From Qasrs to Wetland

After the Qasrs we had lunch at the Azraq Lodge which is run by the Royal Society for the Preservation of Nature (RSCN) just like the castles and the wetland.  The original part of the building was used as a WWII British field hospital.  The establishment is now a restaurant and lodge.  Jonathon stayed overnight there in 6th grade on his class field trip.

One part of the wetland

The wetland is another misnomer. Only 20 years ago, the wetlands were a source of revenue from fishing.   Due to high volume pumping it shrank to a tiny portion of its original size and even with a water infusion a few years ago, it really hasn't recovered. What once covered acres with a wide variety of wild life is now no more than a good sized pond. There is but one kind of fish and far too much stuff growing in there to support more.  If you're quiet by the water, you hear what sounds like poprocks going off.  I don't know enough about these particular fish to know if it's normal, but for -other- fish I know that the gasping sound means there isn't enough oxygen in the water for them.

Water buffalo used to help manage the plant growth in the water.  They were all eaten or something, but a not long ago a few were reintroduced to the preserve in an effort to have them get back to work.

Watching for birds

Watching for water buffalo

Love it!

Unfortunately, the wetland continues to die.  We saw a blue heron.  We saw a white heron.  We saw some form of duck - four of them!  We saw sparrow type birds, and some typical pigeony sorts.

That's it folks.

Dead tree.

Another dead tree on what used to be a flooded area of the reserve.

Kind of was a downer of a way to end the trip.