Print pageStar species
Our star species are some of the most interesting birds you may see on your visit to the reserve.
Large numbers of the Greenland population of barnacle geese arrive at Balranald in the autumn. You can see them grazing vegetation in densely-packed flocks through the winter. |  |
Corn buntings can be seen giving their rattly song from any vantage points. An old name for them is 'fat bird of the barley' which they live up to. |  |
Listen in spring and summer for the repetitive, rasping call of the male corncrake - it sounds rather like a coin being scraped along the teeth of a comb. |  |
Watch the nesting lapwings here chasing predators that may come too close to their nests or show too much of an interest in their chicks. The protective parents regularly give chase to crows and do not stop their 'mobbing' attacks until the danger has passed. |  |
Turnstones will be among the large flocks of wading birds foraging on the shoreline in spring. Watch carefully and you'll see them rummaging through the shingle for food. |  |