When water returns to a wetland, you expect it to bring the sounds of life — insects, frogs and birds in full song, the trickle of water, wind in the treetops and shuffling through the reeds. You hear these things as soon as you step into the landscape. And so it was on my recentContinue reading “Hidden sounds of the Marshes”
Category Archives: Burrima
On wing and water
The Macquarie Marshes are recognised internationally as a birding ‘hotspot’, despite there not being many accessible places to get into the heart of the wetlands*. Ninety per cent of the Marshes are privately owned, and short of public road access points and travelling stock routes (see p45 Bird Watching Trail Guide), there aren’t too manyContinue reading “On wing and water”
The things no one sees
It’s a way of understanding the seasons, the interrupters, the demise or reshaping of a landscape and all it contains. Recently, the Aboriginal concept of looking to listen, listening to see was flagged in conversations I’d been having. I hadn’t heard it phrased like this before, but I understood immediately that it’s a way ofContinue reading “The things no one sees”
The autumnal crescendo
As the chill of winter touched the Western Plains, I headed north again for another weekend in the Macquarie Marshes. It was early May. This was to be a quick, overnight trip to document another stage in what I hoped to be the wetland’s recovery from years of drought. …the silence of the cold autumnContinue reading “The autumnal crescendo”
Marking time
I’ve started to lose track of how many days I’ve been at home now as part of our contribution to the Covid19 containment measures. Each day is much the same and much like the day before. Mind you, the only real difference to pre-Covid times is my week is no longer punctuated by coffees andContinue reading “Marking time”
Silent symphony: the “Burrima” baseline
What would you expect to hear at dusk on the edge of a wetland? A chorus of frogs, chirruping birds settling down to roost for the night, the mechanical whirr of various insects, interjections from some of the noisier avian species? Don’t forget the whine of mosquitoes. Would you expect to hear silence? As PulseContinue reading “Silent symphony: the “Burrima” baseline”