July 5, 2010 - Record number of breeding Banded Stilts after drought-breaking rains
The Banded Stilt is endemic to Australia and is unique among shorebirds in that they: nest colonially, lay white eggs, have white downy chicks and put their young into crèches. They require recently flooded salt lakes when huge numbers of brine shrimps hatch into the water on which to feed. These conditions occurred at Lake Torrens in April this year when 150,000 - 200,000 birds started nesting on a small island. The potential for rearing 200,000 chicks has never been recorded before.
A full story is available is attached here.
March 25, 2010 - Ruddy Turnstone’s marathon flight across the Pacific.
We have already been amazed at the feats of Bar-tailed Godwits tracked by satellite from Australia and New Zealand to their breeding grounds in the high Arctic tundra via the Yellow Sea and non-stop flights between Alaska and New Zealand on their return. Unfortunately the size of the satellite transmitters and the batteries required to power them preclude their use on smaller shorebirds. However a different technology using a 1 gram light-sensor geolocator has enabled researchers from the Australasian Wader Study Group to track the 27,000 km round trip of Ruddy Turnstones from Australia to their Arctic breeding grounds and back via China on their way north and via Kiribati (the Gilbert Islands) on their return trip across the Pacific.
This now opens up the possibility of tracking the migration routes of shorebirds as yet virtually unknown. A full story is available is attached here.
March 23, 2010 - The world’s greatest travellers, migratory shorebirds, are threatened by coal ports and heavy industry.
In China and the Republic of Korea, large-scale land reclamation projects have destroyed almost 50 per cent of tidal flats in the Yellow Sea, mostly in the past 30 years. Sea walls and dykes are built around tidal flats and filled in to extend the coastline. The newly made land is used for houses, factories and infrastructure, to develop industry, expand ports and create energy facilities, including wind farms.
Land reclamation of tidal flats in the Yellow Sea continues. In the Republic of Korea, the Government forecasts that by 2011 approximately 75 per cent of tidal flats will have been reclaimed. The situation in China is no better.
The impact this has had on shorebirds is immense. Of 54 migratory shorebird species that use the Flyway regularly, about 30 are dependent on tidal flats at some time, of these least nine species are in decline. Land reclamation destroys the habitat of migratory shorebirds.
Complete article attached here.
Article courtesy of Ethical Investor
May 1, 2010 - GULLS AND TERNS IN AUSTRALIA
A Scientific Day "Gulls & Terns in Australia" will be held on Phillip Island, Victoria, on 1 May 2010. This event will provide a forum for researchers, managers and those involved/interested in research, conservation and management of gulls and small terns in Australia, in addition to coastal management and conservation issues.
Registrations and submission of abstracts should be sent using the attached registration form.
2010 INTERNATIONAL WADER STUDY GROUP ANNUAL CONFERENCE
The 2010 annual conference and workshops of the International Wader Study Group will take place in Lisbon, Portugal, 2-3 October 2010. Further details and registration can be found on the IWSG website
8th AUSTRALASIAN SHOREBIRD CONFERENCE, 2011
The 8th Australasian Shorebird Conference will be held at a date to be determined in Adelaide, South Australia, with an optional field excursion to the Coorong. The theme for the Conference is yet to be finalised and will be announced closer to the date.