Day 9, Marree to Narrabri
Our first target today, as we head back east along survey band 5, is Lake Frome, which turns out to be mostly dry, and the small amount of water remaining is outside the survey band.
Photo: Peery Lake
Survey details
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Date
Thursday 8 October 2026
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Author
John Porter
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Project
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Observers
John Porter (NSW DCCEEW), Heath Dunstan
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Pilot
Thomas Clark
Heading further west, we find that a large number of the small claypans, swamps, saltpans and bore-fed wetlands are full or partly full, so we methodically criss-cross through the area, covering each one in turn. There are low to moderate numbers of waterbirds, mostly Grey Teal, Black Duck, Pink-eared duck, stilts, migratory waders, herons, egrets, ibis, Black-tailed Native Hen and spoonbills.
Our next major target is the spectacular lakes of Paroo Overflow – most have water, and there are large numbers of waterbirds on some of the bigger wetlands.
The most abundant species include Grey Teal, Black Duck, Pink-eared Duck, Hardhead, Coot, Pelicans, cormorants, gulls, terns, spoonbills, ibis and Darters.
Continuing west, we reach the Macquarie Marshes, another jewel in the crown of arid wetlands.
The Marshes have received some environmental flows, and there are moderate numbers of Grey Teal, Black Duck, Hardhead, ibis, egrets, herons, stilts, Coots and Purple Swamphen.
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