Word about the Hood Biannual newsletter of BirdLife Australia’s Beach-nesting Birds Program Edition 17 – June 2017 UPDATE FROM THE BEACH-NESTING BIRDS TEAM Dr Grainne Maguire, Coast and Marine Program Manager It has been awhile since I’ve had the Photo: Grainne Maguire opportunity to write an intro for our newsletter as I have been on leave for over a year. I have now returned to the project part-time and feel motivated to tackle some big gaps and issues that stand in the way of us helping these birds. I even got to set foot on to a beach again and see oystercatchers and hoodies, with a trip to Kangaroo Island being one of the first regions for me to visit on my return. It was particularly nice to visit the island because the people there are just so keen to get involved with protecting nesting coastal birds, and I can see lots of ways we can help. In the coming year, I look forward to reconnecting with each of the regions. Our team has decided to adopt some of our past methods of engaging with the regions including our start of season working group meetings, and more site visits throughout the season to spend time on the ground with volunteers. This will allow us to improve levels of support to each group according to their needs and to recognise issues as they arise. We are fortunate to have received Icon Species funding from the Victorian Government for the next three years which will enable us to better support our Victorian groups and re-commit to start of season working group meetings, debriefs and training sessions along the coast. These have been pivotal tools for recruiting, up-skilling and supporting volunteers and land managers, and for evaluating our success and adapting our recovery effor ts. If we are lucky, we may be successful with our funding application through the Threatened Species Fund which would enable us to support our South Australian groups, build these in size and strength, and to develop resources for all participants in the program to ensure we all have the best tools and advice available for protecting the birds and mitigating threats. In this same application we also applied for funds to do some much needed research into predators in an effort to discover some new techniques for mitigating the threats they pose, particularly as traditional control techniques are not always able to be used in some coastal areas, and because predator control is so costly and requires high investment over time to maintain tolerable levels. Photo: Grainne Maguire We also applied for funding to carry out additional targeted leg flagging to fill some key knowledge gaps and provide enough data to complete a Population Viability Analysis (PVA). A PVA would enable us to learn what our fledging output targets should be in order to ensure a stable and resilient population in the future. Recently we held our National Conference in Willunga (south of Adelaide) and this was terrific. It was so great to see so many familiar faces as well as so many new ones. It was also good to hold the conference in South Australia for the first time, which meant that people who have not had the opportunity to attend before could come and that we could showcase a lot of the good work Photo: Glenn Ehmke happening in the state. Stay tuned to hear where our next conference will be held! We hope you enjoy this newsletter which contains updates from each of the regions about the 2016/17 season, student research updates, and snippets about what we have been up to these past six months (of course excluding all the boring stuff like reporting, admin and permit/ethics applications/reports!). Remember to get in touch with us if you want to know where to find information about a particular threat or recovery action, or access to materials or templates, or you would like to enquire about events or training opportunities in your region. WELCOME TO OUR NEW BEACH-NESTING BIRDS STAFF AND OFFICE VOLUNTEERS! Photo: Fresh Images In the last newsletter, we said good bye to Kasun, who had moved to South Australia to work on the Samphire Coast Icon Project... guess what? Kasun will be back working with the Beach-nesting birds Team in September! Kasun will remain in South Australia during September and run the start of season meetings, training workshops for Hooded Plovers and Pied Oystercatchers, and also run some Teacher Professional Development sessions! He’ll be busy travelling around the Fleurieu Peninsula, and to Yorke Peninsula, before he returns to Melbourne! Welcome back Kasun, we’re extremely excited to have you back on the team! We also want to welcome our wonderful Office Volunteer, Lucinda Plowman! OFFICE VOLUNTEERING FOR BEACH-NESTING BIRDS Lucinda Plowman Hi, I’m Lucinda, I am quite new to BirdLife, I started volunteering in the Melbourne office in February of this year. I have always had an interest in animals both wild and domestic and in fields of animal husbandry and conservation. I have volunteered at RSPCA for 6 years and completed two wildlife internships in Canada and several short courses at Box Hill Institute to continue my education in both fields. I currently work in a vet clinic and am seeking opportunities to complete Honours fieldwork overseas. 2 Word about the Hood - Edition 17 I have a degree in Wildlife Conservation and have had trouble getting work in the field and didn’t want to lose what I had learnt at university and so emailed BirdLife to volunteer. I was very lucky to get a quick response from the Beach-nesting Birds (BNB) team and have enjoyed myself thoroughly with Grainne, Meg and Renee I was lucky enough to help organise and attend the biennial BNB Conference in South Australia which was an awesome experience and got to learn more about the birds and those who volunteer and work so hard to help provide information on the ecology of the birds and how to raise community awareness and involvement. I enjoyed hearing stories from hard working professionals in the conservation field. NATIONAL BEACH-NESTING BIRDS CONFERENCE, MAY 26-27, WILLUNGA, SOUTH AUSTRALIA Over two days we shared ideas, met new people, heard about the work being done in different parts of Australia for beach-nesting birds, learnt of new research findings and attended some interesting training sessions. It seems like two days are never enough to showcase all the work happening and to hear all the stories people have to tell. The beach-nesting birds’ team come away from the conference with so many fresh ideas based on your feedback and insight into the issues we still need to dedicate more time to. This event is one that we have always pieced together bits of funding for, and with the small cover charge for attendance, we can make it happen. We feel it is really important because these birds are so widely dispersed and we need to make sure there are opportunities for people working on this project to meet and to recognise that they are part of a large conservation project that goes well beyond their local coast. This time round we were fortunate to have some funding support from Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges NRM Board, Barwon Coast Committee of Management, the National Landcare Programme and the Victorian Government’s Icon Species fund. The following pages are some images of the conference including the presentations, discussion groups and dinner on the Friday, the field trips on the Saturday and Sunday! Images from Glenn Ehmke, Kasun Ekanayake, Grainne Maguire, Renee Mead, and Carole and Ian Forsyth. 3 4 Word about the Hood - Edition 17 TALKING TO DOG OWNERS ON THE BEACH: LESSONS FROM THE BNB CONFERENCE: Glenda Woodward, Friends of the Hooded Plover Yorke Peninsula, SA. I have been a beach-nesting bird volunteer for some years but when I speak to people down the beach with dogs, I know I can improve how ask them to put their dogs on a lead. I must declare that I like dogs, I even have a dog. I just wish people with dogs would put those dogs on a leash when they see the hooded plover signs on the beach. I realize I am often stressed – worried about the birds – would like people to get those dogs on a lead ASAP. 5 So, I was really looking forward to the recent Beach-nesting Birds Conference, hoped to pick up some tips on how to better talk to people with dogs. On the second day of the conference, Kevin Collister, an expert communications faci litator spoke to the group. His Background was different for a bird conference, having worked in STAR (Special Tasks and Rescue) force for years – over 20 years of experience dealing with Australia’s most dangerous criminals – drug searches, high security escorts, escapes and riots!! Now I thought, that should help when dealing with strangers on the beach!! If Kevin Collister, can talk down Photo: Renee Mead people with guns, I can talk to people with dogs. Kevin was very entertaining and had some really good tips. This is by no means a full summary of his talk but some of the tips I picked up on the day, and would strongly recommend if anyone has the opportunity to hear him speak to do so. So, firstly : You need to control your thoughts, control your stress (I can just see those dogs running toward those chicks now….), breathe with your diaphragm (helps you relax).