Birdlife Australia

What We Do:

Birds Australia is a national organisation working for the conservation of the birds of Australia. They have marine based projects including promoting coexistence between recreationists and beach-nesting birds such as the endangered Hooded Plover. Hooded Plovers nest on beaches during spring and summer, and are one of the most threatened birds in Victoria. There are only 400 birds remaining as they struggle to produce young amongst the August-March beach crowds, with as few as 10% of pairs producing chicks. This project aims to raise awareness about Hooded Plovers so that recreationists can learn to give them the space they need to breed, and to improve their breeding success by engaging communities and volunteers in monitoring and conservation efforts. Volunteers assist with monitoring breeding pairs to determine when they start nesting – this allows managers to respond quickly with signing and fencing to protect nesting sites. Volunteers follow each nesting attempt through, providing valuable scientific data that enables us to quantify threats to hoodies and to improve their conservation. Volunteers can also partake in raising awareness, acting as guardians to the chicks, or surveying a section of the coast during the biennial count. These efforts so far have been positive with a boost in chick survival by 40%.

You can register your interest in receiving email updates about hoodies nesting in your local area, or can register to become a volunteer.

Contact:

http://www.birdlife.org.au/projects/beach-nesting-birds

hoodedplover@birdlife.org.au

http://shorebirds.org.au/pdfs/Shorebirds-2020-Report-July-2009-low.pdf

60 Leicester St, Carlton, VIC, 3054

(03) 9347 0757