Animal Attraction: Hoodie breeding success

THE PLIGHT of the Hooded Plover is well known but thanks to the tireless efforts of a team of coastal volunteers, two hooded plovers have fledged at Point Roadknight.

With only 569 adult birds in Victoria the Hooded Plover (a beach-nesting shore bird) is battling to survive and classed as a vulnerable species.

The breeding period which runs from September until March sees on average only one out of a hundred chicks survive all the way to fledging (the point in which they can fly).

A team of volunteers, conservation workers and members of the public have worked closely monitoring the hatchlings in Anglesea, ensuring not one but two Hooded Plovers have fledged.

The baby shorebirds were named EV and SH after two conservation officers from the Great Ocean Road Coast Committee (GORCC) who monitored the hatchlings in conjunction with volunteers from Friends of the Hooded Plover Surf Coast.

Earlier in the month, BirdLife Australia visited the site and the team were able to capture the chicks so they could be measured, and banded.

Around 10 Hooded Plovers were seen flocking together at Point Roadknight prior to Easter with another hooded plover chick spotted at Point Impossible in Torquay.

The chick is three to four weeks old and has survived to date without GORCC’s knowledge, within the trial Point Impossible Shorebird Protection Zone.

For those wanting to be more involved the Friends of the Hooded Plover Surf Coast are currently looking for more volunteers.

To volunteer, contact our friends at Birdlife Australia [email protected] or visit savethehoodie.com.au.