Saturday 30 July 2016

Cadell Wetland

It's called a wetland but at the moment the Cadell Wetland is dry. Before weirs and dams changed the natural flow of the Murray and Darling rivers the river levels rose and fell according to the season and the cycle of floods and droughts. Vegetation in wetlands like this responded to the floods and coped with the droughts. It's all changed now so the River Redgums are stressed and so are the Black Box trees. Other species like the Prickly Bottlebrush are disappearing.

Cadell Wetland with old River Redgum remnant.
At Cadell there is a walking trail to the wetland and beyond that to the Murray River. I walked to the bird hide, reading the signs indicating plant species that might have been there when the signs were installed but they certainly aren't there now, It's time for an upgrade.

Despite that I enjoyed the walk. Near the bird hide there were White-browed Babblers and some Rufous Songlarks foraging through the small shrubs.

Nangkero Bird Hide, Cadell Wetland
Cadell Wetland with the cliffs of the Murray River in the background.
Succulent vegetation on the Cadell Wetland
Succulent vegetation on the Cadell Wetland
Cadell Wetland must be a fantastic place when there is water - like the one I saw from the car window as we drew close to the ferry crossing at Morgan. Now why is that wetland wet and the one at Cadell dry? They are only about 10 kms apart.

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