Purple Swamp Hens and Frogs
The purple swamp hens
The purple swamp hens
The purple swamp hens
The four purple swamp hens (Porphyrio porphyrio) almost become the opposite characters.
They don't soar across the landscape like ibis.
They belong to the reeds.
They climb.
They pull reeds apart.
They use those enormous feet almost like hands.
They often feed together as family groups.
Where Iris the Ibis moves between wetlands, the swamp hens belong to one place.
The frogs
The purple swamp hens
The purple swamp hens
The two frogs boldly complete the story.
Healthy frogs mean:
clean water
insects
shelter
functioning wetlands.
Visitors may notice the birds first.
The frogs suggest everything happening underneath. They are depicted many times the size of actual frogs.
Photo from Wildlife Watching via SoundCloud.com
The Reeds
The reeds are the heart of the installation.
People notice birds because they move. They notice frogs because they call. They rarely notice the reeds, yet without the reeds there would be very few wetland birds at all.
Rather than thinking of reeds as "plants", think of them as wetland architecture.
They are homes.
They are nurseries.
They are windbreaks.
They are food.
They are shelter.
They hold the wetland together.
Photo from Natarsha McPherson, Adelaide Park Lands Association
Every reed bed is a city
To us, a reed bed can look like one mass of green stems.
To the creatures living there, it is a city.
Some birds nest deep inside.
Others perch on the stems.
Frogs cling to the leaves.
Dragonflies emerge from the water.
Spiders stretch webs between stalks.
Tiny fish shelter below.
Insects lay eggs on the stems.
Every layer is occupied.
Reeds clean water
Wetland reeds are remarkable filters.
As water moves slowly through a reed bed, the plants:
trap sediment
slow erosion
absorb excess nutrients
provide surfaces where microorganisms break down pollutants
stabilise the banks with extensive root systems.
A healthy reed bed helps create healthier water.
Diversity matters
A healthy wetland rarely contains just one kind of reed.
Instead there may be many different types. ( Ask about this at the Barossa Bushgardens.)
- Common reed (Phragmites australis)
- Cumbungi (Typha orientalis)
- Bulrushes and club-rushes (Schoenoplectus species)
- Rushes (Juncus species)
- Sedges (Carex, Cyperus and related genera)
- Tall grasses around the margins.
Each grows at slightly different water depths.
Each provides different nesting opportunities.
Each supports different insects.
That diversity creates resilience.
Reeds soften the landscape
Reeds slow everything down.
Wind.
Water.
Light.
Sound.
Instead of rushing, water spreads gently through the stems.
That slower movement creates life.