Photo: Kim Wormald
A hooded plover chick is collateral damage to a joyful, bounding dog on a beach, writes Ed Thexton.
By Ed Thexton
I SPENT Tuesday with the community volunteers and local staff of Holcim (formerly Readymix) at the BirdLife Australia threatened bird network workshop at Inverloch where Renee Mead from the beach-nesting birds program was a guest speaker.
What a place Inverloch is! Four beach-nesting birds, three of them vulnerable, nest at Point Norman. Right in town! When the solitary beach stone curlew was here last year – well out of its natural range – Inverloch was a mecca for bird watchers, some from as far away as Sweden.
We have all heard of the hooded plover (eastern), which is also nesting at Screw Creek this year. The adult is about 20 centimetres long and weighs about 100 grams.
There are now only 550 to 600 birds left in Victoria. Last year, following a rigorous scientific assessment of the species’ threat status, the hooded plover was listed as threatened under the Vulnerable category of the federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. It joins the other two vulnerable species that nest at Point Norman, namely the pied oystercatcher and little tern.
No wonder their population is declining. For every 100 eggs laid, only two make it to the start of adulthood. How crazy is its reproductive strategy? And yet life on a beach makes some sense: twice daily the tide delivers a fresh meal and on the beach you can see the predators coming. That explains why they nest out in the open. If they make it through the 28 days of egg incubation (a 23 per cent chance) and the 35 days from hatching to flying (a 20 per cent chance) they can expect a long life in the sun. Who would expect such a small bird living in such a vulnerable open location to live to the ripe old age of up to 16 years?
Recognition of the beach nesters is a recent phenomenon. We didn’t hear about them growing up. The first pilot study of them was only in 2006. Since then, Birds Australia has brought science and martialled an army of eager citizen volunteers to develop our understanding. This is evidence-based science gathered directly. Advances in motion sensor cameras have revealed the predators, the vulnerabilities, the habits and the life stages.
No wonder 98 out of 100 die. The cameras have shown that if the king tides, storms and sand don’t wash, blow or bury the nest, if the relentless summer sun doesn’t cook the eggs or dehydrate the tiny little chicks, if the hawks, gulls, maggies and crows – not to forget the foxes – don’t eat them, they might survive.
Then there is us. Everyone loves the beach, don’t they? I swear you will never see those beautifully, exquisitely fit-for-purpose camouflaged eggs and chicks. But your dog just might.
People and dogs compound pressure on the eggs and chicks. The good news in Victoria is that at least we don’t allow cars on the beach. The other good news is the volunteers. It is the volunteers who put up the signs and fences, monitor the nests and shift the fences. They shift the fences because on hatching the chicks are highly mobile and head for the waterline where the food is. Of course the fences can’t survive the waves of the incoming tide so are never located there.
The single line fences are generally located around the nest areas. They provide space enough when people and their dogs remain outside the roped area so that adult plovers are not continually flushed from their nest. The fences, like the signs, are designed as indicators for the beach visitors. In the volatile beach environment, providing protection for a highly mobile bird species with a more robust fence is quiet simply impractical.
Once hatched, the tiny chicks feed themselves, always on the beach. They are so small they can easily hide in a heel print. They begin a 35-day marathon until they can fly, their camouflage and expert hiding skills their only defence. They define the term vulnerable. Only one out of five will survive to fly.
They need all the help they can get. We can’t do anything about the weather and tides although school kids make shelters that are placed by volunteers. The beach provides such rich pickings that increasingly the smart birds – ravens and magpies – have taken to feeding there, including on chicks and eggs. And control of town foxes is rightfully constrained to prevent poisoning of pets.
Of the things we can control, it is ourselves and our dogs. Our own dog is a beautiful border collie. At two and half, she lives for pats. Not a malicious bone in her body. But a chick or egg are collateral damage to a bounding, leaping dog. Their loss would go unnoticed by us or them. I couldn’t tell you if we have killed any.
Knowing what I now know, and which I am attempting to share with you, my fellow dog owners, Point Norman and Screw Creek will be off the dog walking map from now on. It’s just too hard to enjoy yourself while looking for a chick that is so small it can hide in a heel print. Simply not worth it.
Dogs and plovers don’t and can’t mix. Dogs win. Plovers lose. It’s that simple.
For the sake of the declining population of hooded plovers and the three other beach nesting birds, please take your dog anywhere else but Point Norman or Screw Creek, and well away from fenced off areas. Dogs can run on a park or an oval on many other sections of beach. The birds have no options.
If you think this is just the bleating of another bunch of superannuated beach lovers with nothing better to do, maybe you should reconsider. Threatened species recovery is serious business. Serious for big business. The staff from the Leongatha quarry of Holcim (Readymix) were at the workshop in force. Holcim is a major sponsor of BirdLife Australia’s threatened bird network.
Beach-nesting birds are an asset for Inverloch. Point Norman is unique in Victoria because of the four species of beach-nesting birds. Otherwise it is just another sandy stretch of beach.
I would be more than glad to have you join us to see what all the fuss is about. We have high-powered specialist tripod mounted bird spotting scopes which really bring the beauty of that distance spec to life.
COMMENTS
December 18, 2015
Thank you, Ed Thexton, for your beautiful article about the hooded plovers. I love the respect with which you write about these very special little birds. It's passion like yours that will help educate the public and save this precious species. Please keep up the great work!
Sue Saliba, Cowes
December 15, 2015
I love dogs but will barrack for the birds every time. Thank you, Ed Thexton, for educating me about the hooded plovers and their tenuous survival on earth.
You know, I think that if people were educated about the issue, they would understand and keep their dogs away from nesting birds. If people realised that rather than losing some of their democratic rights, they were actually increasing the right to life for a species, they would help.
Felicia Di Stefano, Glen Forbes
I SPENT Tuesday with the community volunteers and local staff of Holcim (formerly Readymix) at the BirdLife Australia threatened bird network workshop at Inverloch where Renee Mead from the beach-nesting birds program was a guest speaker.
What a place Inverloch is! Four beach-nesting birds, three of them vulnerable, nest at Point Norman. Right in town! When the solitary beach stone curlew was here last year – well out of its natural range – Inverloch was a mecca for bird watchers, some from as far away as Sweden.
We have all heard of the hooded plover (eastern), which is also nesting at Screw Creek this year. The adult is about 20 centimetres long and weighs about 100 grams.
There are now only 550 to 600 birds left in Victoria. Last year, following a rigorous scientific assessment of the species’ threat status, the hooded plover was listed as threatened under the Vulnerable category of the federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. It joins the other two vulnerable species that nest at Point Norman, namely the pied oystercatcher and little tern.
No wonder their population is declining. For every 100 eggs laid, only two make it to the start of adulthood. How crazy is its reproductive strategy? And yet life on a beach makes some sense: twice daily the tide delivers a fresh meal and on the beach you can see the predators coming. That explains why they nest out in the open. If they make it through the 28 days of egg incubation (a 23 per cent chance) and the 35 days from hatching to flying (a 20 per cent chance) they can expect a long life in the sun. Who would expect such a small bird living in such a vulnerable open location to live to the ripe old age of up to 16 years?
Recognition of the beach nesters is a recent phenomenon. We didn’t hear about them growing up. The first pilot study of them was only in 2006. Since then, Birds Australia has brought science and martialled an army of eager citizen volunteers to develop our understanding. This is evidence-based science gathered directly. Advances in motion sensor cameras have revealed the predators, the vulnerabilities, the habits and the life stages.
No wonder 98 out of 100 die. The cameras have shown that if the king tides, storms and sand don’t wash, blow or bury the nest, if the relentless summer sun doesn’t cook the eggs or dehydrate the tiny little chicks, if the hawks, gulls, maggies and crows – not to forget the foxes – don’t eat them, they might survive.
Then there is us. Everyone loves the beach, don’t they? I swear you will never see those beautifully, exquisitely fit-for-purpose camouflaged eggs and chicks. But your dog just might.
People and dogs compound pressure on the eggs and chicks. The good news in Victoria is that at least we don’t allow cars on the beach. The other good news is the volunteers. It is the volunteers who put up the signs and fences, monitor the nests and shift the fences. They shift the fences because on hatching the chicks are highly mobile and head for the waterline where the food is. Of course the fences can’t survive the waves of the incoming tide so are never located there.
The single line fences are generally located around the nest areas. They provide space enough when people and their dogs remain outside the roped area so that adult plovers are not continually flushed from their nest. The fences, like the signs, are designed as indicators for the beach visitors. In the volatile beach environment, providing protection for a highly mobile bird species with a more robust fence is quiet simply impractical.
Once hatched, the tiny chicks feed themselves, always on the beach. They are so small they can easily hide in a heel print. They begin a 35-day marathon until they can fly, their camouflage and expert hiding skills their only defence. They define the term vulnerable. Only one out of five will survive to fly.
They need all the help they can get. We can’t do anything about the weather and tides although school kids make shelters that are placed by volunteers. The beach provides such rich pickings that increasingly the smart birds – ravens and magpies – have taken to feeding there, including on chicks and eggs. And control of town foxes is rightfully constrained to prevent poisoning of pets.
Of the things we can control, it is ourselves and our dogs. Our own dog is a beautiful border collie. At two and half, she lives for pats. Not a malicious bone in her body. But a chick or egg are collateral damage to a bounding, leaping dog. Their loss would go unnoticed by us or them. I couldn’t tell you if we have killed any.
Knowing what I now know, and which I am attempting to share with you, my fellow dog owners, Point Norman and Screw Creek will be off the dog walking map from now on. It’s just too hard to enjoy yourself while looking for a chick that is so small it can hide in a heel print. Simply not worth it.
Dogs and plovers don’t and can’t mix. Dogs win. Plovers lose. It’s that simple.
For the sake of the declining population of hooded plovers and the three other beach nesting birds, please take your dog anywhere else but Point Norman or Screw Creek, and well away from fenced off areas. Dogs can run on a park or an oval on many other sections of beach. The birds have no options.
If you think this is just the bleating of another bunch of superannuated beach lovers with nothing better to do, maybe you should reconsider. Threatened species recovery is serious business. Serious for big business. The staff from the Leongatha quarry of Holcim (Readymix) were at the workshop in force. Holcim is a major sponsor of BirdLife Australia’s threatened bird network.
Beach-nesting birds are an asset for Inverloch. Point Norman is unique in Victoria because of the four species of beach-nesting birds. Otherwise it is just another sandy stretch of beach.
I would be more than glad to have you join us to see what all the fuss is about. We have high-powered specialist tripod mounted bird spotting scopes which really bring the beauty of that distance spec to life.
COMMENTS
December 18, 2015
Thank you, Ed Thexton, for your beautiful article about the hooded plovers. I love the respect with which you write about these very special little birds. It's passion like yours that will help educate the public and save this precious species. Please keep up the great work!
Sue Saliba, Cowes
December 15, 2015
I love dogs but will barrack for the birds every time. Thank you, Ed Thexton, for educating me about the hooded plovers and their tenuous survival on earth.
You know, I think that if people were educated about the issue, they would understand and keep their dogs away from nesting birds. If people realised that rather than losing some of their democratic rights, they were actually increasing the right to life for a species, they would help.
Felicia Di Stefano, Glen Forbes