Hoodie banding day
This article appeared in The Mirror on February 22, 2023.
BirdLife Australia’s Hoodie banding activity took place at Sandy Point on January 25, 2023.
Photography by Paul Hastings.
Help the Hoodies – Our beloved beach-nesting shorebirds in Sandy Point
“Help the Hoodies” is the new campaign running in Sandy Point as part of BirdLife Australia’s National Beach-nesting Birds Program (BnB Program). The Hooded Plover, Thinornis cucullatus, is a threatened beach-nesting shorebird that graces Sandy Point’s Waratah Beach and Shallow Inlet.
They are different to the migratory shorebirds that travel all the way from the northern hemisphere to spend the summer in Australia, which are also usually found hanging out in flocks on the spit at the eastern end of Sandy Point. Hooded Plovers on the other hand spend their entire lives in Australia, breeding and raising their young on beaches during the spring and summer when beaches get really busy with recreationists.
We have eight Hooded Plover breeding sites registered with the BnB Program and at least 10 breeding pairs. This year Hoodies have nested and have eggs west of the sand spit closer to the township (dune and mound area between the beach and the inlet) which has made the breeding season for that pair precarious.
Dedicated volunteers from the local community, who are part of BirdLife Australia’s Friends of the Hooded Plover South Gippsland, have been closely monitoring them. Under the guidance of the BnB Program, they have installed temporary signs and a protective fence to alert beach users to the presence of a Hoodie nest. They are encouraging people to walk along the water’s edge and leash their dogs to minimise disturbance to the breeding birds.
Recently the BnB Program conducted a Hoodie banding operation where one adult bird was captured and tagged. The process is designed to minimise the stress and to obtain critical data to help with conservation efforts. We had volunteers from Venus Bay and Sandy Point, including a 15 year old celebrating her 15th birthday. She was rewarded for getting up early by being able to hold and transport the Hoodie prior to the assessment.
The research involved measuring the beak length, weight, checking the plumage, assessing moult and quantifying parasite and mite loads. A small blood sample was collected to determine the sex of the bird and for future genetic analysis.
Wildlife in Sandy Point (WiSP) is also playing our part by ensuring that trails to bypass the sandspit and nesting birds are publicised, and by asking people to consider their movement, behaviour and control of animals (horses and dogs) in sensitive areas.
The Sandy Point Foreshore Committee has ensured the trails are passable and our Sandy Point Community Group has provided guidance and amplified our message to visitors and residents.
It takes a village, it takes good will and persistence. This year and for the years to come the Sandy Point community and our collaborators at Birdlife Australia will come together to “Help the Hoodies”.
