Hooded Plover

BIRD: linking the biodiversity community

Hooded Plover (eastern)
Thinornis rubricollis rubricollis

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Ciconiformes
Sub-Order:	Charadrii
Family:	Charadriidae

Status

Australia:	vulnerable
Victoria:	vulnerable
FFG:	listed, Action Stat. No.9

Hooded Plovers are mainly found along the southern coastline of Australia where two populations are recognised, one in Western Australia and the other in south eastern Australia (South Australia, Victoria, Tasmania and southern New South Wales). Population estimates for south eastern Australia vary up to 3000 birds (EA 2000) with counts between 334-538 birds in Victoria (Weston 2003) and an upper count of around 210 for SW Victoria (Lane 1987), which ranks Victoria’s South West as being an important area for this species.

The adult Hooded Plover is about 20 cm high, sandy-brown above with a white underside. Conspicuous features when viewing in the field are its black head and a white nape (collar at base of its neck) and a broad black line extending across its lower hindneck to each side of the breast. Its bill is red with a black tip. Males and females appear similar whilst juveniles can be distinguished by the lack of black markings and red bill.

1 Habitat & Ecology
2 Threats
3 Management Actions
4 Actions by Conservation Groups

[edit] Habitat & Ecology

In the South West of Victoria, Hooded Plovers are most likely observed in pairs, sometimes in small groups on wide sandy ocean beaches and at mouths of rivers where wide sandy areas are formed. They are often found where seaweed and other beach washed material has been deposited which provides a certain amount of shelter and a harbour for food such as sandhoppers.

Ranking of key habitats in the South West: (adapted from Weston 2003) It should be noted that although there may be variations in counts from year to year the following ranking is based on broad patterns of counts over time.

Eumeralla (Yambuk Coastal Reserve)¹
Discovery Bay Coastal Park³
Lorne – Queenscliff Coastal Reserve⁸
Port Fairy to Warrnambool Coastal Reserve⁹
Otway National Park⁹
Bay of Islands Coastal Park¹¹
Port Campbell National Park¹²
Yambuk Flora & Fauna Reserve¹⁴

(Rankings include all 16 Parks Victoria managed parks where Hooded Plovers have been counted in Victoria. ¹ indicates most birds.)

Breeding is carried out on ocean beaches, nests are a depression in the sand usually in association with dry seaweed and located above average high tide levels up into the primary dunes. Nests can contain two to three sand-coloured eggs and incubation is about 30 days. The nesting season extends from August to February.

The Hooded Plover is an opportunistic feeder and feeding takes place by day and night according to the availability and behaviour of prey that is, in turn, influenced by tidal levels and activity of prey. Diet consists of insects, amphipod crustaceans (sandhoppers), polychaete worms and small bivalve molluscs.

[edit] Threats

An assessment of risks to Hooded Plovers has been conducted on Parks Victoria (PV) managed land (which comprises about 82% of the Victorian population). The four highest risks that have the most impact are: human disturbance, introduced predators, habitat modification and dogs. Overall, Hooded Plover populations are declining because of low breeding success and availability of habitat which is likely to limit the amount of breeding (Weston 2003)

Breeding success can be severely limited due to a range of natural and human related factors. High seas can wash away nests, eggs or chicks, predation by foxes, cats, silver gulls, ravens and other scavengers, disturbance by dogs and humans and physical crushing of nests and eggs by vehicles, trampling by stock, horses and foot traffic. Due to the long incubation period and the inability of chicks to fly for at least three weeks each clutch is vulnerable to a range of threats for nearly a two-month period. Considering the breeding season also coincides with the highest period of beach usage by humans this can add additional pressure, which can result in low breeding success.

[edit] Management Actions

A key measure is to ensure the Hooded Plover’s feeding and nesting areas are retained in natural conditions with minimal disturbance from predators and human activities. Parks Victoria has undertaken a comprehensive review of threats and risks to Hooded Plovers on PV managed land (see Weston 2003, for more detailed analysis of risks and threats and management options).

Every second year counts are conducted along Victoria’s ocean beaches by walking along pre-selected ocean beaches, the next count is scheduled for 2006. Additional counts for odd years is proposed, these would take place in Autumn rather than Summer. Counts are co-ordinated through the Threatened Bird Network.

Specific actions in the South West region (from the DSE Actions for Biodiversity Database) The Hooded Plover is regarded as being of major project status for the DSE in the South West Region

Actions specific to Lower Glenelg National Park & Otway National Park

Ensure that conservation of the Hooded Plover is considered in all feral Cat and Red Fox control programs in coastal areas.
Restrict management vehicles to essential activities, especially from August to February. Vehicles should be driven close to the water's edge, as far as possible from breeding or potential breeding sites.
Liaison with beach-users and groups such as pony clubs, 4WD associations and angling associations to reduce their impact on breeding birds.
At heavily frequented sites, where breeding pairs are high susceptible, PV staff will be trained to provide educational information that will reinforce the impact of the signposting and fencing.
Undertake detailed population monitoring.

Additional actions specific to Otway National Park

Monitor the impact of increasing visitor numbers and the effectiveness of signposting.
Investigate using signs and information shelters in areas of high visitor use to promote public awareness of the habitat and survival requirements of a range of shorebirds.

Actions for other areas

Encourage local bird observers and field naturalist clubs, friends groups and other interested bodies to begin or continue to monitor local populations, and especially nest sites.
Encourage research into the effects of the rapid spread of Sea Spurge along the Victorian coast on the breeding success of Hooded Plover. If required, investigate mechanisms for its control.

[edit] Actions by Conservation Groups

Participation in annual surveys by Geelong Field Naturalists Club
Wildlife Victoria – Otway Group undertakes annual surveys from Kennett River to Aire River.

Apollo Bay Landcare Group undertake weekly surveys at Wilddog beach.
Observations from Port Fairy East Beach

Selected references

EA (2000) Dept.of Environment & Heritage, Hooded Plover recovery outline -pdf
Flora & Fauna Guarantee Action Statement No. 9, Hooded Plover, Dept. Sustainability & Environment, Victoria - link to pdf.
Lane, Brett, A. (1987) Shore Birds in Australia, Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union, Nelson Publishers, 1987.
Weston, Michael, A., (2003) The Hooded Plover in Victoria: a review of existing information, Parks Victoria Technical Series, No.4.

Hooded Plover

Contents

[edit] Habitat & Ecology

[edit] Threats

[edit] Management Actions

[edit] Actions by Conservation Groups