Are you a bushwalker in south-eastern Australia? Contribute to conservation by recording sightings of Hooded Plovers and Eastern Ground Parrots.
BirdLife Australia’s Beach-nesting Birds Program is training and encouraging bushwalkers to record incidental sightings of Hooded Plovers and Eastern Ground Parrots along remote stretches of the Victorian coastline.
Coastal birds – accessible vs remote areas
Australia’s coastline is home to some of the most threatened groups of birds in the country. Coastal birds face a wide range of threats, from human disturbance on beaches to habitat loss and fragmentation due to land clearing and bushfires. In Victoria, Hooded Plovers and Eastern Ground Parrots are some of the most threatened and elusive coastal bird species. Hooded Plovers depend on ocean beaches and Eastern Ground Parrots rely on coastal heathland, two key habitats that also support other vulnerable species.
Knowledge of where the birds are is key to knowing if their populations are healthy. While our staff and volunteers regularly monitor accessible beaches along the Victorian coast, there is a knowledge gap around how many birds live in the remote areas. And that’s where bushwalkers can help!
Walk for a cause: bushwalkers helping coastal birds
In 2021, Coastcare Victoria and the Victorian Government funded this project (Walk for a cause: bushwalkers helping conserve coastal birds). Using the Hooded Plover and Eastern Ground Parrot as flagship species (i.e. species to help raise support for biodiversity conservation on the Victorian coast), our project aims to engage bushwalkers to record sightings of the two species along remote stretches of Victorian coastline.
Who is this for?
Anyone can participate – from the keen hiker who treks long distances along remote coastlines, to the occasional walker who goes for a stroll in a coastal heathland to a secluded beach!
We’re running workshops to teach bushwalkers the skills they need to identify the birds in the field and record their observations. Follow us on social media for project and workshop updates – Facebook, Instagram, Twitter.
If you missed our workshops, you can watch an online recording here!
In this document, you’ll find more information about the project and the target species. We also have put instructions together to record your sightings with the Birdata phone app and the Birdata web portal.
Contact us!
Reach out to beachnestingbirds@birdlife.org.au or sonia.sanchez@birdlife.org.au if you have any questions or want to know more!
