Shorebirds
Sooty Oystercatcher
Fifteen species of shorebird are resident in Australia and an additional 34 species are regular migrants. Most of the migrant species breed in northern China, Mongolia, Siberia and Alaska during June and July and then migrate to Australia for the non-breeding season.
Each year, more than a million shorebirds migrate to and from Australia, and many more millions worldwide travel great distances between their breeding and non-breeding habitats.
Some shorebirds weighing as little as 30g may migrate 25,000km annually. Some species may fly more than 6000 km non-stop. In doing this, they use favourable weather patterns when they can, but even so will commonly lose 40 percent of their bodyweight, flying at more than 60km/hr, non-stop for three days and nights. Shorebirds make the journey in several weeks, stopping two or three times along the way. When they stop, they must 'refuel': they feed and rest to build up energy reserves. At these times they may increase their body weight by more than 70 percent before undertaking the next marathon stage of their journey.
The routes they travel along on their annual migration for breeding are called flyways. A flyway is broadly defined as the migration route of a population, species, or group of species of birds, between a breeding area, through the staging sites and non-breeding area (Asia-Pacific Migratory Waterbird Conservation Committee 2001).
One of Queensland's migratory shorebirds, the double-banded plover, follows the same principle, but rather differently. It breeds on the pebble beds of the rivers of New Zealand's South Island in the summer months from September to March, and then flies trans-Tasman to spend the southern winter in the comparatively warm conditions of Australia's east coast. So it arrives in Queensland in March/April when all other migratory shorebirds are leaving for Siberia and Alaska, and leaves in August/September when the others are returning.
Species of shorebirds of concern (and typically listed as migrants under the Commonwealth's Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act) found in Queensland:
Resident
| Common name | Scientific name |
|---|---|
| Beach stone-curlew | Esacus neglectus (conservation status: Qld - vulnerable) |
| Painted snipe | Rostratula benghalensis (conservation status: Qld - vulnerable) |
| Pied oystercatcher | Haematopus longirostris |
| Sooty oystercatcher | Haematopus fuliginosus (Conservation status: Qld - rare; national - least concern) |
Migratory
| Common name | Scientific name |
|---|---|
| Black-tailed godwit | Limosa limosa |
| Bar-tailed godwit | Limosa lapponica |
| Little curlew | Numenius minutus |
| Whimbrel | Numenius phaeopus |
| Eastern curlew | Numenius madagascariensis (Conservation status: Qld - rare; national - least concern) |
| Marsh sandpiper | Tringa stagnatilis |
| Common greenshank | Tringa nebularia |
| Wood sandpiper | Tringa glareola |
| Terek sandpiper | Xenus cinereus |
| Common sandpiper | Actitis hypoleucos |
| Grey-tailed tattler | Heteroscelus brevipes |
| Wandering tattler | Heteroscelus incana |
| Ruddy turnstone | Arenaria interpres |
| Asian dowitcher | Limnodromus semipalmatus |
| Great knot | Calidris tenuirostris |
| Red knot | Calidris canutus |
| Sanderling | Calidris alba |
| Red-necked stint | Calidris ruficollis |
| Pectoral sandpiper | Calidris melanotos |
| Sharp-tailed sandpiper | Calidris acuminata |
| Curlew sandpiper | Calidris ferruginea |
| Broad-billed sandpiper | Limicola falcinellus |
| Pacific golden plover | Pluvialis fulva |
| Grey plover | Pluvialis squatarola |
| Mongolian plover (now lesser sand plover) | Charadrius mongolus |
| Large sand plover (now greater sand plover) | Charadrius leschenaultii |
Shorebird strategies
Shorebird management strategy - Moreton Bay
There are nine bilateral agreements for migratory bird conservation in the East Asian Australasian Flyway, involving 7 countries. The two agreements involving Australia are JAMBA (Japan/Australia Migratory Bird Agreement) and CAMBA (China/Australia Migratory Bird Agreement). These agreements are followed up actively with meetings between governments every 2 years. In addition to bilateral agreements there are two multilateral agreements that are relevant to flyway conservation of waders. The Ramsar Convention (Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat) promotes wetland conservation, and the Bonn Convention (Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals) provides a multinational framework for the conservation of migratory species. In the East Asian-Australasian flyway, 15 of the 22 countries in the flyway have signed the Ramsar Convention.
Last updated: 18 September 2006