I wish the Hooded Plovers on the
Portland beach could get some sort of 'cage' to encourage protected breeding - I
asked someone from Rotary about it, and of course you need to prove "in the
common interest"!
Cages have been trialled [and are still being
trialled] on Phillip Island, Vic. Many different sizes, both cage and
mesh, have been tested. And many problems have been encountered - for
example if the nest is on a slope the cage will move down the dune,
predators have been seen sitting on the cages waiting for the adult Hooded
Plovers to come out, people walk up to and closely inspect the cage, etc,
etc.
The results to date have been published - somewhere
in my pile of papers to be 'filed' I have a paper by Peter Dann et al
documenting the trials and tribulations.
Regards
Val
Sorrento, Vic
[Friend of Mornington Peninsula Hooded
Plovers]
