Kalgan River - Fauna

Fauna

The estuarine end of the Kalgan River is good fishing for many species including black bream with a few skippy, herring, mulloway and whiting. The Kalgan River is renowned as being an excellent place to fish for bream and some of the State's largest bream have been caught in the river. Smaller freshwater species that can be found in the Kalgan River include the western galaxias (Galaxias occidentalis), the common jollytail (Galaxias maculatus), the mud minnow (Galaxiella munda), Balston's pygmy perch (Nannatherina balston), Nightfish (Bostockia porosa) and the western pygmy perch (Edelia vittata). The river is home to a large population of birds. In the estuarine part of the river, species such as the Australian Pelican, Little Black Cormorant, Pied Cormorant, Pied Oystercatcher, Black-winged Stilt, Common Sandpiper, Australian White Ibis, Straw-necked Ibis, Yellow-billed Spoonbill, Pacific Gull and Caspian Tern can often be seen. The freshwater parts of the river also support an enormous variety of birds including Nankeen Kestrel, Australian Hobby, Wedge-tailed Eagle, Short-billed Black-Cockatoo, Long-billed Black-Cockatoo, Galah, Little Corella, Purple-crowned Lorikeet, Red-capped Parrot, Laughing Kookaburra, Willie Wagtail, White-breasted Robin, Splendid Fairy-wren, New Holland Honeyeater, Red Wattlebird and Red-eared Firetail. Amphibious species that can be commonly be found in and around the river are frogs, such as the western banjo and moaning frogs. Reptiles frequently found in the area include Tiger snakes and Dugites.