Red-capped Plovers – the battle for their coastal protection
Denis Walls | Convenor
For some months, a small group of us from BirdLife NQ have been monitoring Red-capped Plover (RCP) nests above the high tide line at the southern end of Machans Beach, close to the Barron River estuary. We have made this an emblematic resident shorebird deserving of special attention and protection. Working with Cairns Regional Council (CRC), which has been very supportive, signs have been put up near the breeding area to make people aware of the birds’ presence and nesting behaviour. CRC has agreed to revoke the off-leash dog area in this vicinity, with a transfer to the northern end of Machans Beach as compensation.
This, however, is subject, as always, to community consultation, which is due to take place in November. Naturally, we in the birding community (as well as our supporters within CRC) will have to be particularly persuasive in advocating for the birds whilst showing that there will be no disadvantage to dog walkers by moving their off-leash outings to the northern end of the beach. A CRC staff member at our meeting asked if we (the birders) would have the numbers to equal those dog owners in favour of the status quo! That would be highly doubtful if number crunching is the sole criterion to be used in the community consultation.
We birders have to be constant advocates for our threatened wildlife and hope that our message filters down to enough people who see the sense in restricting off-leash dog areas where nesting and migratory birds are present. After all, it has worked to some degree in southern parts of Australia with the Hooded Plovers, where there is a very significant awareness of the need for bird protection.
There have been two failed RCP nests at Machans Beach in the last three months. The first nest produced two chicks, one of which quickly vanished, while the second was attacked and killed by a dog, which the dog owner, at least, owned up to. We don’t know what happened to the chicks from the second nest but, given that chicks (which we call ‘runners’) can’t fly for up to five weeks after hatching, it is clear that they are at the mercy of off-leash dogs, particularly during high tide when they have nowhere to run.
It was with trepidation that I turned up at the beach on Thursday, 29 October, and saw that the two beautiful little eggs from the current nest were no longer in the sand hollow. We knew the eggs were about to hatch, but there was no trace of eggshells in the vacant nest area. Could they have been stolen? It was high tide, and I rushed down to the water’s edge, and there they were – two tiny runners by the shoreline with mum and dad close by. How we can protect them for the next five weeks is anybody’s guess. Education and awareness are part of it, and most people, when the issue is explained to them, are very responsible, although they do say in their defence, “You know it is an off-leash area. We are allowed to let our dogs run free.”
Our small group will continue to monitor these runners and talk to passers-by, with or without their dogs, to let them know about the birds and the proposed off-leash dog changes.
P.S. A few words about the attached photos. It has become essential over the last few months to let people know where the Red-capped Plovers are nesting to avoid people standing on the eggs. Taking photographs of the nesting birds has been part of raising that awareness. What I refer to as ‘mustering’ of up to 14 RCPs adjacent to the nest during high tide has been fascinating to observe. Is there a reason for their close proximity to the sitting female, or is it just coincidence? The RCP poster is one of two large posters drawing attention to the issue of the nesting RCPs.
