Jodies latest update
Hi there everyone
For the Little Terns breeding activity is starting to slow down a little,
particularly at Lake Conjola. We have a definite 27 fledglings so far which is
great. A fox began visiting the area late last week and on Monday night it
pushed over a couple of nest cages and even jumped through the electric fence.
This fox ate 3 one egg nests and possibly 2 chicks. It also resulted in the
abandonment of 4 more nests containing 5 eggs and many of the adults have left
the area. Thankfully it didn’t get everything and we still have 3 one egg nests
left and 4 newly hatched chicks. So we may still get a few more fledglings
away…….
Up at Lake Wollumboola we have also had problems, but with a feral dog visiting
this site. Despite getting through the electric fence this predator has not
taken any eggs, and there is no evidence of chicks being taken either. There
are still plenty of Little Terns around with at least 100 adults flying around
and 40 chicks fledged so far. Another 16 chicks have just hatched and there are
surely more running around and hiding in the vegetation. We also still have
another 5 nests containing 2 eggs each to hatch out. So still plenty to get to
fledgling stage at Lake Wollumboola.
Windang is going excellent with 14 fledglings so far and another 9 chicks
hiding in the vegetation on our ‘Bird Island’. We also have two more nests to
hatch each containing 2 eggs. This is definitely a great season for this site
and hopefully next year more Little Terns will come back to nest.
The Hoodies are slowing down also. We just fledged the two chicks from
Racecourse Beach in Ulladulla which brings our total for the area up to 7
fledglings from 7 breeding pairs. We also still have a chick at each of Mary’s
Beach (Jervis Bay) which is the last survivor of a three egg nest. I’ve been
informed by the local Ranger that he is moving around well so hopefully he can
outrun the dogs and fishers cars on this beach. At Berrara Beach one of the two
chicks has survived the tourist season and he is running around at the southern
end of the beach. The Conjola, Narrawallee, Bullpup and Dawson’s pairs have not
renested as yet, hopefully we can get another few eggs out before the season is
over….
The Pied Oystercatchers have pretty much finished breeding. The last chick at
Narrawallee has been lost, possibly to the fox in the area. However a pair at
Burrill Lake who lost a one egg nest early in the season have been seen over
the last few weeks with two chicks in tow. Just recently the pair was seen on
nearby Racecourse Beach with their two newly fledged babies! That brings our
tally to ten for the South Coast.
All in all it’s been a great season, and their still might be a few more to add
yet!
Have a good weekend
jodie
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