are the Australian Raven, the Willie-wagtail and the Australian Magpie.

49 species come for the summer, 16 for the winter and 1 only pass through.

5 are threatened worldwide, including Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Grey Plover and Curlew Sandpiper.

The most species are recorded from December to January.

Thomsons Lake - surrounding bush & forest no 4
Ivana Martinovic · CC BY-SA 4.0

Get there and watch

  • Woodman Point Holiday Parkcampsite · 6.3 km · 2 within 10 km
  • Gallery Boutique Hotelplace to stay · 6.1 km · 40 within 10 km
  • Successnearest town · 2.1 km in a straight line
  • Perth International Airport (PER)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 27 km in a straight lineCar hire at PER airport (Perth)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.

Thomsons Lake 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

  • 1bird hides within 6 km
  • 8viewpoints within 5 km
  • 226car parks within 3 km
  • 18restaurants and cafés within 3 km
  • 2campsites within 10 kmWoodman Point Holiday Park, Coogee Beach Holiday Park
  • 40places to stay within 10 kmGallery Boutique Hotel, 126, 120B and 37 more
  • observation towers within 6 km
  • marked trails within 4 km
  • visitor centres within 6 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 Thomsons Lake.

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

Peakyas51 mountains within 25 km
Cantonment Hill · 14 kmMount Moke · 15 kmMount Haycock · 16 kmBuckland Hill · 16 kmSouth Hill · 16 kmMewstone Rock · 18 kmTamworth Hill · 19 kmMount Eliza · 21 km
Lakeyas7 lakes within 15 km
Thomsons Lake1.7 km² · this placeYangebup Lake0.8 km² · 3.5 kmLake Coogee0.5 km² · 4.8 kmLake Wattleup0.4 km² · 4.8 kmBibra Lake0.9 km² · 6.1 kmNorth Lake0.2 km² · 8.1 kmForrestdale Lake1.3 km² · 10 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.

Thomsons Lake panorama, January 2021
Calistemon · CC BY-SA 4.0
Path between and Thomsons Lake and Kogolup Lake, Beeliar Regional Park, June 2021
Calistemon · CC BY-SA 4.0
On a path around Thomsons Lake - detail
Ivana Martinovic · CC BY-SA 4.0

Other places nearby.

Thomsons Lake

Australia

  • 68Birdyas Score
  • 186Species
  • 66Migrants
  • 5Threatened

Forrestdale Lake

Australia · 10 km

  • 66Birdyas Score
  • 168Species
  • 61Migrants
  • 5Threatened

See the guide

Eric Singleton Bird Sanctuary

Australia · 26 km

  • 65Birdyas Score
  • 197Species
  • 47Migrants
  • 5Threatened

See the guide

Harvey Estuary

Australia · 62 km

  • 69Birdyas Score
  • 192Species
  • 67Migrants
  • 5Threatened

See the guide

Where these figures come from

Name and typeWikidata (Q7363344) · CC0
Birds42,815 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, Coastya, Lakeyas

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.