Migratory shorebirds

Shorebirds frequent coastal areas such as beaches, bays, inlets and estuaries. Some species of shorebirds also frequent inland wetlands. Along the coast in Victoria, shorebirds feed during low tide on intertidal mudflats and find areas in which to roost at high tide.

Shorebirds in Australia fall into three groups:

Resident species that remain in Australia all year
Migratory species that migrate from their breeding areas, which are generally in north east Asia, to their feeding grounds in Australia and New Zealand for the southern hemisphere summer. There are more than 30 migratory shorebirds that regularly visit Australia
Vagrant species that occasionally visit Australia.

Shorebird migration

Migratory shorebirds visit Victoria each summer to feed on invertebrates on the mudflats in coastal and inland wetlands.

Each year they travel from their breeding areas in the tundra regions of the northern hemisphere and back again along particular routes known as flyways. Along the way they stop at suitable wetlands to feed and build reserves of fat for the next stage of their journey.

The conservation of wetlands which provide suitable habitat for breeding along the migratory route and at their non-breeding summer destinations in Victoria and elsewhere is critical to their survival and requires international cooperation.

International agreements to protect migratory shorebirds and their habitat

These include:

The Japan-Australia Migratory Bird Agreement (JAMBA)
The China-Australia Migratory Bird Agreement
The Republic of Korea-Australia Migratory Bird Agreement
The Convention on Migratory Species
Partnership for the Conservation of Migratory Waterbirds and Sustainable Use of their Habitats in the East Asian-Australasian Flyway.

The Department of the Environment and Water Resources has more information on these agreements.

East Asian-Australasian Flyway Site Network

Shallow Inlet, Corner Inlet, Western Port and the western shoreline of Port Phillip Bay and the Bellarine Peninsula and Discovery Bay have been recognised for their importance to migratory shorebirds through listing as shorebird sites on the East Asian-Australasian Flyway Site Network. These sites and some other significant shorebird areas are listed as Ramsar sites or in A Directory of Important Wetlands in Australia.

Destruction of Shorebird habitat

Activities that damage or fragment Shorebird habitat or directly disturb the birds, may eventuate in the following negative impacts on the birds:

direct loss of intertidal habitat through filling or dredging
fragmentation of large continuous habitat areas by intervening development
loss of mangroves and seagrasses which stabilise mudflats and provide organic matter to support invertebrates on which shorebirds feed
loss of (terrestrial) fringing vegetation which shelters and stabilises the shore, filters and absorbs runoff and provides a source of organic matter
invasion of intertidal mudflats by weeds such as cord grass
water pollution and nutrient changes
disturbance from boating activities, from people and dogs walking near habitat and general human activity
Additionally, changes in climate and water levels predicted to occur, may cause significant transformations to coastal areas that are important to shorebirds.

Conserving Shorebirds

The community has the opportunity to become involved in shorebird conservation. These activities involve habitat protection, bird banding and monitoring. Some Community Groups that run these activities are: