Baigup Wetlands Interest Group Logo

Our aim is to see Baigup Wetlands protected and preserved into the future as an important natural resource for wildlife, the health of the Swan River and for human recreation, wellbeing and education.

Our activities

We work with reserve managers and volunteers from various organisations to restore Baigup Wetlands to a level of biodiversity capable of providing habitat or refuge for as wide a range of birds, animals, and terrestrial and aquatic invertebrates as possible; while at the same time maximising the amenity of this beautiful location for City of Bayswater residents and other visitors.

Baigup Wetlands is a very interesting, varied and complex site in its history, current state and potential.

Approximately 1 kilometre in length, 200 metres wide and 16.4 ha. in area it lies along the Swan River below Stone Street on the Maylands/Bayswater border. It is a great birding place, with an abundance of both wetland birds and bush birds.

Precious Urban Bushland

Baigup Wetlands is listed nationally as an increasingly rare example of a Temperate Coastal Saltmarsh Threatened Ecological Community (TEC). It is also part of Bush Forever Site 313 which includes both sides of the river from the end of Maylands Peninsula to Garratt Road Bridge.

Being part of the Swan River floodplain with its rich and ancient cultural heritage, Baigup is also a recognised site of continuing significance for Whadjuk Noongar people.

Baigup means place of rushes

For a fairly small reserve, and only five kilometres from the Perth CBD, Baigup Wetlands holds an extraordinary variety of birds, both bush birds and waterfowl, with coastal birds thrown in. A total of 96 species have been recorded on Birdlife Western Australia’s database since mid 2012 and the regular quarterly surveys usually count between 40 and 50 species for each survey.

Citizen Science

Add your observations and recordings to our project on iNaturalist called Baigup Wetlands BioBlitz

Visit us on iNaturalist

Follow on Facebook / Twitter

Management Plan

Read the 2014-2024 Management Plan

The Maylands section of Baigup (5.2 ha) is a Crown Reserve managed by City of Bayswater (COB). The Bayswater section (11.2 ha) is mostly freehold land owned by the Western Australian Planning Commission. This portion is currently managed by the Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage (DPLH). A small area of Unallocated Crown Reserve near the river, plus the Swan Lake Main Drain easement which runs from Stone Street at the back of the reserve to the river, are also included in the Bayswater section.

Newsletter Archive

Please get in touch to learn about volunteering or to subscribe to our Newsletter which comes out about four times per year.

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Contact Us

During the year we host a number of planting and weeding sessions.

During the year we send out a Baigup newsletter (between 4 to 8 emails per year).