Reinvigoration of Shorebird Monitoring in Australia
A major new programme is underway at Birds Australia. Titled Shorebirds 2020, the programme is designed to reinvigorate and coordinate national shorebird monitoring in Australia. Shorebirds 2020 is a collaborative enterprise between Birds Australia, The Australasian Wader Studies Group (AWSG), WWF-Australia and the Australian Government’s Natural Heritage Trust.

Project Objectives

The primary objectives of the programme are to collect data on the numbers of shorebirds in a manner that can be utilised to aid their conservation and management, specifically long- and short-term population trends, and explore what may be causing those changes.  Further, this project will seek to understand the relationship between habitat quality and threats on the distribution and abundance of shorebirds. A Project Manager  Technical Manager  and Project Officer  have been appointed to oversee the project. We aim to achieve this by building upon existing count methods, providing counter training and recruitment, increasing the coverage, frequency and geographic representation of sampling, and inform decision-makers through analysis and reporting.

 

Shorebirds under threat

There is increasing evidence that migratory shorebird populations throughout the world are declining. Shorebirds using the East-Asian Australasian Flyway are under threat from widespread habitat destruction, especially prevalent at staging areas in East Asia. Australia, as home to 36 species of migratory shorebird during the non-breeding season, is uniquely placed to assess the impacts of these threats on shorebird numbers. Groups such as the AWSG and a number of other qualified groups have been surveying shorebird populations at a number of important sites, some for over 25 years. However, there is a need to coordinate these committed voluntary efforts.


This project would not be possible without the base of information collected by volunteers over the last 25 years, or without the more recent information provided by local shorebird experts. The shorebird information collected so far has been pivotal to conservation planning for shorebirds, through the identification of Ramsar wetlands, and by providing base line information on the distribution, abundance, or population trends of migratory shorebirds.

In the coming months we will be adding training materials, data sheets, recommendations on when to count, maps of the survey areas etc. on-line, and we would encourage you to submit a count any time you survey for shorebirds.

Shorebird Monitoring Volunteers Needed

We want to hear from anyone with an interest in shorebirds and shorebird conservation, or who would like to learn more about these amazing birds. In particular we are looking for volunteers to assist with biannual national population monitoring counts at sites throughout Australia. People with limited shorebird experience need not feel daunted as we will be supporting counters with a shorebird identification toolkit, workshops and regional mentors. The next population monitoring counts will be summer 2008, and we are aiming for as many sites as possible to be counted on the weekend following World Wetlands Day on 2nd February 2008, or a week or so prior, depending on tides and logistics.