In case you can’t read the article via the picture –
Deakin researchers are pleading for beachgoers to keep their dogs on a leash after the discovery of dead hooded plovers in Barwon Heads. The body of a mauled chick was also found dumped in rubbish bin at the entry point to Barwon Head’s 13th beach.
Wildlife and conservation biology associate professor Mike Weston said it was a shameful act and showed dog attacks could be a real factor in the decline of threatened hooded plovers.
“The battle to save threatened shorebirds which breed on our beaches rages every spring and summer, as thousands of Victorians and their dogs enjoy time at the beach, and the birds desperately try to breed,” Prof Weston said.
“This is not a trivial matter. Beachgoers must obey the prevailing rules and regulations, particularly the leashing laws.”
Deakin honours student Tom Schmidt said the discovery had left the team in utter shock.
“The entire time I was thinking to myself that this must be a mistake, how could a small, flightless chick of a threatened species end up in a bin?” he said.
“The tiny body was tied into a bag containing dog faeces and the injuries were consistent with dog attack.
“The dog walking community on our beaches needs to rise to the challenge, we need them to help save this species.”
This species comes up a lot in lunch-time chats with my fellow ecologists at Deakin, Waurn Ponds, being so close to Barwon Heads and being conservationists ourselves, and it seems a common story that these birds are either being killed by dogs, or their nests disturbed and destroyed.
Hooded plovers (Thinornis rubricollis) are threatened species that nest on surf beaches – in Victoria, especially Ocean Grove and 13th Beach, but any sandy beach on the Bellarine Peninsula can have known nesting grounds.
From August to March, these birds nest in the sandy dunes. During this time, signage and temporary fences are put up to prevent access to nests, and to remind everyone to keep their dogs on leashes. Plover chicks cannot fly for their first five weeks, and forage alone up to 1 km from their nest – so unleashed dogs can cause serious havoc to them even outside the fencing.
“A simple formula of alerting beach users with signs and temporary fencing, putting out wooden teepees for chicks to hide in, and requesting dogs be on a lead, is enough to tip the balance and give these birds a 55% chance of having their family survive instead of a measly 2% chance.”
If you live in or visit this region, please do your part and obey these rules to help conserve a non-aggressive, charismatic, defenceless threatened species.
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