Our 2024 Equipment Repair Day and AGM on Saturday the 5th of October is fast approaching. Please put this busy day in your diary. Starting at 10.00 am we will be catching up with friends and colleagues, mending nets, making new wind breaks, cleaning and repairing equipment. Sharing morning-tea, snacks and lunch is always a highlight.
After lunch there will be a guest speaker, the presentation of the Minton Medal, then the formal part of the day: – the Annual General Meeting.
Come and see our new trailer. It is packed and ready for the up-coming banding season.
We look forward to seeing everyone on Saturday the 5th of October
August 07, 2024
Update on avian influenza
Highly-pathogenic avian influenza is a major catastrophe for our bird populations and has been decimating domestic and wild bird populations, and marine mammals elsewhere around the globe. The risk of HPAI H5N1 arriving to our shores is deemed to be “medium”. You can read more in the WHA report.
In addition to HPAI H5N1, other subtypes of avian influenza are found in Australia. Most of those that are found in wild birds pose no risk to wild birds and don’t make them sick. They occasionally jump to poultry and become disease causing (i.e. evolve to become HPAI), such as we have seen in Victoria, NSW, ACT in 2024. Read more about this on the Doherty Institute webpage.
If you see birds that might be sick, do not touch them. Contact Wildlife Health Australia on 1800 675 888.
Are there other things we can do as individuals?
A simple action you can take is to reduce stress on wild birds particularly our congregatory birds like shorebirds. So this means avoid disturbing wild birds e.g. from dog walking, jogging, drone use, etc.
If you have chooks and ducks at home, netting your pens and washing your footwear may be useful preventative measures. If any of your birds get sick, keep them isolated from other birds and particularly wild birds.
If you’re a land owner, protecting and enhancing habitat for wild birds will help them find food and breed successfully. Bigger populations of wild birds will better (self) defense than small populations.
In case you missed it – Discovery Bay Sanderling Project
Glenelg Hopkins Catchment Management Authority released a video on YouTube in 2022 about the catching and conservation efforts for Sanderling. This project has involved members of the Victorian Wader Study Group and Friends of Shorebird South East. If you missed it then, it is worth watching now.
In other news, Simeon, Ken and other colleagues have had a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science about “Predicting resilience of migratory birds to environmental change“, which has drawn upon the VWSG geolocator data. This is a very prestigous journal and we congratulate Simeon on this publication.
October 11, 2023
The Clive Minton Medallion
The establishment of this award was instigated when Clive stood down from the Chair as a way of acknowledging his enormous input into the future and to recognise great contributions to the group by an outstanding member. The award is a Medal of Merit for Outstanding Contribution to the VWSG.
The award is made annually, at the AGM. The 2023 medalist was Jeff Campbell. Jeff is the ultimate quiet achiever and a very worthy winner of this prestigious award.
Pat Minton presenting Jeff with his Clive Minton Medallion.
Jeff Campbell Citation
Jeff has been banding waders for 30+ years with the Victorian Wader Study Group and the Australasian Wader Studies Group and holds an A class ABBBS Banding Licence with Cannon Netting and Mist Netting endorsements enabling him to take a leadership role in the VWSG field work program in SA and Victoria. Whilst living in Melbourne he regularly attended VWSG field work, including the annual migration to Werribee, expeditions to South Australia and to AWSG NWWA. Since moving to South Australia he has become a distinguished lead and mentor for the VWSG and was foundation Chair of the Friends of Shorebirds SE in 2005, a position he still holds.
Jeff has ably and willingly undertaken many administrative tasks for the VWSG, AWSG and FoSSE including:
Editor of the AWSG journal The Stilt 1989 – 1995, Assistant Editor The VWSG Bulletin 2017, Editor VWSG Bulletin 2018 – present.
Population monitoring Count Co-ordinator for SE SA sites 2007 – present (including reporting).
Hooded Plover Count Co-Co-ordinator SE SA ?2018 – present (including reporting).
Flag making parties whilst living in Melbourne, and now all SA flags.
Jeff is a regular contributor to the Bulletin, with his first article appearing in 1989.
In collaboration with District Ranger Ross Anderson (Department for Environment and Water, SA), he designed and reported on a project to assess the amount of disturbance shorebirds are subjected to on the Limestone Coast in South Australia.
He also designed and published the study – “The Importance of Beach-wrack for Migratory Shorebirds” Stilt 72 (2018).
A foundational member of the Australasian Wader Studies Group, this year marks 40 years that Jeff has been counting waders. Commencing in 1983 with monthly counts of Mildura area he has been involved in special monthly counts in Victoria at Cheetham Saltworks, Inverloch and Lake Hawdon South in South Australia as well as routine biannual counts of PMP sites. Presently he is involved with counting PMP sites in SE SA, Lake George, Lake Bonney, Lake Hawdon and the Coorong.
Reading leg flags
Jeff and Sarah have made over 1,300 flag sightings of 15 species since 1992. Including over 547 Sanderling, 214 Australian Pied Oystercatcher and 444 Ruddy Turnstone flag sightings. Helping elucidate the habitat use of these species along the coast.
Discovery Bay Sanderling project
In addition to regular field work in SA, he has been pivotal in the VWSG Sanderling tracking project over the past two years, spending many hours in the field with his wife Sarah, looking for flagged birds and checking for birds with tracking devices. Jeff and Sarah have made over 491 flag reports for Sanderling over the last two years – a huge effort. They were key members of the field teams that deployed the tracking devices in Discovery Bay, Victoria and along the SA coast.
Jeff’s commitment and effort to all facets of protecting and monitoring shorebirds is boundless. His contribution to the group over 40 years makes him a worthy recipient of the Clive Minton Medallion.
July 28, 2023
J.N. Hobbs Medal 2023: Dr Roz Jessop
The VWSG is proud and excited to announce that Roz Jessop was the recipient of the prestigious 2023 Hobbs Medal. This is awarded by BirdLife Australia for outstanding contributions to Australasian ornithology by an amateur ornithologist.
Roz has been involved with the VWSG since the early 1980s and has been a key member of the group since joining. She was the first female to hold an Australian cannon net licence and has exceptional experience in capture and handling of waders (and other birds). She has been a key figure in the North West Australia Wader and Tern Expeditions. Among the many responsibilites she has shouldered, she has been instrumental in managing animal ethics approvals and permits for the VWSG and the AWSG. This is an enormous responsibility and without her efforts, the VWSG would not be able to undertake the catches it does.
We are immensely grateful for everything she has contributed over the decades and congratulate her on this fabulous and well deserved achievement.
Exciting recovery of a VWSG bar-tailed godwit in Alaska
The Victorian Wader Study Group has had an exciting recovery. A Bar-tailed Godwit banded off Manns Breach, Corner Inlet on the 31st of January 2018 has been seen at Teshekpuk Lake Special Area, Arctic Alaska, USA on the 8th of June 2023. It was banded in its first year and has moved 12,167 kilometres from its original banding location. We know that Bar-tailed Godwit travel to Alaska to their breeding ground, however it is not often we have a recovery.
This bird has also been previously sighted in New Zealand at Ruakaka, Northland on 20/09/2020 and then at Snells Beach just north of Auckland on 14/09/2021.
We would like to thank Kristi Carr, who is an Avian Ecologist at Point Blue Conservation Science in Alaska, who was conducting an Arctic PRISM survey when the godwit was sighted. It was seen with its mate in a known nesting location. Kristi has kindly shared some amzing photos with us.
Bar-tailed Godwit HDD in Alaska. Photos courtesy of Kristi Carr
June 13, 2023
Kings Birthday Honour for Maureen Christie
The VWSG is delighted to announce that Maureen Christie received the Kings Birthday Honour 2023. Congratulations Maureen!!
MEMBER (AM) IN THE GENERAL DIVISION OF THE ORDER OF AUSTRALIA
For significant service to wildlife conservation.
Friends of Shorebirds SE (FoSSE)
Secretary, Treasurer and Newsletter Editor, since 2005.
Founding Member, since 2005.
BirdLife Australia
Committee Member, Australasian Wader Studies, Special Interest Group, current.
Expedition Co-Leader, Australasian Wader Studies Group NWWA, and Report Co-Author, 2007-2013.
Member, Birdlife South East South Australia, since 2020.
Victorian Wader Study Group
Member, since 1995.
Authorized Australian A-class bird banding authority with cannon-netting endorsement, since 2001.
Friends of Mount Gambier Area Parks
Treasurer, 1996-2001.
Secretary, 1997-2001.
Founding Member, since 1995.
Roles – Other
Member, respective local Field Naturalists group, since 1974.
Contributor, Ornithological Collection, South Australian Museum.
Former Member, Country Women’s Association.
Publications include:
Over 35 peer-reviewed articles, reports, newspaper items, and a book chapter.
Author/Editor, 162 newsletters, ‘Friends of Shorebirds SE’, since 2005.
Author/Editor, 27 newsletters, ‘SA Banding’, prior to 2005.
Regular Contributor, ‘Victorian Wader Study Group Bulletin’
Awards and Recognition include:
Member, South Australian Women’s Honour Roll, since 2021.
Serventy Conservation Award, Australian Wildlife Society, 2021.
Certificate of Appreciation, Natural Resources South East, 2017.
Certificate of Recognition, South Australian Premier, 2014.
Certificate of Recognition, South Australian Landcare Awards and Premier’s Natural Resources Management Awards, 2009
Certificate of Appreciation, Department for Environment and Heritage, South Australia, 2007, and 2003.
Certificate of Recognition, Prime Minister’s International Year of Volunteers, 2001.
Certificate of Appreciation, South Australian Premier, 2001.
May 04, 2023
Australasian Ornithological Conference 28-30 November 2023
BirdLife Australia and Birds New Zealand are pleased to announce that registration for the AOC2023 is now open. The conference is being held at the Brisbane Convention Centre between November 28 and 30.
As part of the conference proceedings, there will be a symposium on shorebirds. This session will be focusing on improving our understanding and mitigating threats to migratory shorebirds at deteriorating habitats in the EAAF. More details on conference symposia are available online.
Please submit your abstracts now via the conference website.
March 24, 2023
Chinese Red-necked Stint captured at Stockyard Point
The VWSG headed out to Stockyard Point on February 23 to conduct a catch aimed at collection of percentage juvenile data from Red-necked Stint and Curlew Sandpipers. All Curlew Sandpipers captured were fully processed, as was a sub-sample of Red-necked Stint.
The highlights were the capture of a Little Stint and a chinese-flagged Red-necked Stint. The Red-necked Stint was banded by Forestry Resource Monitoring Center at Xinpu, Cixi City, Zhejiang Province China on 19 May 2018. The stint had black over white colour flags and a blue flag below the metal band on the upper leg. This was a very exciting outcome for the team as the VWSG rarely catch overseas birds.
One geolocator was also retrieved and a Broad-billed Sandpiper seen in the field.
Chinese banded Red-necked Stint (Photo Karen Yi Lam Kam)
Little Stint (Photo Thomas Verzonden)
March 20, 2023
The role of waders as hosts for low pathogenic avian influenza
The VWSG has supported a significant and long-term study that demonstrates the role of waders as hosts for low pathogenic avian influenza.
Highly pathogenic avian influenza (or bird flu) is gaining substantial media attention as a result of the profound impact that this virus is having on wild and domestic birds. The bird flu that is being reported is just one strain of many, the vast majority of which cause no disease and are commonly found in wild birds. These strains are termed low pathogenic.
Through a decade of sample collection, Prof Marcel Klaassen and Dr. Michelle Wille have demonstrated the role of waders in the ecology of these low pathogenic avian influenza viruses. Marcel and Michelle are a common sight at catches in Victoria, and often join expeditions including King Island, South Australia and Broome to collect blood samples and swabs for their research. They show that the long distance migratory waders rather than endemic waders are the most frequently infected with low pathogenic avian influenza viruses. The highest prevalence is found in Ruddy Turnstones and Red-necked Stints; Sanderlings by contrast are almost never infected with the virus. This is supported with antibody data from blood samples. Based on patterns of virus prevalence, they also found that the genetic relationships between bird species (here, inferred through phylogenetics) explains why some species have high prevalence and others have low prevalence.
