The Macquarie Marshes Nature Reserve is located in the Macquarie Marshes, a region along the lower Macquarie River in northwestern New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, about 600 km northwest of Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

. The marshes are created by irregular flooding of the flat lands along the river. The Nature Reserve extends over an area of almost 20,000 hectares, approximately 10% of the Macquarie Marshes

Macquarie Marshes

The Macquarie Marshes comprise the wetlands associated with the floodplains of the Macquarie River and its tributaries, in northern New South Wales, Australia. The Macquarie River and the marshes eventually drain into the Darling River...

 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...

. It consists of two main reserves, the North and South Marsh, and a third small reserve. The North and South Marsh Nature Reserves were listed as a wetland of international importance in 1986 under the Ramsar Convention

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,...

 of 1971. The Macquarie Marshes are also listed on the Register of the National Estate

Register of the National Estate

The Register of the National Estate is a listing of natural and cultural heritage places in Australia. The listing was initially compiled between 1976 and 2003 by the Australian Heritage Commission. The register is now maintained by the Australian Heritage Council...

, the Register of the National Trust of Australia

National Trust of Australia

The Australian Council of National Trusts is the peak body for community-based, non-government organisations committed to promoting and conserving Australia's indigenous, natural and historic heritage....

, and the Directory of Important Wetlands in Australia. The reserve is part of the Macquarie Marshes 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...

, 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...

 because of its importance as a breeding site for waterbirds.

Flora and fauna

The wetlands contain a wide range of vegetation types, primarily determined by the frequency and duration of flooding. The dominant types are River Red Gum

River Red Gum

The River Red Gum is a tree of the genus Eucalyptus. It is one of around 800 in the genus. It is a plantation species in many parts of the world, but is native to Australia, where it is widespread, especially beside inland water courses...

 forest and woodland, as well as extensive beds of Common Reed. Various vegetation associations are found throughout the wetlands, providing habitat for many species of waterbird, as well as other wildlife including 211 bird species, 8 species of native mammal, 15 frog, 56 reptile and 24 native fish species. The wetlands are one of the most important breeding sites in Australia for Intermediate Egret

Intermediate Egret

The Intermediate Egret, Median Egret, or Yellow-billed Egret is a medium-sized heron. It is a resident breeder from east Africa across tropical southern Asia to Australia. It often nests in colonies with other herons, usually on platforms of sticks in trees or shrubs...

 and Straw-necked Ibis

Straw-necked Ibis

The Straw-necked Ibis is a bird of the ibis and spoonbill family Threskiornithidae. It can be found throughout Australia, New Guinea, and parts of Indonesia. Adults have distinctive straw-like feathers on their neck....

. A number of birds are listed as vulnerable or threatened including the Magpie Goose, 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...

, Freckled Duck

Freckled Duck

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

, Australasian Bittern

Australasian Bittern

The Australasian Bittern , also known as the Brown Bittern, is found in south-western and south-eastern Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand, New Caledonia and Ouvea. Populations in Australia and New Zealand have declined in the 20th century.It is a large bittern, patterned and streaked brown, buff...

, Brolga

Brolga

The Brolga , formerly known as the "Native Companion", is a bird in the crane family. The bird has also been given the name "Australian Crane", a term coined in 1865 by well-known ornithological artist John Gould in his Birds of Australia.The Brolga is a common gregarious wetland bird species in...

, Painted Snipe

Painted snipe

Painted snipes are three distinctive wader species in the family Rostratulidae. The family is composed to two genera, Rostratula and Nycticryphes. The Australian Painted Snipe is often treated as a subspecies of the Greater Painted Snipe, but morphological and genetic differences have resulted in...

, Osprey

Osprey

The Osprey , sometimes known as the sea hawk or fish eagle, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey. It is a large raptor, reaching more than in length and across the wings...

, Glossy Black Cockatoo, Turquoise Parrot

Turquoise Parrot

The Turquoise Parrot is a parrot previously widespread in Eastern Australia, though now mainly found in northeastern New South Wales and north-eastern Victoria....

, Square-tailed Kite

Square-tailed Kite

The Square-tailed Kite is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as kites, eagles and harriers.-Conservation status:...

 and Major Mitchell's Cockatoo

Major Mitchell's Cockatoo

The Major Mitchell's Cockatoo also known as Leadbeater's Cockatoo or Pink Cockatoo, is a medium-sized cockatoo restricted to arid and semi-arid inland areas of Australia...

.

Threats

The nature reserve covers only a small part of the marsh area. The rest of it is private agricultural holdings, utilised for the grazing of cattle and sheep, and cropping. The frequency and extent of the flooding required to sustain the marshes is threatened by increasing extraction of water from the Macquarie River for crop irrigation

Irrigation

Irrigation may be defined as the science of artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...

upstream from the marshes.