Day 18, Sydney to Moree
Near Combardello Lagoon
Date: Monday October 28th 2024
Project:ÌýEastern Australian Waterbird Survey
°¿²ú²õ±ð°ù±¹±ð°ù²õ: John Porter (NSW DPE), Jody O'Connor (MDBA)
Trainees: David Preston (NSW DCCEEW) and JorgeÌýMaldonado Arciniegas (NSW DCCEEW)
±Ê¾±±ô´Ç³Ù: Thomas Clark
Another day with clear skies greeted us on Monday morning at Bankstown airport; our first destination for the day was Moree where would refuel and pick up our trainee observers David Preston & Jorge Maldenado from NSW DCCEEW. Ìý
The Gwydir wetlands support rich biodiversity and diverse waterbird populations. Covering around 110,000 hectares, the wetlands contain a Ramsar site and are formed by a series of floodplains and channels fed by the Gwydir River, Mehi River and Gingham watercourse with a complex system of braided creeks and distributary channels. Irrigated agriculture is the main land use in the area and large areas had been planted out with cereal crops – mainly wheat. Irrigated cotton is another other major crop in the area.
Curragundi wetlands on the Gwydir River
Refueling completed, we headed to count along the main watercourse and wetland sites. Conditions were considerably drier than the previous flood year and some of the small lagoons were dry. ÌýThere was still plenty of water in other areas and some wetlands supported thousands of Grey Teal and Pacific Black Duck with numerous Wood Duck, Plumed Whistle Ducks, egrets, herons, Pelicans and ibis.
Near Old Dromana Ramsar wetlands on the Gwydir River
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Near Old Dromana Ramsar wetlands on the Gwydir River
Gwydir River wetlands
The heat and humidity had been building steadily during this leg and conditions were becoming quite bumpy by the end of the flight. We headed back to Moree for the night, grateful that the day's counts were over.