That has been helped enormously by Albury’s Wonga Wetlands being named 54th in a new book of the top 100 birdwatching sites in Australia.

It has all come about because the reclaimed wetlands are being operated in the way nature intended — full of water in winter, dry in summer.

Thousands of school children and other visitors already know of the special beauty of the wetlands, where species such as pelicans, black swans and the white-bellied sea eagle can be seen.

And it is certainly no surprise to the Albury-Wodonga Birdwatching Society, which says the wetlands are a great attraction.

All this lends weight to the society’s suggestion that Albury Council needs to give the site even greater recognition.

As society spokesman John Saw says, avian tourism is a growing global trend — as much because birds are “fascinating” to watch by people “willing to travel to different habitats to see them”.

The listing is a wonderful recognition of what has been and will continue to be achieved at the wetlands, as well as several other North East sites.