Day 22, Tibooburra to Sydney

Today was ‘transect day’ across the Macquarie Marshes. We flew 11 east-west transects, carving a 200 m transect on the ground across the length of the Marshes. 

We have been flying transects since 2010, with these transects providing us with an estimate of the diversity and numbers of waterbirds across the full extent of the Marshes. Our surveys earlier in the month, across the top third of the Macquarie Marshes, do not give us total coverage. 

The flood this year, which is provided by environmental flows, is not a large flood but has covered important parts of the Marshes. 

There were not that many waterbirds but reasonably diverse. These included the large wading birds such as Straw-necked Ibis, Pacific Herons, egrets, Glossy Ibis and White Ibis. There were a few ducks in our transects, as well as a few Black Swans. 

We completed our transects across the Marshes. It is only when you see the Macquarie Marshes from the air that you really appreciate what a magnificent wetland this. The environmental flows are so important for the Macquarie Marshes, which include the Macquarie Marshes Nature Reserve but also the private land where much of the biodiversity is to be found, just because it occupies most of the Marshes.