Field Work Programme
Fieldwork 2023 January to June
| DATE | PLACE AND OBJECTIVES | TIDE TIME | TIDE HEIGHT (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 8 Jan | Cannon net training day at Yallock Creek for any member who would like to learn more. Meet at the gate at 1000. | ||
| Thurs 19 Jan to Fri 20 Jan | Barry Beach Small Waders and/or large waders. Collection of juvenile percentage data. Set net Thursday afternoon. Stay overnight at Yanakie. | 1017 | 2.55 |
| Wed 25 Jan | Yallock Creek Red-necked Stint, Curlew Sandpiper and Sharp-tailed Sandpiper. Collection of juvenile percentage data and retrieval of any remaining geolocators. | 1624 | 2.74 |
| Tues 14 Feb to Fri 17 Feb | Corner Inlet Bar-tailed Godwit and Red Knot Set net Tuesday afternoon (meet at Manns Beach) Stay at Manns Beach Hall. Subject to PV boat availability Recce Tues 14 Feb 0701 (2.49m) | 0759 0832 0911 | 2.55 2.59 2.61 |
| TBA | FoSSE AGM Details to follow | ||
| Thur 23 Feb | Stockyard Point, Western Port Small waders and/or large waders. Collection of juvenile percentage data Small waders and/or large waders. Collection of juvenile percentage data | 1624 | 2.86 |
| Fri 10 Mar | Rhyll, Phillip Island Bar-tailed Godwit. Collection of juvenile data. Stay overnight at Roz’s and/or Harewood House available. | 1614 | 2.67 |
| Sat 11 Mar | Yallock Creek Red-necked Stint , Curlew Sandpipers and Sharp-tailed Sandpiper. Collection of juvenile data and retrieval of any remaining geolocators | 1705 | 2.79 |
| Tues 21 Mar to Thur 30 Mar | King Island Retrieve and deploy geolocators and collect percent juvenile data on Ruddy Turnstone. | ||
| Tues 4 Apr to Fri 14 Apr | South Australia and Discovery Bay Victoria Retrieve and deploy geolocators on Ruddy Turnstone and collect percent juvenile on Ruddy Turnstone and Sanderling in South Australia Targeting Sanderling and flag reading in Victoria | ||
| Fri 21 Apr | Stockyard Point Pied Oystercatchers | 1402 | 3.00 |
| Sat 6 May | Equipment Repair and Presentation Day Get together for equipment repair, awarding of Minton medal and life memberships. | ||
| Fri 19 May | Rhyll Pied Oystercatchers or Bar-tailed Godwit | 1242 | 2.92 |
| Beginning Tues 13 June with catches over a 3 week period | Assist the Game Management Authority with duck catching at the Western Treatment Plant. Details to follow |
Additional fieldwork will be considered for this period and you will be advised accordingly.
Fieldwork 2022 July – December
| DATE | PLACE AND OBJECTIVES | TIDE TIME | TIDE HEIGHT (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thur 14 July | Stockyard Point Pied Oystercatchers | 1304 | 3.03 |
| Fri 15 July | Barry Beach (Only possible if track cleared in time) Pied and Sooty Oystercatchers | 1423 | 2.61 |
| TBA | AGM Details to come | ||
| Mon 12 Sept | Rhyll Pied Oystercatchers | 1417 sunset 1810 | 2.91 |
| Mon 10 to Tues 11 October | Corner Inlet Flag sightings – need to be on the mudflat at least three hours before high tide (subject to PV boat availability) | 1336 1445 | 2.24 2.28 |
| Tues 18 to Fri 28 October | South Australia, Carpenter Rocks Retrieve and deploy geolocators on Ruddy Turnstone. Sanderling catches. Tuesday 18th and Friday 28th are travelling days to and from S.A. | 1215 to 1308 | 0.74 to 0.94 |
| Fri 4 to Sun 27 November | AWSG NWA Expedition | ||
| Thurs 10 November | Mud Islands Caspian Tern chicks banding and Crested Tern adults | 0751 | 0.66 low tide |
| Thurs 1 to Fri 2 December | Yallock Creek Red-necked Stint, Curlew Sandpiper and Sharp-tailed Sandpiper. Set net Thurs around 2pm. Catch early Fri. Overnight at Harewood House | 0817 or 0801 sunrise 0603 | 2.80 or 2.86 |
| Wed 7 to Fri 16 December | King Island Retrieve and deploy geolocators on Ruddy Turnstones. | 1138 to 1633 | 1.32 to 1.32 |
| Fri 16 December | Mud Islands Caspian & Crested Tern chicks banding | 1144 | 0.60 low tide |
| Tues 20 December | Corner Inlet Caspian & Crested Tern chicks banding Subject to PV availability. This may be pushed into 2023 if there is a late breeding event. | 0925 | 1.34 low tide |
| Tues 27 to Fri 30 December | Western Treatment Plant Set net Tuesday afternoon Red-necked Stint, Curlew Sandpiper and Sharp-tailed Sandpiper | Wed 0753 Thurs 0829 Fri 0905 | 0.95 0.94 0.94 |
Additional fieldwork will be considered for this period and you will be advised according.
Fieldwork 2022 January – June
| DATE | PLACE AND OBJECTIVES | TIDE TIME | TIDE HEIGHT (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri 7 Jan | Stockyard Point, Western Port Small waders and/or large waders. Collection of juvenile percentage data. | 1715 | 2.72 |
| Mon 10 Jan to Tues 11 Jan | Yallock Creek Small waders. Geolocator retreival and collection of juvenile percentage data. Meet 1400 on Mon 10 Jan to set net. Stay overnight at Harewood House | 0756 | 2.79 |
| Sun 23 Jan | Cannon net training at Yallock Creek This will be aimed at those with less experience but anyone welcome | 1713 | 2.61 |
| Mon 7 to Wed 9 Feb | Corner Inlet Bar-tailed Godwit and Red Knot Set net Monday afternoon (meet at Manns Beach) Subject to PV boat availability | 0730 0800 | 2.57 2.53 |
| Sat 12 Feb | FoSSE AGM 11am at The Campbell’s residence, 22 Lindsay Steet, Mount Gambier. | ||
| Sat 5 Mar | Yallock Creek (ONLY IF NEEDED) Retrieval of geolocators from Red-necked Stint and Curlew Sandpipers | 1609 | 2.78 |
| Fri 18 to Mon 28 Mar | King Island Retrieve and deploy geolocators and collect percent juvenile data on Ruddy Turnstone | ||
| Sat 2 Apr to Sat 9 Apr | South Australia Retrieve and deploy geolocators on Ruddy Turnstone (Sat 2 April is a travelling day to S.A.) | ||
| Sun 10 Apr to Thurs 14 Apr | Discovery Bay, Victoria Targeting Sanderling and flag reading | ||
| Mon 18 April | Stockyard Point Pied Oystercatchers | 1418 | 2.93 |
| Sat 21 May | Get together for equipment repair, awarding of Minton medal and life memberships | ||
| Mon 16 May | Rhyll Pied Oystercatchers or Bar-tailed Godwit | 1253 | 2.88 |
| Tues 14 Jun to Thur 16 Jun | Corner Inlet Overwintering Bar-tailed Godwit and Red Knot Set net Tues 14 Jun Stay overnight on 14 and 15 at Yanakie (Subject to PV boat availability) | 1344 1452 | 2.58 2.70 |
| June / July | Proposal to assist the Game Management Authority with duck catching. Details to follow. |
Additional fieldwork will be considered for this period and you will be advised accordingly.
Fieldwork 2021 June – December
| DATE | PLACE AND OBJECTIVES | TIDE TIME | TIDE HEIGHT (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tues 22 June to Thurs 24 June | Corner Inlet Overwintering Bar-tailed Godwit & Red Knot Set net Tues 22 Jun Stay overnight on 22 and 23 at Yanakie | 1047 to 1207 | 2.43 2.51 |
| Sun 11 July | Stockyard Point Pied Oystercatchers | 1411 | 2.98 |
| Sun 1 August | Cannon net training at Yallock Creek | 1201 | 1.01 |
| Sat 28 August | AGM Details to follow | ||
| Thurs 9 September | Stockyard Point or Rhyll Pied Oystercatchers | 1435 sunset 1805 | 2.88 |
| Wed 6 to Fri 8 October | Corner Inlet Flag sightings Need to be on the mudflat at least three hours before high tide (subject to PV availability) | 1234 1344 1449 | 2.19 2.22 2.30 |
| Fri 29 October to Thurs 4 November | South Australia, Carpenter Rocks Retrieve and deploy geolocators on Ruddy Turnstone. Fri 29 Oct and Thurs 4 Nov are travelling days to and from S.A. | 1015 1103 1132 1152 1209 | 0.83 0.89 0.92 0.92 0.88 |
| Wed 10 November | Mud Island Caspian and Crested Tern chicks and adults | 1015 | 0.58 |
| Thurs 11 to Sat 13 November | Yallock Creek Retrieval of geolocators from Red Neck Stint and Curlew Sandpiper. Set net Thurs around 2pm. Catch early Fri. If no catch attempt again Sat morning. Overnight at Harewood House. | 0724 0809 sunrise 0603 | 3.01 2.85 |
| Wed 17 to Fri 26 November | King Island Retrieve and deploy geolocators on Ruddy Turnstones. | 1101 to 1700 | 1.31 to 1.35 |
| Wed 8 December | Mud Island Caspian and Crested Tern chicks | 0914 | 0.62 |
| Tues 21 December | Corner Inlet Caspian and Crested Tern chicks (subject to PV boat availability) | 925 | 1.34 |
| Thur 23 December | The Nobbies Crested Tern chicks | 1027 | 1.04 |
| Mon 27 to Thurs 30 December | Western Treatment Plant (Werribee S.F) Set net Monday afternoon Red-necked Stint, Curlew Sandpiper and Sharp-tailed Sandpiper | Tues 0945 Wed 1018 Thur 1057 | 0.91 0.91 0.90 |
Additional fieldwork will be considered for this period and you will be advised accordingly.
Fieldwork 2021 January – July
| DATE | PLACE AND OBJECTIVES | TIDE TIME | TIDE HEIGHT (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri 8 Jan to Sat 9 Jan | Barrallier Island, Western Port Small waders. Collection of juvenile percentage data. By boat from Tooradin Set net Friday 8 Jan Stay overnight at Harewood House | 0835 sunset 0609 | 2.72 |
| Thur 4 Feb to Sat 6 Feb | Yallock Creek Small waders. Geolocator retrieval and deployment and collection of juvenile percentage data. Meet 1300 on Thur 4 Feb to set net. Stay overnight at Harewood House | 0700 0736 sunrise 0639 | 2.89m 2.82m |
| Mon 8 Feb to Wed 10 February | Corner Inlet Bar-tailed Godwit and Red Knot Set net Monday afternoon(meet at Manns Beach) (Stay overnight at Manns Beach hall) Subject to PV boat availability | 1006 1058 | 2.56 2.47 |
| Sun 21 Feb | Cannon netting training day at Yallock Creek | ||
| Tues 2 Mar | Rhyll (Observation Point) Bar-tailed Godwit | 1620 sunset 1958 | 2.82 |
| Wed 3 Mar | Yallock Creek Red-necked Stint & Curlew Sandpipers to retrieve geolocators | 1713 | 2.95 |
| Mon 15 to Wed 24 Mar | King Island Retrieve and deploy geolocators and collect percent juvenile data on Ruddy Turnstone | ||
| Mon 29 Mar to Mon 5 Apr | South Australia Retrieve and deploy geolocators on Ruddy Turnstone (Mon 29 Mar and Mon 5 Apr are travelling days to and from S.A.) | ||
| Tues 30 Mar to Wed 31 Mar | Yallock Creek CANCELLED Deploy geolocators on Red-necked Stint Stay overnight at Harewood House | 1509 1608 sunset 1916 | 2.83 3.03 |
| Wed 28 April | Rhyll Pied Oystercatchers | 1352 | 3.03 |
| Wed 26 May | Stockyard Point CANCELLED Pied Oystercatchers | 1224 | 2.94 |
| Tues 22 Jun to Thur 24 Jun | Corner Inlet Overwintering Bar-tailed Godwit and Red Knot Set net Tues 22 Jun (Stay overnight on 22 and 23 at Yanakie (Subject to PV boat availability) | 1047 to 1207 | 2.43 to 2.51 |
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 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 | farmingminds@gmail.com 0408 429 944 |