Goyder Lagoon is a large ephemeral swamp in arid north-eastern 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...

. It is part of the Diamantina River

Diamantina River

The Diamantina River is a river in south west Queensland and the far north of South Australia. Rising north-west of Longreach in the Swords Range, it flows in a south-westerly direction through central Queensland and the Channel Country to form the Warburton River at its confluence with the...

 floodplain

Floodplain

A floodplain, or flood plain, is a flat or nearly flat land adjacent a stream or river that stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls and experiences flooding during periods of high discharge...

, lying beside the Birdsville Track

Birdsville Track

The Birdsville Track is a notable outback road in Australia. The 517 km track runs from Marree, a small town in northern South Australia, north across the Tirari Desert and Sturt Stony Desert, ending in Birdsville in south western Queensland....

 close to the state border with Queensland. Exceptionally large floods in the Georgina

Georgina River

The Georgina River is the north-westernmost of the three major rivers of the Channel Country in western Queensland that flow in extremely wet years into Lake Eyre.-Geography:...

-Mulligan River system may contribute water to the north-western side of Goyder Lagoon via Eyre Creek

Eyre Creek (South Australia)

Eyre Creek is a short ephemeral waterway which is located in the Clare Valley. It runs along Main North Road, south from Leasingham and enters the Wakefield River just north of Auburn. It was named in honour of the explorer Edward John Eyre, who explored the area in 1839 during one of his...

 and the Warburton River

Warburton River

Warburton River is a freshwater stream in the far north of South Australia that flows in a south westerly direction and discharges into the eastern side of Lake Eyre. It is one of the state's largest rivers, and is part of the Diamantina catchment...

. Most of the lagoon consists of shallow, braided micro-channels. It lies within the Clifton Hills cattle grazing

Cattle station

Cattle station is an Australian term for a large farm , whose main activity is the rearing of cattle. In Australia, the owner of a cattle station is called a grazier...

 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....

. Median annual rainfall is 100–150 mm and average maximum summer temperatures are 36-39 Celsius.

Birds

An area of 2684 km² containing Goyder Lagoon 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) principally because, when flooded, it supports large numbers of waterbirds, with a total of 170,000 estimated from aerial surveys in 2002. The largest waterbird aggregations are found on the southern side of the lagoon, including several species of cormorant

Cormorant

The bird family Phalacrocoracidae is represented by some 40 species of cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed recently, and the number of genera is disputed.- Names :...

s, duck

Duck

Duck is the common name for a large number of species in the Anatidae family of birds, which also includes swans and geese. The ducks are divided among several subfamilies in the Anatidae family; they do not represent a monophyletic group but a form taxon, since swans and geese are not considered...

s, heron

Heron

The herons are long-legged freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae. There are 64 recognised species in this family. Some are called "egrets" or "bitterns" instead of "heron"....

s and ibis

Ibis

The ibises are a group of long-legged wading birds in the family Threskiornithidae....

es. The IBA supports over 1% of the world populations of Freckled Duck

Freckled Duck

The Freckled Duck is a moderately large, broad-bodied duck native to southern Australia. The duck is protected by law...

s, Gull-billed Tern

Gull-billed Tern

The Gull-billed Tern formerly Sterna nilotica , is a seabird of the tern family Sternidae...

s and breeding Royal Spoonbill

Royal Spoonbill

The Royal Spoonbill, Platalea regia, also known as the Black-billed Spoonbill, occurs in intertidal flats and shallows of fresh and saltwater wetlands in Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands. It has also been recorded as a vagrant in New Caledonia...

s. A small population of Yellow Chat

Yellow Chat

The Yellow Chat is a species of bird in the Meliphagidae family.It is endemic to Australia.-References:* BirdLife International 2004. . Downloaded on 25 July 2007....

s occurs at the Koonchera waterhole. Other bird species for which the site is important include the Letter-winged Kite

Letter-winged Kite

The Letter-winged Kite is a small, rare and irruptive Australian raptor with a core range in central Australia. The adult is a small and graceful, predominantly pale grey and white, raptor with black shoulders and red eyes...

, Inland Dotterel

Inland Dotterel

The Inland Dotterel also known as the Australian Dotterel and sometimes placed in the monotypic genus Peltohyas, is a medium-sized Charadriine plover.-Description:...

, Grey

Grey Grasswren

The Grey Grasswren is a species of bird in the Maluridae family.It is endemic to Australia.-References:* BirdLife International 2004. . Downloaded on 25 July 2007....

 and Eyrean Grasswren

Eyrean Grasswren

The Eyrean Grasswren is a species of bird in the Maluridae family.It is endemic to Australia.-References:* BirdLife International 2004. . Downloaded on 25 July 2007....

s, Black

Black Honeyeater

The Black Honeyeater is a species of bird in the family of honeyeaters, Meliphagidae, and the sole species in the genus Sugomel. The Black Honeyeater exhibits sexual dimorphism with the male being black and white while the female is a speckled grey-brown; immature birds look like the female...

 and Pied Honeyeater

Pied Honeyeater

The Pied Honeyeater is a species of bird in the Meliphagidae family.It is endemic to Australia.-References:* BirdLife International 2004. . Downloaded on 25 July 2007....

s, Gibberbird

Gibberbird

The Gibberbird is a species of bird endemic to Australia. It is the only species in the genus Ashbyia. It, along with the four chats in the genus Epthianura, have sometimes been placed in a separate family, Epthianuridae , but are now thought to be aberrant honeyeaters in the family...

, Banded Whiteface

Banded Whiteface

The Banded Whiteface is a species of bird in the Pardalotidae family.It is endemic to Australia.-References:* BirdLife International 2004. . Downloaded on 25 July 2007....

, Chirruping Wedgebill

Chirruping Wedgebill

The Chirruping Wedgebill is a species of bird in the Cinclosomatidae family.It is endemic to Australia.-References:* BirdLife International 2004. . Downloaded on 27 July 2007....

 and Cinnamon Quail-thrush

Cinnamon Quail-thrush

The Cinnamon Quail-thrush is a species of bird in the Cinclosomatidae family.It is endemic to Australia.-References:* BirdLife International 2004. . Downloaded on 25 July 2007....

.