In Riverina rice fields, farmers and scientists join forces to save a mysterious waterbird

With fewer than 2,000 Australasian bitterns left in the wild, the endangered bird relies on the wet rice fields to fledge their young

• Sign up for the Rural Network email newsletter
• Join the Rural Network group on Facebook to be part of the community

Rice farmers and ecologists in south-west New South Wales are weaving new partnerships between agriculture and wildlife conservation in efforts to rescue a little-known waterbird with a mysterious story.

But pressure from the water market, crop competition and, ironically, increasing water efficiency, could pose a threat to their efforts.