Did you know that the Riverina is home to the largest population of Australasian Bitterns in the world?
It is recognised that about 500 Australasian Bitterns utilise rice crops over the summer months for breeding purposes. Incentives are available to rice growers to provide additional and improved habitat on farm for this threatened species The project is now entering its second season with great results achieved last year. Four times as many Bitterns were found in Bittern Friendly Rice when compared with our control crops. We also recorded a successful breeding event with four chicks identified and when last seen fully fledged.
The incentive program is open to all rice farmers who live in the project area. The area includes the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area, Coleambally Irrigation Area and farms in the nearby mid Murrumbidgee (see map).
For more information
click here or if you are a landholder interested in this project, please contact Project Officer Anna Wilson (0428 964 785) to submit an EOI by September 30.
