For millennia, Curlew Sandpipers flew every year from these wetlands to Siberia and back again; a dangerous 27,000 km migration that takes over two months.

Flyway is a light installation that visualises these epic journeys at 300,000 times normal speed, carefully 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 Wetland 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.