{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}} {{Location map|Australia South Australia|lat=-32.143611|long= 133.494722|position = left|width=200|caption=Location of the Tourville and Murat Bays Important Bird Area in [[South Australia]]|label=Tourville and Murat Bays IBA}} [[File:Sooty Oystercatcher.jpg|thumb|right|200px|alt=Sooty oystercatcher standing on rocks|The IBA is an important site for [[sooty oystercatcher]]s.]]
'''Tourville and Murat Bays Important Bird Area''' is an [[important bird area]] in [[South Australia]] with a combined area of {{convert|117|km2|abbr=off}}, located west to the town of [[Ceduna, South Australia|Ceduna]] on the north-west corner of the [[Eyre Peninsula]] in the [[Great Australian Bight]]. It is considered to be an important area because of the resident populations of [[wader]]s, or shorebirds.
==Description== The [[Important Bird Area]] (IBA) consists of two separate areas - one on the west side of Murat Bay and the other covering the full extent of Tourville Bay. Both bays open to Denial Bay which itself is bounded by [[St Peter Island (South Australia)|St Peter Island]], a member of the [[Nuyts Archipelago]], on its east side. Tourville Bay has a relatively narrow neck and contains extensive intertidal flats and [[salt marsh|saltmarsh]]. Murat Bay is more open to the sea. They are separated by about {{convert|10|km|abbr=off}} of headland. The important bird area includes the [[intertidal zone]] and extends inland to take in other coastal features such as [[wetland]]s, including [[mangrove]]s and [[playa lake]]s.<ref name=bli>{{cite web|title=Important Bird Areas factsheet: Tourville and Murat Bays.|url=http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/sitefactsheet.php?id=25123|publisher=BirdLife International|accessdate=2 November 2014|date=2014}}</ref>
==Criteria for nomination as an IBA== The bays have been identified as an IBA by [[BirdLife International]] because, together, they support over 1% of the world populations of both [[pied oystercatcher|pied]] and [[sooty oystercatcher]]s.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.birdata.com.au/iba.vm |title=IBA: Tourville and Murat Bays |accessdate=2011-11-06 |work= Birdata |first= |last= |publisher=Birds Australia |date= }}</ref> Other birds for which the site is important include [[common greenshank]]s, [[red knot]]s, [[sharp-tailed sandpiper]]s, [[banded lapwing]]s, [[red-capped plover]]s and [[fairy tern]]s. There are also records of [[hooded plover]]s, [[pied cormorant|pied]] and [[great cormorant]]s, and [[white-faced heron]]s. [[rock parrot]]s inhabit the saltmarsh.<ref name=bli/> ==Associated protected areas== While the IBA has no statutory status, it does overlap part of the [[Nuyts Archipelago Marine Park]], a [[marine protected area]] declared by the [[Government of South Australia]].<ref>{{cite web|title= Nuyts Archipelago Marine Park Management Plan 2012|url= http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/files/03c8379b-160b-42b1-b5c1-a117009d595e/mp-gen-2nuytsarchipelago-managementplan.pdf |publisher=Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources (DEWNR)|date=2012 |accessdate=25 April 2016|pages=27, 28 and 32}}</ref> ==See also== *[[List of birds of South Australia]] *[[Murat (disambiguation)]]
==References== {{reflist}}
{{Bays of South Australia |state=autocollapse}} {{coord|32|08|37|S|133|29|41|E|display=title|region:AU-SA_type:waterbody}}
[[Category:Important Bird Areas of South Australia]] [[Category:Eyre Peninsula]]