Volunteers in action How can I help? For more information Every second year, in conjunction with hundreds of • Learn to identify Hoodies. If they are present Natural Resources Northern and Yorke Hooded at your local beach during spring and summer, volunteers across , a local team of volunteers Natural Resources Centre it is likely they are nesting there. survey all suitable Hooded across the Yorke Clare, SA 5453 on Yorke Peninsula beaches Peninsula coastline as part of the national Biennial Count. • If you walk your dog along the beach during spring All volunteers receive training, volunteer registration, T: 08 8841 3400 or summer, please keep them on a leash and walk F: 08 8841 3411 guidelines to monitoring, datasheet and instructions. This at the water’s edge. Hooded Plover adults warn giant coordinated effort delivers the most accurate estimate E: [email protected] their chicks to hide earlier for longer periods when www.naturalresources.sa.gov.au/northernandyorke of the total Hoodie population, and a reliable assessment of they see an unleashed dog approaching the health of their as well as the threats they face. • When you see fences, signs or chick shelters on Birdlife Australia Working with local schools, Natural Resources Northern the beach, please observe the following: www.birdlife.org.au/projects/beach-nesting-birds and Yorke regularly run educational sessions for local school children as part of the Young Environmental –– leash your dog, and walk at the water’s edge Natural Resources Northern and Yorke is working Leaders Program. The school children visit their local –– don’t enter the fenced area or nearby sand dunes with volunteers, Birdlife Australia and local councils beach and learn about the importance of beaches to monitor and conserve Hooded Plovers on the –– don’t sit or remain near the fenced or signed area. as habitat for Hoodies and help spread the word. Yorke Peninsula, .

• If you ride your horse on the beach, visit at low Photo credits: Birdlife Australia,Glenn Ehmke and Deborah Furbank. tide and stay close to the water’s edge.

• If you are allowed to drive on a beach, try to stay as close to the water’s edge at low tide as is safe and pay attention to Hooded Plover signs. Do not park next to fenced areas or signs.

• Volunteers are always needed and you can commit to as much or as little involvement as you’d like.

–– Volunteer for one day every two years to walk a designated beach and count the number of . –– ‘Adopt a beach’ and regularly monitor a particular pair of Hoodies throughout the breeding season. How many Hoodies? Why live on the beach? What is being done to help? There are not that many Hooded Plovers in Australia. In eastern The sea washes up algae, seagrasses and other ‘beach-wrack’ Natural Resources Northern and Yorke in conjunction with Australia (including South Australia) there are estimates of 2,500 that insects, sand-hoppers and other small critters feed on. Living Birdlife Australia coordinates a network of volunteers to birds, with a similar number recorded in the west. In South Australia, and nesting right on the beach, the Plovers and their chicks don’t observe Hooded Plover activity on Yorke Peninsula beaches. there are thought to be between 700 to 800 Hoodies. have far to go for a feast. This trained and dedicated ‘Hoodie team’ monitor beaches and report on nesting activity. The volunteers are trained The Hooded Plover is listed as vulnerable in South Australia under Sitting on the beach you might think these birds would be easy to enter their observations directly into a data program the National Parks and Wildlife Act and at a national level under to find, but their colours blend in well with the sand, making for collection of information. This information helps to the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. them hard to spot. The Hooded Plover is a identify threats and improve conservation management. This means the birds are considered to be facing a high risk of Hoodies lay up to three eggs directly on the sand in a simple, small found on South Based on nesting activity reports, Natural Resources Northern extinction in the wild. shallow nest scrape. Both parents help look after the nest and Yorke works with local councils and the community to decide Australia’s beaches, including and keep watch for predators for 28 days until the eggs It is estimated that there are less than 300 Hooded Plovers left if there is a need to protect the nest. This is done by putting up hatch. The fluffy, flightless chicks then hatch and need to feed the Yorke Peninsula. on the Yorke Peninsula. A national survey in 2014 found 236 temporary signs and fences to identify nest areas to beach-goers. themselves to grow to full size in 35 days. When disturbed the adults and 12 juveniles on the Yorke Peninsula. This encourages beach goers to be aware and stay clear of nests chicks stay still and hide. These birds like sandy beaches and nest where we like to give the birds and their chicks a better chance of survival. to walk, between the high-water mark and in the sand Is it a Hoodie? The signs and fences are a valuable tool for protecting dunes. Hoodies live on our beaches year round, but Adult Hooded Plovers are about 10 cm high and can be Crunch!! the birds. Most beach goers don’t mean harm to make their nests on the sand from August to March. identified by their black hood, red circle around their Being well camouflaged and not moving means beach-nesting birds and generally only need to be eye, red bill tipped with black, and orange stalk-like legs. people, dogs, vehicles or horses on the beach made aware of possible impacts they might have. The neck is black with a white band along the back. can step, drive or ride right on the eggs or Birdlife Australia research shows that when highly Hoodie facts chicks. If people or dogs stay near the nest they The young birds can be confused with some other threatened nest sites are signed or fenced off, Hooded Plover cucullatus can keep the parents away from the nest. shorebirds, but the white band along the back of the Hoodies have a much greater chance of Family: their neck distinguishes them. That means the eggs are left in the sun to bake or are raising their young (the equivalent to at risk being taken by natural predators such as gulls, Other Names: Hooded Dotterel or Another Plover found on Yorke Peninsula is the Hoodies living on isolated beaches). ravens and kestrels. If the chicks are always running Dotterel, (colloquially) Hoodie Red-capped Plover (Charadrius ruficapillus). It also lives away or hiding, they won’t be feeding and may starve. and nests on sandy beaches. Red-capped Plovers are Vulnerable in South Australia where there are slightly smaller than Hoodies. The male Red-capped around 700 birds; fewer than 300 Hooded Plover has a bright reddish crown and nape, and a black Plovers are found on the Yorke Peninsula. short bill and legs. The female is duller in colour. Length: 19–23 cm, Height: 10 cm

Wingspan: 36–44 cm, Weight: 90–100 g

Birds lay 1–3 white or yellowish-grey eggs with blackish- brown and inky grey spots. They incubate them for about 28 days. Once hatched, chicks follow the parents about and find their own food and cannot fly for 5 weeks.

Red-capped Plover