2017 Waterbird Survey Map

Date Location Description
15/11/2017 Day 24, Narran Lakes to the Macquarie Marshes

 

Last day of the 2017 survey – there was a pep in our step today. No more crack of dawn rises and late nights transcribing data after today. I spent…

 

14/11/2017 Day 23, Gingham Watercourse to Yarraman Weir

 

Just a few more days of aerial survey for 2017 – we’re all looking forward to the 35th year finishing. From Sydney, we headed straight for Moree and…

 

8/11/2017 Day 21, Lake Brewster to Middle Lake

 

Away early again. We had a bit of catching up to do, given the late start the previous day. First stop was Lake Brewster. This once natural lake is…

 

7/11/2017 Day 20, Lachlan River to Griffith

 

Plans went a bit awry today with a sequence of events related to the weather and planes (not ours) which meant we didn’t get away until 2pm from…

 

2/11/2017 Day 19, Coorong to Lake Alexandrina

 

Our routine on our second day down in this part of the world was to always spend the morning, ended up being over four hours, flying down the Murray-…

 

01/11/2017 Day 18, Goolwa to Lake Albert

 

Up early, just on daybreak, and off today down the lower Murray to the Lower Lake and the Coorong, near Goolwa. We started our survey on this part…

 

31/10/2017 Day 17, Albury to Hattah-Kulkyne Lakes

 

Today we headed off on one of my favourite – the flight down the River Murray, starting up near Albury where we had to put on a full tank of fuel for…

 

26/10/2017 Day 16, Wangaratta to Dartmouth Dam

 

The last day of this leg and we spent the usual discussion the evening before about when we should leave. A big front was on its way. Just to…

 

25/10/2017 Day 15, Port Fairy to the Winton Wetlands

 

Once again – the weather dominated early. Leaving at about seven, we hoped to dodge the rain coming in. First, we finished the rest of Band 1, along…

 

24/10/2017 Day 14, Sydney to Phillip Island

 

Heading south over the next two days to do the two southerly bands – Band 2 and Band 1. The forecast was a bit worrying with clouds building up in…

 

19/10/2017 Day 13, Griffith to Sydney

 

The clouds were banking up to the west when we left Griffith at sunrise. Low cloud makes surveying impossible and so we left early, leaving a rainbow…

 

17/10/2017 Day 11, Sydney to Lake Cawndilla

 

Observer: Richard Kingsford I always look forward to seeing the country from the air each year, even though I have been doing this for over 30 years…

 

13/10/2017 Day 10, Armidale to Sydney

 

The last day of the survey and after 11 days in the light aircraft I am looking forward to some home comforts and routine. There was excitement upon…

 

12/10/2017 Day 9, Broken Hill to Armidale

 

We have begun to behave like the water birds we count. Today we followed the rain front which passed through White Cliffs last night, wakening us…

 

11/10/2017 Day 8, St George to Broken Hill

 

Cool weather is a delight when aerial surveying. It also generally means more stable conditions and thus more comfort for the three of us in the…

 

10/10/2017 Day 7, Quilpie to St George

 

After overnighting in the Mulga Country town of Charleville we continued our journey east towards Kingaroy where beautiful red volcanic soils…

 

9/10/2017 Day 6, Windorah to Quilpie

 

The softness of the strong red spinifex covered dunes west of Windorah in the early morning light is a beautiful sight. Immediately to the south and…

 

8/10/2017 Day 5, Rockhampton to Windorah

 

A 7.30 departure into cloudy weather had us heading southeast to our first wetland of the day in Band eight. A rain front is threatening from the…

 

6/10/2017 Day 4, Mt Isa to Rockhampton

 

We headed down to the Channel Country Rivers this morning for one of the longest days in the plane. So a pre-sunrise start saw us in the air to catch…

 

5/10/2017 Day 3, Airlie Beach to Mt Isa

 

Shute Harbour airport at 8am is frenetic. Light planes of all sizes vie with helicopters to shuttle tourists to and from the nearby islands and to…

 

4/10/2017 Day 2, Maroochydore to Airlie Beach

 

The gods were with us today as the weather cleared after Maroochydore had received a long awaited and badly needed fall of around 110mm. Properties…

 

3/10/2017 Day 1, Sydney to Maroochydore

 

There is a saying about, ”the best laid plans…………..” which today proved correct. A slow moving weather front prevented us from flying our normal…