Hooded Plover Thinornis rubricollis
Length 19–23 cm; wingspan 36–44 cm; weight 90–100 g.
A medium-sized wader, the Hooded Plover is usually seen in pairs or small groups, but they may congregate into larger flocks in winter, especially in Western Australia, where flocks of several hundred birds are occasionally recorded. They are often seen running along the edge of the sea, pecking at the wet sand to pick up items of food after each wave has receded, or peck at small invertebrates around beachcast debris. They seldom allow a close approach, and when disturbed, they often walk away slowly along the beach with their pale, sand-coloured back facing towards the intruder, or swiftly fly off, low over the water, to land at the other end of the beach.
HABITAT
In eastern Australia, Hooded Plovers inhabit sandy ocean beaches, especially where there is much beachcast seaweed and extensive, sparsely-vegetated backing sand dunes. They also often occur at near-coastal lakes and lagoons, and occasionally also occur on low-energy beaches. In Western Australia, the species also occurs on coastal beaches, but makes much greater use of the margins of near-coastal or inland salt-lakes.
DISTRIBUTION
Endemic to Australia, where it occurs along coasts of New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia, with a separate population in southern Western Australia.
STATUS
- Critically Endangered in New South Wales
- Vulnerable in Victoria
- Vulnerable in South Australia
THREATS
The main threat to the eastern population of Hooded Plovers is disturbance from recreational beach users, especially during the breeding season, which generally coincides with peak use of beach areas by people. Incubating or brooding birds are flushed from the nest when approached by people or their unrestrained dogs, leaving eggs and chicks vulnerable to predation by gulls or ravens, or exposure to extreme temperatures. Repeated disturbance also prevents normal foraging activity. Because the nests and eggs of this species are especially cryptic, they are often accidentally crushed by people walking along the beach or driving off-road vehicles, and occasionally by unrestrained dogs. Suitable nesting sites are sometimes over-run by introduced colonising plants, especially Marram Grass Amophila arenaria used in the control of erosion of beaches and dunes. The western population of Hooded Plovers is possibly threatened by predation by foxes.
MOVEMENTS
Though Hooded Plovers in eastern Australia were formerly considered sedentary, with individuals making local, short-distance movements, recent banding studies have shown that some individuals may make longer movements along the coast, sometimes of several hundred kilometres. Hooded Plovers in southern Western Australia make regular movements between the coast and inland salt-lakes, regularly up to 100 km inland, and sometimes up to 250 km from the coast.
|
|
|
|
|
