Swan Bay (Swan Bay)
The Swan Bay is a shallow, 30 km2 marine embayment at the eastern end of the Bellarine Peninsula in Port Phillip, Victoria, Australia. The township of Queenscliff lies at its southern end, and St Leonards at its northern. It is partly separated from Port Phillip by Swan Island, Duck Island and Edwards Point. Most of the area is included in the Port Phillip Heads Marine National Park as well as being listed as a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention as part of the Port Phillip Bay (Western Shoreline) and Bellarine Peninsula Ramsar Site. The bay is part of the Swan Bay and Port Phillip Bay Islands Important Bird Area, identified as such by BirdLife International because of its importance for orange-bellied parrots, waders and seabirds.
Matthew Flinders named the bay "Swan Ponds" after its black swans, up to 2,700 of which can be seen in summer and early autumn.
Swan Bay contains a variety of ecosystems that make it environmentally important for waterbirds and migratory waders. These include salt marsh, intertidal mudflats and vast seagrass beds on which, almost everything living in the bay relies on for food. Although much of the surrounding land is farmland, some remnant woodland survives in the adjoining Edwards Point Nature Reserve and Swan Bay itself. The bay has been recognised as having international importance and the Port Phillip Heads Marine National Park almost entirely occupies the bay.
Nearly 200 species of birds have been recorded in Swan bay. Birds of conservation significance for which the bay and its shore are internationally important include the critically endangered orange-bellied parrot as well as little tern, fairy tern, eastern curlew, Lewin's rail and white-bellied sea eagle. It also supports over 1% of the Australian population of four wader species: Grey plover, Pacific golden plover, double-banded plover and eastern curlew. Other birds found in the region include the Australian pelican, silver gull, royal spoonbill, Caspian and crested terns, white-fronted chat, sacred ibis, red-necked stint, little pied cormorant and pied oystercatcher. Some of these birds travel from as far away as Arctic Siberia and Alaska where they breed, to feed on the intertidal mudflats of Swan Bay.
Matthew Flinders named the bay "Swan Ponds" after its black swans, up to 2,700 of which can be seen in summer and early autumn.
Swan Bay contains a variety of ecosystems that make it environmentally important for waterbirds and migratory waders. These include salt marsh, intertidal mudflats and vast seagrass beds on which, almost everything living in the bay relies on for food. Although much of the surrounding land is farmland, some remnant woodland survives in the adjoining Edwards Point Nature Reserve and Swan Bay itself. The bay has been recognised as having international importance and the Port Phillip Heads Marine National Park almost entirely occupies the bay.
Nearly 200 species of birds have been recorded in Swan bay. Birds of conservation significance for which the bay and its shore are internationally important include the critically endangered orange-bellied parrot as well as little tern, fairy tern, eastern curlew, Lewin's rail and white-bellied sea eagle. It also supports over 1% of the Australian population of four wader species: Grey plover, Pacific golden plover, double-banded plover and eastern curlew. Other birds found in the region include the Australian pelican, silver gull, royal spoonbill, Caspian and crested terns, white-fronted chat, sacred ibis, red-necked stint, little pied cormorant and pied oystercatcher. Some of these birds travel from as far away as Arctic Siberia and Alaska where they breed, to feed on the intertidal mudflats of Swan Bay.
Map - Swan Bay (Swan Bay)
Map
Country - Australia
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The ancestors of Aboriginal Australians began arriving from south east Asia approximately 65,000 years ago, during the last ice age. Arriving by sea, they settled the continent and had formed approximately 250 distinct language groups by the time of European settlement, maintaining some of the longest known continuing artistic and religious traditions in the world. Australia's written history commenced with the European maritime exploration of Australia. The Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon was the first known European to reach Australia, in 1606. In 1770, the British explorer James Cook mapped and claimed the east coast of Australia for Great Britain, and the First Fleet of British ships arrived at Sydney in 1788 to establish the penal colony of New South Wales. The European population grew in subsequent decades, and by the end of the 1850s gold rush, most of the continent had been explored by European settlers and an additional five self-governing British colonies established. Democratic parliaments were gradually established through the 19th century, culminating with a vote for the federation of the six colonies and foundation of the Commonwealth of Australia on 1 January 1901. Australia has since maintained a stable liberal democratic political system and wealthy market economy.
Currency / Language
| ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
|---|---|---|---|
| AUD | Australian dollar | $ | 2 |
| ISO | Language |
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| EN | English language |