Extreme weather events might not always be good for people but wildlife is benefiting from last year’s floods, with a lake near Kerang transformed into a “local honeypot”.
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The North Central Catchment Management Authority is filling the lake for the first time in six years and water managers say it will be an important hub for local birdlife.
North Central CMA environmental water manager Louissa Rogers said water would stay in Lake Cullen for about two years.
“That will mean as other wetlands recede naturally next summer and spring, there will still be water in Lake Cullen,” she said.
“We then expect birds to move from other wetlands to Cullen, so from a landscape point of view, it will become a very important refuge site for birds, even if we have a dry summer and spring.”
The catchment authority held off filling the lake until now because of the amount of birds breeding there.
“The birds have left their nests and as the days cool down, now is the right time for Lake Cullen to be filled,” Ms Rogers said.
