Blundell's Swamp Wildlife Refuge in Lower Portland, New South Wales, Australia | Wildlife sanctuary

Blundell's Swamp Wildlife Refuge

Locality: Lower Portland, New South Wales, Australia

Phone: +61 433 792 582

Address: River Road 2756 Lower Portland, NSW, Australia

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21.01.2022 2020 Autumn and Winter After a horrifically dry and devastatingly destructive summer the rains came. Autumn and Winter had a higher than average rainfall but temperatures were still above average for this time of year. The swamp refilled, the frogs started calling breeding again, the swans returned and the black ducks loved it. The small birds were plentiful and raucous but too elusive to capture and the crows kept them in hiding.

20.01.2022 2016 January. The first time the swamp has been full in over 40 years. This is what it could be like if a road hadn't been built across its lowest end and drainage works hadn't been carried out.

19.01.2022 2010 still a bit of water in the swamp but even though there was a bit of rain about it has been very dry all year

18.01.2022 2015 Whilst not as hot as 2013 the temperature was still 1.9 degree C above the historical average. The start of the year saw a real threat of bush fires and ended with the swamp almost completely full. There was a territorial fight between a wedge tail and a sea eagle and dragon flies in abundance. Feral foxes combined with both eagles had reduced the duck population somewhat.

17.01.2022 2018 Autumn and Winter. This was a very dry winter with warmer than average days and cooler nights due to lack of cloud cover. Rainfall was down by 54%. The wetland was was severely suffering. Big wading birds chasing the few remaining frogs continued to appear with the smaller birds seeking refuge in their bird bath and squabbling over its usage.

16.01.2022 2018 Spring and Summer. 2018 Spring was the wettest for over a decade. It brought much needed water back to the swamp. This was followed by the hottest and driest Summer on record. The water received in November quickly evaporated drying out the reeds and exposing large areas of mudflats

15.01.2022 2017 Winter. Winter 2017 was drier than usual but rains in late June/ early July topped up the swamp. There was plenty of bird life notably spoonbills and other wading birds enjoying the frogs and small fish easily accessible as the waters retreat.

14.01.2022 2009 was a dry year even though there was some rain and the swamp started to dry out but there was still water in it.

13.01.2022 2019 Autumn and Winter. Whilst Autumn experienced a normal rainfall pattern it was hotter than historical averages. Winter, however was considerably drier than usual and much hotter. The swamp was suffering from the hotter and drier conditions and towards the end of winter had all but dried out, enough to walk on without sinking into the mud. Bird life was becoming harder to spot even around the water dish and kookaburras were taking advantage of the open exposed areas to hunt small lizards and the few remaining frogs

11.01.2022 2017/2018 Summer was hot and dry with temperatures above seasonal averages and rainfall below. The swamp was drying out quickly but the hunters hadn't finished The bird life was also shrinking both in numbers and variety.

11.01.2022 2016 March. Hottest March on record and one of the wettest. The birds seemed to love it

10.01.2022 Spring 2020 September

09.01.2022 2017 Autumn. In spite of a very wet March, which replenished the swamp, Autumn 2017 was one of the driest in 10 years. Again temperatures were above historical averages. The insect population was booming and the birds were loving it. They adopted a discarded dish as a bird bath and became very indignant if the water was not changed regularly enough. In the late afternoon the bath became very crowded with 3 or 4 different birds fighting for a position.

07.01.2022 2013 Was the warmest year on record. The swamp had gained water over the year from some solid rains along the Hawkesbury river valley. The birds were making use of the availability of water and food in a quite and protected area

07.01.2022 2019 Spring and Summer. Dry and hot. Record breaking temperatures and months of drought put the swamp in real danger of a repeat of the 2002 bush fires. The horrific 2020 fire season which caused the devastation of huge areas of NSW saw the fires burn ferociously up to the Hawkesbury River but thankfully they didn't jump it. Sadly negligent farming practices by a neighbouring property enabled goats to invade the refuge. The destruction to the native vegetation they have caused in such a short while is alarming. We have no legal recourse and have been forced to commence eradication of them at our own expense.

05.01.2022 2012 a year of extremes... summer temperatures exceeded the average and so did thunder storms. The Swamp managed to retain some water and bird life

05.01.2022 Spring 2017. After a dry winter, September 2017 continued the trend and was the driest since records began in 1858. The swamp was starting to dry out. The lower water level attracted the frog, turtle and duckling killers. As the frogs disappeared the insects abounded and the bird populations exploded in both number and variety.

03.01.2022 2016 April- December. This year was again the hottest year on record with a number of extreme weather events. The swamp still had plenty of water and the birds and insects were having a ball.

02.01.2022 2014 was again the warmest year on record with temperatures almost 1.5 degree C above historical averages. Even though rainfall was average across the state the swamp was seriously drying out and all but the tiniest birds had moved away.

02.01.2022 2011 The water has all but gone

01.01.2022 2017 Summer. Again this was the warmest on record with the average temperature 2.8 c above the historical average. The swamp was starting to dry out and this attracted the fish and frog hunters