 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.