NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) Bush Regeneration and Volunteer Officer Boyd Carney sang the applauds of the Hunter Bird Observers Club (HBOC), which on Saturday commemorated its members and the group’s 20-year relationship with NPWS and the Hunter estuary.
‘Each year, numerous migratory shorebirds take a trip legendary ranges from as far as Alaska and Siberia to get here in Hunter Wetlands National Park around October,’ said Mr Carney.
‘Without the assistance of the HBOC, these birds would not have access to the environment that they require to securely rest and feed prior to their long flight home to breed around April.
‘It was terrific to spend the day on Saturday commemorating the devoted members of the HBOC with a lunch at a regional birdwatching hotspot, the Stockton sandspit,’ said Mr Carney.
Together with NPWS staff, HBOC volunteers have actually brought back tactical websites throughout 450 hectares of the Hunter estuary.
‘This has actually been a 20-year constant effort considering that 2003, throughout which time more than 480 volunteers have actually dealt with NPWS to clear weeds and bring back saltmarsh environment for a swathe of threatened shorebirds,’ said Mr Carney.
HBOC agent Tom Clarke said a few of the migratory types taking advantage of this 20-year job are the susceptible Black-trailed Godwit, the threatened Curlew Sandpiper, the Far Eastern curlew and the Pacific Golden Plover.
‘Migratory shorebirds are among the world’s most threatened groups of birds and they are extremely susceptible to natural and human-induced modifications to their environments,’ said Mr Clarke.
‘It’s vital that we do whatever we can to safeguard these locations, like the Hunter estuary, which offers a safe house for these unbelievable birds,’ said Mr Clarke.
If you wish to help, NPWS and the Hunter Region Landcare Network are trying to find volunteers to sign up with shorebird environment repair activities turning up in May and June. Contact [email protected] to find out more.
Alternatively, you can learn more about birds and sign up with generations of regional birdwatchers in the Hunter Bird Observers Club.
‘There are likewise a variety of little things you can do like keeping your dog on a leash and keeping a range of a minimum of 100 metres from shorebirds when boating, walking or fishing in seaside estuaries,’ said Mr Carney.
Shorebird environment repair operates in the Hunter estuary are a collaboration in between NPWS, the Hunter Bird Observers Club, Birdlife Australia, Hunter Region Landcare Network, NSW Biodiversity and Conservation Division and Hunter Local Land Services, and are supported by moneying from the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program and the NSW Government’s Saving our Species program.
