Wetland Management Tools & Techniques

Shorebird Conservation Project and Toolkit

Contributor
Ms Bianca Priest
WWF
bpriest@wwf.org.au

WWF-Australia, with funding from the Australian Government’s Natural Heritage Trust, is coordinating a Shorebird Conservation Project to build capacity within communities to protect shorebirds. The project has recently produced a toolkit to help protect and enhance shorebird habitat across Australia.

Shorebirds

Shorebirds travel some of the furthest distances of any migratory birds, flying up to 10,000km non-stop. Many travel a round trip of 25,000km each year between Australia and their breeding grounds in Siberia, northern China and Alaska.

Shorebirds under threat

The route flown by the birds is known as the East Asian-Australasian Flyway and they share this flyway with nearly half of the world’s human population. Twenty per cent of shorebird species that regularly migrate along the flyway have been officially classified as globally threatened with substantial population decline. The birds and the habitats on which they depend are particularly under threat from rapid economic development and population growth in east and south-east Asia.

In Australia, threats to both migratory and resident shorebirds include:

loss (reclamation) of coastal and inland wetlands (eg. agriculture, urban development)
invasive weeds (eg. spartina, marram grass)
introduced predators (eg. cats, dogs, foxes)
human-related disturbance (people, pets and 4WDs on beaches)
climate change

Red-capped Plover
(Charadrius ruficapillus)

Resident shorebirds, such as Pied Oystercatchers, Hooded Plovers, Red-capped Plovers and Beach Stone-curlews nest along beaches and bays in Australia during the spring and summer months and are especially vulnerable to human disturbance as people, 4WDs and dogs frighten the birds, leaving exposed eggs and chicks vulnerable to predators and being trampled.

Shorebird Conservation Toolkit

An online Shorebird Conservation Toolkit (www.shorebirds.org.au www.shorebirds.org.au) has recently been launched to help protect and enhance shorebird habitat across Australia.

The toolkit builds on the success of the national Shorebird Conservation Project (2001-2005), drawing from over 31 on-ground and community-driven shorebird conservation projects.

The toolkit is a comprehensive resource that enables users to:

understand and appreciate shorebirds, their habitat and conservation needs;
locate important shorebird sites in Australia and access population estimates;
develop site survey and monitoring programs;
identify/assess site management needs, and implement/evaluate management actions;
write grant applications, site communication plans and media releases;
access existing resources;
identify and advocate international/national conservation options; and
access organisations with knowledge/expertise in practical shorebird and wetland conservation.

The toolkit is available on-line www.shorebirds.org.au or CD.

Supporting regional shorebird conservation efforts

The Shorebird Conservation Project is also supporting regional efforts to manage important shorebird habitat – particularly in the Northern Territory, Rangelands (WA), South East (SA) and West Gippsland (VIC) – by helping individuals and groups to undertake one or a combination of the following activities:

Mapping of shorebird habitat and integrating maps with development assessment processes in Local Government;
Shorebird disturbance projects trialing signs, temporary beach closures and fencing to minimise disturbance impacts on roosting migratory and beach nesting shorebirds;
Planning workshops to build the foundations for community-driven and supported management plans; and
Education and awareness raising activities – public talks and development and distribution of signs, posters and other information to raise the profile of shorebirds and important habitat in regional Australia.

Further Information
For further information contact Bianca Priest 03 6225 1394 / 0413 300 797 or bpriest@wwf.org.au

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