The Selwyn District in Canterbury has a sister city/district relation with the Tanah Toraja Regency in Central Sulawesi, not far from Lake Tempe. It would be pretty cool if the two lakes could be twinned in some way and maybe have a team of Cantabrians go over and help undertake the type of complete waterbird survey that we manage to achieve on Lake Ellesmere annually.
vistiing Lake Ellesmere's "sister" lake in Sulawesi
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andrewcrossland
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vistiing Lake Ellesmere's "sister" lake in Sulawesi
Hi folks, I was in Sulawesi recently, looking mainly at wetland and river birds. I visited Danau (lake) Tempe in South Sulawesi province - an IBA site and candidate for Ramsar status. At 350 sq kms and located inland, its in many ways a bigger version of Lake Ellesmere/Te Waihora (198 sq kms) as its wide and shallow and supports a remarkably similar avifauna. Some pics that might surprise folks:
The Selwyn District in Canterbury has a sister city/district relation with the Tanah Toraja Regency in Central Sulawesi, not far from Lake Tempe. It would be pretty cool if the two lakes could be twinned in some way and maybe have a team of Cantabrians go over and help undertake the type of complete waterbird survey that we manage to achieve on Lake Ellesmere annually.
The Selwyn District in Canterbury has a sister city/district relation with the Tanah Toraja Regency in Central Sulawesi, not far from Lake Tempe. It would be pretty cool if the two lakes could be twinned in some way and maybe have a team of Cantabrians go over and help undertake the type of complete waterbird survey that we manage to achieve on Lake Ellesmere annually.
Last edited by andrewcrossland on Mon Dec 11, 2023 11:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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andrewcrossland
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Re: vistiing Lake Ellesmere's "sister" lake in Sulawesi
Last edited by andrewcrossland on Mon Dec 11, 2023 11:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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andrewcrossland
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Re: vistiing Lake Ellesmere's "sister" lake in Sulawesi
and even some of Lake Ellesmere's famous rarities..
Certainly you know you've crossed the Wallace line from the Asian to the Australasian side when you see so many familiar species, or closely related cousins (like Sunda Teal etc). cheers
Certainly you know you've crossed the Wallace line from the Asian to the Australasian side when you see so many familiar species, or closely related cousins (like Sunda Teal etc). cheers
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andrewcrossland
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Re: vistiing Lake Ellesmere's "sister" lake in Sulawesi
At peak times, Lake Tempe supports upwards of 5000 Glossy Ibis, 10,000 Garganey and thousands of waders, terns, waterfowl and egrets, plus tens of thousands of reed-warblers.
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Jan
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Re: vistiing Lake Ellesmere's "sister" lake in Sulawesi
What a great place. Would be good to get a sister relationship with both being RAMSAR sites too.
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NoahF
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Re: vistiing Lake Ellesmere's "sister" lake in Sulawesi
Very cool Andrew. I'd be keen in helping with a Lake Tempe survey if some sort of group effort goes ahead.
Cheers
Cheers
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andrewcrossland
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Re: vistiing Lake Ellesmere's "sister" lake in Sulawesi
I'll let you know. I'm working on it!!