Shorebirds Report
September 2006
Over the past weeks migratory waders have been leaving the breeding grounds in the northern hemisphere and making their way south again. Males, females, and juveniles all leave at different times so there are a number of weeks when flocks of different kinds can be seen at different resting places on the way south.
The trip from the northern hemisphere is up to twelve and a half thousand kilometres and each year the birds make the same trip and use the same coastal wetlands (called staging points) to feed and recoup their energies.
The staging points are rather like our own Bay waters – shallow, and with an abundance of small crustaceans for the birds to eat. Each staging point is very important on the birds' journey. Imagine yourself travelling across unknown and often inhospitable country and expecting to find a petrol station and food store before you ran right out of all supplies. It would be a disaster if such supplies were not where you expected them! So the loss of even one staging point results in the death of thousands of birds. International agreements cover many – but not all – of the staging points.
The wader birds visiting our area use the route known as the East Asian-Australasian Flyway. It is estimated that more than 30 species and over 5 million birds use this flyway each year. Some of the larger species may fly 6,000 kilometres without stopping. Smaller birds may need to stop a number of times. The smallest migratory birds may weigh as little as 30 grams.
Over the next few weeks here on the bay we can expect to see greater numbers of birds arriving.
This month the count was interrupted because of stormy weather. We counted 16 species and 180 birds.
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