Well done, Jill.
It must be very satisfying to see such positive results from all your
hard work!
Congratulations.
Colin
On Thu, 27 Dec 2007 21:00:16 +1000, "Jill Dening" <>
said:
> =
>
> Hi Everyone,
>
> It's been a while since I used to post regularly, and I have a bit on
> which to update you regarding the Noosa estuary on Queensland's Sunshine
> Coast and its shorebirds.
>
> We undertook 18mths of shorebird and tern surveys for Noosa Council and
> its North Shore Management Committee, submitting a report earlier in
> 2007. We reported on what was there, which habitats were more important
> and what levels of disturbance were occurring. I think our highest
> migratory tern count on peak passage was 38,500 birds. Migratory
> shorebirds occur in only moderate numbers, with the most common species
> being Bar-tailed Godwit, Pacific Golden Plover and Sharp-tailed
> Sandpiper.
>
> Council responded to the report by limiting public access to one sand
> island in the estuary from September until March annually, so that local
> shorebirds can breed undisturbed. This is also helpful to migratory
> birds. Vehicle access is now also barred completely to the northern
> sandspit where up to 20 4WDs would park at peak times. Vehicles are now
> obliged to park further up the beach behind the bollards and people must
> now walk in, and leave their dogs, horses and camels with the cars.
> Boats may still land on the sandspit.
>
> Council's move to restrict access really surprised us. What moved them
> to action was not especially the information we imparted, but the
> pictures we took of birds defending nests and nesting habitat with wheel
> tracks through it. We are now partway through an unplanned extension of
> the surveys, which I intend to continue for two years, in order to see
> if the closures make any difference in the use of the estuary by
> shorebirds and terns, or difference in bird numbers (not that this would
> be definitive). I guess I'm driven by curiosity, and can see that if
> there is a case to show benefit from the closure, it might have wider
> application than only Noosa.
>
> We surveyed last Wednesday, December 19. We found at least an estimated
> 2740 migratory terns, made up of White-winged Blacks (WWTE), Littles
> (LITE)and Commons (COTE). The vast majority were WWTE and COTE, and
> could have been around half-half. I can't give exact numbers because I
> count them in 10s as they fly in to roost at night, and though we could
> separate them to species level, when they came in too quickly it's too
> hard. And the migratory terns arrived later this year than in previous
> years.
>
> Also of interest was the presence, for the first time during our
> surveys, of 2 Beach Stone-Curlew. If anyone has any records of this
> species in Noosa before, I'd love to hear from you, just out of
> interest. It's perfect habitat, but we hadn't seen them there.
>
> Of further interest was that I noticed two juvenile Bar-tailed Godwits
> showing one or two new adult feathers on their mantles. I haven't been
> sharp enough in previous years to pick up the point at which the
> juvenile feathers give way to adult feathers.
>
> Cheers all,
>
> Jill Dening
>
>
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--
Colin Reid
So many birds, so little time......
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