For millennia, Curlew Sandpipers flew every year from the Mason Park Wetlands to Siberia and back again; a dangerous 27,000 km migration that takes over two months.
Flyway, co-designed by Studio Mike Daly and Studio Chris Fox, is a light installation that visualises these epic migratory journeys at 300,000 times normal speed, tracing the birds’ eternal ritual of departing in March to mid-April and returning between August and November.
As one of the most critically endangered migratory birds in Australia, the Curlew Sandpiper hasn’t been spotted at the Mason Park Wetlands in Sydney for over a decade. However, through actions such as improving tidal flushing and preventing mangrove encroachment, it is hoped that the Curlew Sandpiper and other intercontinental migratory shorebirds will return.
Most migratory birds travel by night because it is safer, cooler and less turbulent. As artificial light can attract and disorient migrating birds, Flyway illuminates at dusk and dawn for a limited duration and features warm coloured light with controlled brightness levels.
