The area has a Mediterranean climate with cool, wet winters and warm, dry summers, and with an average annual rainfall of 450–500 mm.

[3] The site has been identified as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it supports over 1% of the world populations of sharp-tailed sandpipers, and sometimes of blue-billed and musk ducks, when water levels are suitable.

[4] Other birds of conservation significance present at the wetlands include black-backed and Australasian bitterns, freckled ducks, Australasian shovellers, white-bellied sea-eagles, peregrine falcons, Latham's snipes, Baillon's and spotless crakes, yellow-tailed black cockatoos, southern emu-wrens, chestnut-rumped heathwrens, diamond and beautiful firetails, and black-chinned honeyeaters.

The wetlands also support large breeding colonies of several thousand ibises, egrets, spoonbills and cormorants.

The site is home to red-necked wallabies and common wombats at the extreme western limit of their range.