Byron  Shorebirds – Staying and Going

Annually, at this time of year thousand of migrating shorebirds and terns prepare for departure from the shorelines of Australia. They make journeys of thousands of kilometre along the East Asian-Australasian Flyways stopping-over to replenish food supplies in Indonesia and foreshores along the Yellow Sea before reaching breeding grounds as far west as the Gobi Desert, far east as northern Japan and as high as Siberia, the high Arctic tundra and Alaska to breed. Some take short hops while others may only have one stop. They arrive in the breeding grounds as the snow melts and have a short window of opportunity to find a partner, build a nest, hatch the eggs, protect the chicks from predators and take on enough energy to make the return journey before the first snows of the next winter arrives. Both the chicks and the adult’s survive by capitalising on the abundant supply of insect food during the brief northern summer.

This cycle of existence has been happening for thousand of years. Members of Byron Bird Buddies continue to be amazed by the ability of these birds to make such a journey, specifically now as human activity is having such a major impact on their habitats. Some birds have already departed but as the remainder of the migrating birds head off, Byron Bird Buddies would like to thank the people of Byron Bay and Brunswick Heads for their sensitivity in allowing the birds a bit of space to coexist on their and our beaches. At Brunswick Heads they have had the relief of not having dogs constantly chase them and for the first time we witnessed the Bar-tailed Godwits feeding along the shoreline where there was once a dog-off leash area. “We are thankful that most of the community now respect this dog-free area and are hopeful that other shorebird species will also take advantage of this now the dogs are gone” said BBB coordinator Jan Olley.

Some birds however, such as the Pied Oystercatchers, Beach Stone-curlews and the little Red-capped Plovers are resident shorebirds and they live and breed at the mouth of the river estuaries and along the beaches all year round. Once again at Brunswick Heads the Beach Stone-curlew fledged a chick and the three breeding pairs of Pied Oystercatchers fledged four chicks between them during this 2011-12 breeding season. Unfortunately the Pied Oystercatchers breeding attempts at the Belongil estuary were unsuccessful due to a combination of both human disturbance and weather conditions. The Beach Stone- curlew (BSC) chick and one Pied Oystercatcher chick was banded this year with assistance of funding from BBB.  Due to banding we are now able to determine the movement of the chicks born in our area: the Beach Stone-curlew chick banded A1 last year has travelled a record 658kms in 10 months to Yeppoon Qld, the longest distance recorded for any BSC. The Oystercatchers have been recorded as far south as Sydney and north to Morten Bay. The Little and Common Terns continue to feed along our beaches but there has been no attempt of the Little Tern to again breed in the area.

The Byron Bird Buddies would like to thank Byron Council and the National Parks and Wildlife Service for their support during the year, and particularly Birdlife Australia and Byron Beach Suites for assistance in the funding of the shorebird signs both temporary and permanent. These signs bring knowledge and awareness to the plight of the shorebirds and if you would like to know more about the birds, you can contact us through our website.  You can also help by remembering it is particularly important for the birds to rest during this period of the migration as any disturbance can deplete energy supplies and prevent a successful journey so as we BBB say “Watch Out for the Birds”.

Photograph Adam Gosling

Pacific Golden Plover – foreground & Lesser Sand Plover – background. Both species showing the beginning of their breeding colours – seen in Australia just before their departure to the breeding grounds in Siberia

As part of our community education program BBB member Heather Harford and Birdlife member Hans Lutter commenced hosting an on-site information stall at Brunswick Nature Reserve on Easter Monday.

The estuary area of the Reserve is an important habitat for the nesting Beach Stone-curlew and Pied Oystercatchers. At low tide the exposed mudflats provide important feeding grounds for these birds as well as the migrating shorebirds. On the high tide, the sandy beach on the seaward side provides an essential roosting area for the shorebirds as well as a number of tern species. People also enjoy these areas and Heather provided education material and information to over 50 people including heaps of kids about the habitat requirements for shorebirds and how we can help share the area so the birds have a place to nest, roost, feed and make successful migrations.

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Australian Painted Snipe at West Byron Wetlands (by Jan Olley for Byron Bird Buddies)

Members and friends of Byron Bird Buddies (BBB) have been regularly monitoring bird-life in the West Byron Wetlands for Byron Shire Council since 2008 and there are nearly always surprises. Our evening survey on Friday January 13^th was exceptionally exciting.  Just as the sun was setting, so the light was not very good, Steve McBride discovered an Australian Painted Snipe in Cell E (second cell in from the front gate). Then, a short time later and close by, in the vegetation before the car park a Pale-vented Bush-hen was heard calling. Both of these birds have never been recorded in the wetlands and both are listed as threatened species in NSW. These two birds will bring the total avian species recorded at the wetlands since 2000 to a total of 221, an indication of how important and valuable the wetlands are to the natural diversity of our community and a great example of sustainable management of a human waste product.

The Painted Snipe (Rostratula australis) is actually listed as endangered in NSW and is very rarely seen and difficult to detect. Its feathers are very patterned, black, grey, brown greenish and chestnut colouring with a buff stripe and white eye ring, so blending very well into its preferred marshy environment. So, we were all absolutely amazed by Steve’s ability to detect this well camouflaged bird as it was standing very still and looking out from a clump of sedge in the middle of the mud.  It actually looked as if it had reversed in, as its back was well tucked into the clump and all that seemed visible was the head and beak looking forward. Even while looking in the right place, many of us had some difficulty in detecting it but eventually we all managed to get a good look. In August 2011, Steve also spotted four of this species from the road while looking at waterbirds on a farmer’s property in Casino. They were huddled down amidst a clump of water hyacinth in the middle of a muddy swamp riddled with cow-hoof depressions, astounding detective work we all said!

 Unlike the migratory Latham Snipe, which will suddenly take flight and will peep as it flurries away, the Painted Snipe is usually silent, skulking into the shadows and will only move when you’re almost upon it. Any movement from the observers caused the Snipe in Cell E, to gradually lower its head, then its whole body to the ground, further reducing any ability to detect it.

 It appears the Painted Snipe’s movement in the landscape is unpredictable, they are nomadic, responding to local rain patterns and they prefer temporary freshwater swamps that have a combination of shallow water, wet mud and dense low vegetation. Cell E, is usually covered by shallow water, but had been fully drained, during a few weeks of low rainfall, leaving a large expanse of exposed wet mud. So, the habitat in the cell was favourable, as it is to many shorebird and waterbird species. But if the Painted Snipe is so rare how did it know?

 Due to DNA work on the Painted Snipe, it has only recently been established as an Australian endemic species, previously grouped with the Greater Painted Snipe of Africa and Asia. Research also shows that very little is known of its habits, but in brief it occurs mainly singularly and breeds every two years. It is also possible they are polyandrous, that is the female maintains the territory while the eggs, in several nests, are incubated by more then one male. It emerges from its day hiding place at sunset, feeding during the night to early morning. It feeds on vegetation, seeds, insects, worms and molluscs, crustaceans and other invertebrates. Although there are more people observing, the reporting rate for this species has decreased by 90% since the 1950’s and is estimated to be only 1500 birds in all of Australia, mainly due to the drainage of 50% of our wetlands. We should feel privileged.             PDF of this story

 Photographs – (large) sourced from the internet: (small) Hans Lutter –snipe at Casino

Bibliography: “Shorebirds of Australia” Geering, Agnew, Harding

www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/publications/pubs/painted-snipe.pdf