World Wetlands Day Feb 2nd 2010

World Wetlands Day February 2 is World Wetlands Day.  It is celebrated internationally each year to mark the anniversary of the signing of the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (otherwise known as the Ramsar Convention) which occurred at Ramsar, in Iran, on 2 February 1971.

This year, to celebrate World Wetlands Day, members of Birds Australia have combined to make a practical difference, both on the day and in the weeks leading up to it. There was action aplenty at Cheetham Wetlands near Melbourne, where a much greater than anticipated number of people braved unpleasantly hot and windy conditions to be guided around the series of wetlands and observe a stunning variety of migratory and resident shorebirds at close hand, as well as plenty of ducks and other waterbirds.

It is vital for the future of bird conservation in Australia that we educate the general public about the importance of sites such as this, just a few minutes from Melbourne’s CBD, and their crucially important role in bird conservation. It’s all part of Birds Australia’s plan for wetland conservation and monitoring activities to ensure a bright future for our aquatic birdlife.

Coinciding with the big day out at Cheetham, participants in the successful Shorebirds 2020 project were out braving the mudflats and salt-ponds in The Coorong in South Australia, Victoria’s Western District, Darwin and Robbins Passage in north-western Tasmania, monitoring wader numbers in the summer’s ongoing series of shorebird counts. Though results have yet to be tabulated, results indicate that shorebird numbers at some areas may be down from last year. Data gathered from these counts are analysed to establish population trends and they will guide Birds Australia’s shorebird conservation action into the future.

Another shorebird to receive special attention in recent weeks was the Australian Painted Snipe. In mid-January the first Painted Snipe Survey for 2010 was conducted, with people trudging through the wetlands throughout mainland Australia in search of this enigmatic species. It is essential that we gather as much data as we can about this little-known bird so that we can ensure its survival into the future.

Still more wetland action occurred around World Wetlands Day, with ongoing Birds Australia’s Bittern Surveys conducted, as they have been throughout the summer months. Participants will keep searching for Australian Little Bitterns and Australasian Bitterns in reed beds throughout the country, with data-gathering surveys continuing on into March.