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Fairy Tern Breeding on French Island, Western Port, Victoria

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Fairy Tern Breeding on French Island, Western Port, Victoria Australian Field Ornithology 2015, 32, 1–14 Fairy Tern breeding on French Island, Western Port, Victoria Geoff Lacey1 and Martin O’Brien2* 1Department of Resource Management and Geography, University of Melbourne, Parkville VIC 3010, Australia 2Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, 8 Nicholson Street, East Melbourne VIC 3002, Australia *Corresponding author. Email: martin.o’[email protected] Summary. Breeding of Fairy Terns Sternula nereis at the two current breeding sites in Western Port, both on French Island, Victoria, has been documented over more than four decades. At the main site, Rams Island, there has been great variability annually in the numbers of Terns breeding but no significant trend. This breeding colony has persisted for over 40 years, which has not happened at any other Fairy Tern colony in Victoria. There are only three breeding records for Tortoise Head. Current management of the breeding sites appears to be successful and this pattern should be maintained. Priorities include continued monitoring of breeding, and control of feral cats and weeds. Introduction The Fairy Tern Sternula nereis is found in Australia along the southern and western coasts, including Tasmania. It also occurs in New Zealand and New Caledonia (Higgins & Davies 1996). It is classified as Endangered in Victoria (DSE 2013) and as Vulnerable globally (BirdLife International 2013), and it is also listed as a threatened species under the Victorian Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988. It is threatened by predation, human disturbance on beaches, and sometimes high tides (DSEWPaC 2013). In Victoria, Fairy Terns are mainly recorded from central Victorian bays and sheltered coastal waters (Emison et al. 1987). They now breed mainly in two distinct regions: (1) South and East Gippsland and (2) Western Port. Until 1988, they used to breed annually in Port Phillip Bay as well: at The Spit (Western Treatment Plant), Swan Island and, especially, on Mud Islands. The last recorded breeding event on Mud Islands was in 1997, when only two young fledged, although Fairy Terns are still regularly observed at this site outside the breeding season (Menkhorst 2010). Some observations suggest that until the early 1980s the species also bred at other sites in Port Phillip Bay, in particular Altona Bay, near Avalon, Corio Bay and Edwards Point (Lane 1981; Victorian Biodiversity Atlas). In 2003, breeding resumed in Port Phillip Bay and has been recorded at Edwards Point, Moolap Saltworks and Lake Victoria (Minton et al. 2003; Hewish 2004, 2006), but no further breeding has been reported from these sites since c. 2005. The two Fairy Tern breeding sites in Western Port are on French Island. The main site is Rams Island, a tiny island on the southern tip of French Island. The 2 Australian Field Ornithology G. Lacey & M. O’Brien second site, used on a few occasions, is at Tortoise Head, the promontory on the south-western corner of French Island (see Figure 1). There has also been at least one unconfirmed breeding record on Reef Island, 6 km south of Corinella in Western Port (T. Dolby pers. comm.). When not breeding, Fairy Terns have also been recorded at other sites in Western Port, including Barrallier Island, Fairhaven, Stockyard Point and Rhyll Inlet. The Bird Observers Club of Australia (BOCA; now incorporated in BirdLife Australia) Western Port Survey found that the Terns tend to leave Western Port in winter (BOCA 2003). Following a preliminary study, Lane (1981) recommended further research into documenting the productivity of Victorian Fairy Tern colonies and a system of at least annual counts in Port Phillip Bay and Western Port. Among the research priorities identified for the species under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act 2011) were: undertaking survey work and more precisely assessing population size, distribution, ecological requirements and relative impacts of threatening processes. The current study will address some of these priorities from a Victorian perspective. The main aims of this paper are to document and discuss the breeding history of Fairy Terns at two French Island locations in 1967–2013; examine the factors contributing to breeding success or failure at these sites; check for any trends, such as a decline; and discuss management history and assess priorities. Study areas and methods Rams Island Rams Island, ~75 m in length, is located off Long Point, the southernmost point on French Island. Rosengren (1984, p. 426) described it as ‘a small basalt knob surrounded by gravel beaches. A gravel ridge or swashway about 200 metres long connects the island to French Island.’ This ridge is submerged at high tide. On the western side of the swashway and to a lesser extent on the eastern side is a rocky platform dominating the mudflats in this part of Western Port. The island is a raised oval-shaped shallow bowl, rimmed with a rocky ridge containing sand, numerous shells, and pieces of driftwood. Vegetation on this rim varies from time to time in species, height and density. The most common indigenous plants are spinach Tetragonia spp., Variable Groundsel Senecio pinnatifolius and Australian Salt-grass Distichlis distichophylla. There are two big patches of Coast Saltbush Atriplex cinerea. Weeds on the rim include thistles Cirsium spp. and sometimes Sea Spurge Euphorbia paralias. The open centre of the bowl contains much Australian Salt-grass. It also used to be thickly covered with weeds, wood-sorrel Oxalis sp. and Hastate Orache Atriplex prostrata being conspicuous, but these have been greatly reduced by weed control activities undertaken by Parks Victoria and volunteers. Surrounding the island, though less on the northern side, is a large expanse of rocks, sloping down from the rim and many times the size of the bowl. The rocky slopes are covered with short indigenous vegetation extending well down towards the water, including Austral Seablite Sueda australis, Trailing Jointweed Hemichroa pentandra, spinach, Beaded Glasswort Sarcocornia quinqueflora and Prickly Spear-grass Austrostipa stipoides. There are also broad patches of dried seagrass Zostera spp. (see Figure 2). Fairy Tern breeding on French Island, Vic. 3 Figure 1. Locations of breeding Fairy Terns in Port Phillip Bay and Western Port, Victoria. Figure 2. Prickly Spear-grass, Trailing Jointweed and Austral Seablite thrive on the edge of the rocky slope of Rams Island below the Fairy Tern nesting area. Note the patches of dried seagrass. July 2012. Photo: Wal Mitchell 4 Australian Field Ornithology G. Lacey & M. O’Brien Though small in size, Rams Island is one of the most important shorebird sites in Western Port. It is a major high-tide roost for waders, as well as providing a rookery for Fairy Terns and breeding sites for several other bird species that nest there each year (BOCA 2003). Tortoise Head The other Fairy Tern nesting site on French Island is at Tortoise Head. This is a basalt headland on the south-western extremity of the island. Separated from the main island by mangroves and a saltmarsh, it is virtually an island itself at high tide, as the adjacent part of the saltmarsh is often covered in water. A narrow rocky spit juts out from the western side of Tortoise Head, with shorter tongues stretching north and south. It has a few large patches of vegetation, including Coast Saltbush, Coast Boobialla Myoporum insulare, Shrubby Glasswort Sclerostegia arbuscula and Prickly Spear-grass. Australian Salt-grass occurs in patches, and Beaded Glasswort grows over much of the rock in the intertidal zone. There are considerable areas of bare rock, rounded fragments and pebbles, with some sand and shells. The western side of Tortoise Head, especially the rocky spit, is a major high-tide roost for waders, and is also the site where Fairy Terns have nested on a few occasions. Methods Detailed records of breeding behaviour, site conditions and management activities have been kept for over four decades. The records of Friends of French Island National Park (FOFI) have been supplemented with those from all available other sources, including relevant references from the literature (e.g. Victorian Wader Study Group Bulletins), records from BirdLife Australia’s Birdata database, records from the Department of Environment and Primary Industries’ Victorian Biodiversity Atlas (VBA), and the Western Port Survey. Using all the data, the breeding patterns and management activities are carefully examined. Results Early monitoring of Rams Island Monitoring of Rams Island began in January 1974, when members of the Bird Observers Club (later the BOCA, now incorporated in BirdLife Australia) and local resident Chris Chandler visited the site and recorded 21 Fairy Terns, including juveniles. In November that year, Chandler recorded 30 Terns breeding. Since that time, the site has been regularly monitored by the BOCA Western Port Survey (Loyn 1978; Dann et al. 1994; Hansen et al. 2011) and by members of the FOFI (Quinn & Lacey 1999). Breeding records are in Appendix 1. Grazing by sheep and cattle on Rams Island in the 1970s kept the vegetation short most of the time. The island was also visited by people collecting seagrass (C. Chandler pers. comm.). In 1977, the Lands Department, BOCA and some local residents built a 1-m-high barbed-wire fence across the causeway in an attempt to keep out sheep and cattle. In September 1980, a group of volunteers removed weeds that had built up, and also collected shellgrit from the nearby beach and spread it in the higher part of the island to make suitable nesting sites for the Fairy Terns (Swan 1977; Lane 1981). Shortly afterwards, the fence was cut, allowing seagrass collection to continue, but grazing animals were also able to regain Fairy Tern breeding on French Island, Vic. 5 access. A new fence was installed by the Department of Conservation, Forests and Lands in 1988 (Anon.
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