Field Work Programme
Fieldwork 2020 July – December
| DATE | PLACE AND OBJECTIVES | TIDE TIME | TIDE HEIGHT (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 22 Jun | Rhyll Overwintering Bar-tailed Godwit | 1400 sunset 1708 | 3.02 |
| Tues 21 July | Stockyard Point Pied Oystercatchers | 1327 sunset 1724 | 2.93 |
| Tues 18 Aug. | Rhyll Pied Oystercatchers or Bar-tailed Godwit | 1146 sunset 1745 | 2.68 |
| Sat. 19 Sept. | Stockyard Point Pied Oystercatchers | 1407 sunset 1814 | 2.89 |
| Mon 21 to Wed 23 Sept. | Corner Inlet Flag Sightings (subject to PV boat availability) | 1505 1650 | 2.51 2.66 |
| Saturday in October to be announced | VWSG AGM | ||
| Tues 27 Oct to Tues 3 Nov | South Australia Retrieval of geolocators from Ruddy Turnstone and percent juvenile data Tues 27 Oct and Tues 3 Nov are travelling days to and from Victoria | ||
| Thurs. 5 Nov. | Mud Island Caspian and Crested Tern chicks (subject to PV Boat availability) | 0942 | 0.60 |
| Mon 9 Nov. to Tues. 10 Nov. | Yallock Creek. Retrieval of geolocators from Red Neck Stint and Curlew Sandpiper and percent juvenile data. Set net Sun 8 Nov. Stay Sunday and Monday night at Harewood House. | 0717 0756 sunrise 0605 | 2.86 2.76 |
| Sun 15 Nov. | Flinders Ruddy Turnstone flagging and percent juvenile data Meet at 0730 at Mushroom Reef Beach. | 1203 | 1.40 |
| Mon 30 Nov to Tues. 8 Dec. | King Island Retrieval of geolocators from Ruddy Turnstone and percent juvenile data. | ||
| Fri 4 Dec | Mud Island Caspian and Crested Tern chicks (subject to PV boat availability) | 0919 | 0.92 |
| Thurs. 17 Dec. | Corner Inlet Caspian and Crested Tern chicks (subject to PV boat availability) | ||
| Sat 19 Dec | The Nobbies Crested Tern chicks | 0947 | 0.57 |
| Mon. 28 Dec. to Wed. 30 Dec. | Western Treatment Plant (Werribee S.F) Red-necked Stint, Curlew Sandpiper and Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (Accommodation to be resolved). | 1320 1502 | 0.80 0.80 |
Coronavirus (COVID-19)
We ask that you continue to follow public health measures and stay informed here www.vic.gov.au/coronavirus
Requirements:
- You must now pre-register to attend field work.
- If you can, avoid carpooling with people from outside your household. This will further minimise the risk of prolonged exposure to the virus.
- Follow the 1.5 metre social-distancing requirements at all times.
- You will need to provide your full contact details on the day to comply with contact-tracing.
- Bring your own hand sanitizer
Please consider downloading the COVIDSAFE app before attending a field trip.
https://www.health.gov.au/resources/apps-and-tools/covidsafe-app
Additional fieldwork will be considered for this period and you will be advised accordingly.
Fieldwork 2020 January – July
After much deliberation, the VWSG is suspending group field activities for 12 weeks until 20 June 2020. This decision has particularly impacted on the ability to retrieve and deploy geolocators on turnstone in SA (the King Island trip has not gone ahead due to a number of factors but could not have proceeded under the current Tasmanian interstate travel requirements. This also impacted on turnstone geolocator recoveries and deployment).
We will plan to have catches organised for when we get active again in order to salvage something from the winter period, but certainly hope to be back in action next summer.
Fortunately, over the past couple of months we managed to retrieve a number of geolocators from curlew sandpipers and red-necked stint and deploy new batches for (hopefully) retrieval next year.
Fieldwork 2019 July – December
Programme pending
Please note: The VWSG committee is currently conducting a review of the group’s research and field work priorities. A new programme will be available later in the year once this review is completed. Please contact the VWSG Chair if you would like further details.
In the meantime, we encourage all members to head out into the field and look for flag sightings of both resident and migratory waders. There may be some young birds flagged over the 2018-2019 spring-summer season hanging around. And oystercatchers will be flocking now so winter is a good opportunity to look for flagged birds.
And for those that enjoy counting, the winter Western Port survey is occurring on June 15. Contact Andrew Silcocks at BirdLife Australia if you’re interested in participating. Or if you’d prefer to count another shorebird area over winter, contact Dan Weller to find our the schedule for your location shorebird area.
Fieldwork 2019 January – July
| DATE | PLACE AND OBJECTIVES | Tide time | Tide height (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri 11 Jan | Yallock Creek Small waders Meet 1300 to set net Stay overnight at Harewood House | 18:07 | 2.71 |
| Sat 12 Jan | Yallock Creek Small waders Meet 0600 Following catch, set net at Stockyard Point Stay overnight at Harewood House | 06:34 | 3.06 |
| Sun 13 Jan | Stockyard Point Small waders Meet 0530 Jam Jerrup | 07:03 | 3.01 |
| Thur 24 Jan | Barrallier Island, Western Port Small waders By boat from Tooradin Depart Tooradin 0900 (Low tide 0948) | 16:45 | 2.84 |
| Thur 14 to Mon 18 Feb | Corner Inlet Bar-tailed Godwit and Red Knot Set net Thursday afternoon (meet at Manns Beach) (Stay overnight at Manns Beach Hall) | 09:01 09:45 | 2.57 2.57 |
| Sat 23 Feb | Rhyll (Observation Point) Bar-tailed Godwit | 16:59 | 3.05 |
| Fri 22 to Sunday 31 March | King Island | n/a | n/a |
| Fri 5 to Sun 14 April | South Australia Travel days Fri 5 March and Sun 14 April | n/a | n/a |
Note:
This Program is for the early part of 2019 as there are no suitable tides for Corner Inlet during May to July. Additional fieldwork will be considered for this period and you will be advised accordingly. So far there are likely to be:
- A further attempt will be made to catch Eastern Curlew at Inverloch to deploy satellite transmitters.
- A return visit to Werribee to catch Red-necked Stint – likely later in January.
Fieldwork 2018 January – July
| DATE | PLACE AND OBJECTIVES | Tide time | Tide height (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 6 Jan | Yallock Creek Small waders Set net 1200 | 1700 | 2.80 |
| Tue 9 Jan to Wed 10 Jan | Stockyard Point Small waders Set net 1400 (Stay overnight on 9th at Harewood House) | 0750 (Sat) | 2.89 |
| Fri 26 Jan to Sat 27 Jan | Barrallier Island, Western Port Small waders By boat from Tooradin (Stay overnight on 26th at Harewood House) | 0808 (Sat) | 2.71 |
| Mon 29 Jan to Thur 1 Feb | Corner Inlet Bar-tailed Godwit and Red Knot (Stay at Manns Beach Hall) | 0960 to 1308 | 2.62 to 2.42 |
| Sat 3 Feb | Friends of Shorebirds SE AGM Campbell’s residence, 22 Lindsay Street, Mt Gambier Commencing 11am RSVP to Jeff and Sarah (for catering) – sarah.jeffcampbell@bigpond.com | NA | NA |
| Sun 4 Feb | Rhyll Bar-tailed Godwit | 1653 | 2.84 |
| Sat 24 Feb to Sun 25 Feb | Barry Beach Red-necked Stint and Curlew Sandpiper Set net Friday 23 Stay overnight 23th and 24th at Davidson’s House, Yanakie | 0737 to 0811 | 2.59 to 2.62 |
| Sat 17 Mar to Mon 26 Mar | King Island | ||
| Fri 30 Mar to Sun 8 April | South Australia Travel days Friday 30 March and Sunday 8 April | ||
| Fri 22 June to Sat 23 June | Corner Inlet Overwintering Bar-tailed Godwit and Red Knot Set net Thursday 21 (Stay overnight on 21st and 22nd Davidson’s House, Yanakie) | 0741 to 0832 | 2.49 to 2.41 |
| Fri 29 June to Sat 30 June | Corner Inlet Overwintering Bar-tailed Godwit and Red Knot Set net Friday 29 (Stay overnight on 28th and 29th Davidson’s House, Yanakie) | 1423 to 1511 | 2.46 to 2.53 |
Important note for cannon netting catch participants
The VWSG and its sister group FOSSE have been through some significant changes to our permitting and approvals. Participants must have at least a C class permit issued by Australian Bird and Bat Banding Scheme (ABBBS) to touch a bird or help set a net or trap. They must also be listed on the ethics permit and the scientific permit.
Non-permit holders can: carry bird bags, look in keeping cages to make sure birds are ok, put up keeping cages, count birds into keeping cage, gather seaweed for putting on the net, scribing, dismantling equipment – i.e anything that does not involve touching a bird.
C Class banding permits are, in effect, a learner’s permit. If you wish to come out catching with us, and to handle birds, you will need to complete an application form for the licence and another form to be on the Ethics permit. There is no fee. To find out more check the ABBBS website. You will also need to sign the application forms so that you can be added to the ethics permits. If you already have a banding licence (C, R or A), you will need to send the catch organiser a copy and also sign the Ethics permit form.
Participation Arrangements
The meeting time is normally 5 hours before high tide.
Please try and let Penny or Rob know, by email or by phone, several days before each fieldwork activity if you are planning to participate. This greatly helps reduce the number of phone calls which organizers have to make to complete a satisfactory team for each activity.
| Penny Johns | pennyjohns@hotmail.com 0419 366 507 |
| Rob Patrick | rob@farmingminds.com.au 0408 429 944 |