Scientific Research - Hooded Plover

Assesment of the Hooded Plover ( Thinornis rubricollis) Populations and threats on the Yorke Peninsula

Synopsis: The Hooded Plover (Thinornis rubricollis) is a small coastal bird which is endemic to Southern Australia. Its legal stats under the South Australian National Parks and Wildlife Act of 1972, is vulnerable. Hooded Plovers live and nest on sandy beaches, coastal and inland saline lakes. The estimated total population of Hooded Plovers in South Australia is 540 birds. This is because humans have tampered with their living. We have done this by:

· Taking over the beach, which is when Hooded Plovers mate, during the summer season. The beach is also their home

· Destroying their eggs

· Children chasing them, kicking balls on the beach

Possible solutions could be:

· Cars not allowed to drive on beaches

· Cut of certain parts of beaches

· Put signs up to aware people of the Hooded Plovers existence

Aim: The aim of this project is to establish a systematic long-term monitoring programme which will regularly assess the characteristics of the Hooded Plover. We also look at what is happening to the habitat of the Hooded Plover to endanger it. It is important to discover this so the Hooded Plover will not become an endangered species. This will allow for a better chance of saving this species.

Method: 1. Choose an allocated beach along the Yorke Peninsula ie. Emu Beach. The beach you choose must be a surfing beach.

2. Record your GPS location coordinates before you start your search. Make sure you have a scribe to record any information found.

3. Walk slowly on the soft sand just above the firm sand of the High Tide Mark.

4. Look carefully for the Hooded Plover. Remember they are very small and camouflage with the beach. Walk very slowly and look both ways.

5. Observe the Hooded Plover and recorded what it does. Slowly follow it along the beach and look for evidence of footprints, nests and bird partners.

6. Record the end of your destination on the GPS.

Results: During our short quick study at Emu Beach and Dolphin Beach, we found a sparse amount of human footprints, dog prints, kelp or pacific gulls, and a dense amount of litter. All of this was found in the Hooded Plovers habitat and is a potential threat. We have no evidence that dogs have had something to do with the Hooded Plover but we have evidence of the existence of them on the beaches where Hooded Plovers live. It isn’t good that we saw lots of litter on the beaches because it could affect other animals as well. A real concern is that we only saw two Hooded Plovers at two different beaches. This shows that there is a really low quantity of Hooded Plovers at Innes National Park. Maybe we only saw two Hooded Plovers because there were dog prints, human footprints, etc. at the two beaches. A good observation is that we saw more signs of predators of the Hooded Plover, than the Hooded Plover itself. Maybe that is why there were only two sightings.

Discussion: As we only saw two Hooded Plovers, I don’t think there is much chance of the Hooded Plover surviving at Innes National Park. There is lots of evidence that there are more Hooded Plover predators than the Hooded Plover itself. Maybe this is the reason why the Hooded Plover has been driven out of these areas. If the Hooded Plover is to survive (especially at Emu Beach and Dolphin Beach), us humans need to act on protecting the Hooded Plovers habitat so these birds can regain in numbers. If we don’t, the Hooded Plover will most probably become endangered, and eventually extinct.

Conclusion: The Hooded Plovers habitat isn’t safe for them to live successfully. There are too many predators living in the same area as them. The predators can’t be removed because then other things will then be affected. It is crucial for humans to do something to help regain Hooded Plover numbers at Innes National Park. This should be done until the Hooded Plover becomes above the stats of vulnerable, and even when that happens, a close eye should still be on the Hooded Plover. A good observation is that there is not much attention to the struggling Hooded Plover problem. The only thing we can do now is continue to long term monitor this bird to learn more about its characteristics and habitat and when there is an ideal answer, protect this species from extinctio