Hooded Plover

This Monday is Plover Appreciation Day!

On September 16th every year, we celebrate plovers from Australia and around the world. This year, we are looking to focus on plover books and novels, celebrating the art of storytelling and way of using science and creative writing to inspire people to care for the environment! We’ll be sharing our favourite books, including picture books and novels, and invite you to join in using the hashtags

Help us give a voice to the often overlooked and misunderstood ground-nesting plovers by raising awareness of their plight and joining the conversation!

And if you don’t know any plover books, we’re also having a bit of fun and sharing some never heard before book titles... Check out the newest release! . Do you have any new releases you’d like to share?

Friends of the Hooded Plovers - Bass Coast and South Gippsland Friends of the Hooded Plover Surf Coast - Victoria Friends of the Hooded Plover - Otways Friends of the Hooded Plover Yorke Peninsula Friends of the Red-capped Plover Northern Bellarine

Victoria’s eastern coastline needs extra help to improve conditions for Hooded Plovers. Earlier this year BirdLife Australia and the Conservation Regulator were thrilled to receive support from the Australian Government’s Saving Native Species Program to do just that.

Protection for breeding pairs through increased capacity to fence and sign vulnerable breeding sites, education and enforcement patrols and improvement of habitat through w**d control, will all go a long way in improving the outcome for this threatened beach-nesting bird.

Keen to get involved and help Hooded Plovers, sign up and learn more at BirdLife Australia’s Beach-nesting Bird Hub: https://beachvol.birdlife.org.au/login/index.php

Conservation Regulator Victoria Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water BirdLife Australia Hooded Plover Volunteers Friends of the Hooded Plover - Mornington Peninsula

Meet our Focus Species!

These native animals are the heroes of our new Focus Species program helping all Victorians learn about our environmental rules and how following them helps protect native wildlife at home and in the wild.

These species face threats from having to share their environments with humans and represent the importance of following environmental laws, like keeping your distance, acquiring and keeping native pets legally, and sourcing firewood responsibly.

The program includes lots of interactive learning materials, like stickers, factsheets, activity pages, and primary-aged lesson plans aligned with the national school curriculum – and there’s more to come!

Thanks to Minister for Environment Steve Dimopoulos MP and Danny Pearson MP for Essendon for helping us launch this program last week at Flemington Primary School.

Find out more about the Focus Species program here: www.vic.gov.au/focus-species-program

Ever wondered about the importance of data our nest monitors collect throughout the Hoodie breeding season? The breeding and threat data are of immense value, allowing us to develop threat profiles for breeding sites and explore trends in breeding success.

Thanks to funding from The Cape, we were able to analyse data from the last ten seasons and come up with site-specific management recommendations for Hoodie breeding sites between Harmers Haven and Inverloch on the Bass Coast. Access the full report here: https://bit.ly/HarmersHavenInverlochHoodies

BirdLife Australia Hooded Plover Volunteers Live At The Cape Parks Victoria Bass Coast Shire Council Bass Coast Landcare Network

🐦🌿 BirdLife Australia welcomes Environment and Water Minister Tanya Plibersek’s announcement of over $1.6 million in Australian Government funding for threatened bird recovery!

This funding, allocated to BirdLife Australia, will provide a welcome boost to vital conservation efforts and an uplift to existing recovery team efforts.

It will also enable us to establish new recovery teams for the Australasian Bittern, Hooded Plover, and Eastern Curlew, and highlights BirdLife Australia's pivotal role as the national leader in bird conservation.

We thank Minister Plibersek and the Commonwealth and look forward to working with our dedicated partners to safeguard the future of these iconic birds🦜.

Read more 👉 https://birdlife.org.au/news/birdlife-australia-welcomes-16m-for-threatened-bird-recovery/

📸Australasian Bittern by Andrew Silcocks

Threatened Species Commissioner , Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water

The Hooded Plover Breeding season has started!

Check out our recent newsletter to hear some great conservation and research stories while you prepare for your local pairs to start breeding!

https://bit.ly/WordAboutTheHood_Edition30

🚨Breaking News 🚨

Hooded Plover breeding season begins!

The first Hooded Plover nest for the 2024/2025 season has been recorded south of Adelaide! There is also a second nest recorded in Western Australia!

If you want to get involved, learn more, or keep up to date with this seasons events, head over to our Hub, which is full of resources: https://beachvol.birdlife.org.au/login/index.php

Hooded Plover Volunteers BirdLife Australia BirdLife Western Australia Friends of the Hooded Plover - Mornington Peninsula Hoodies Down South - Adelaide Southern Beaches

HOODED PLOVER BADGE MAKING A HUGE HIT AT THIS YEARS WHALE FESTIVAL

BirdLife Australia were invited along once again to the annual Whale Festival Season Launch in Victor Habor to educate and raise awareness amongst nature lovers about our precious beach nesting birds.

It was great to be a part of the festivities and were joined by other environmental and conservation organisations like NPWS Marine Parks, Granite Nature Park, CLLMM Institute, Big Duck Boat Tours amongst many others.

There was free badge making for everyone and Wendy and Kerri were sure kept busy assisting the badge making activities, with over 50 badges made on the day, and some very happy Beach-nesting Bird ambassadors!

The BirdLife Australia Sharing our Shores with Coastal Wildlife Program is funded by Green Adelaide with support from Landscapes Hills and Fleurieu in partnership with the Fleurieu Peninsula and Adelaide Metro Coastal Councils.

All photos have permission to be published.

BirdLife Australia held their 9th National Beach-nesting Birds Conference on Wadawurrung and Eastern Maar Countries, (Anglesea and surrounds, Victoria), earlier this month.

Over 160 scientific experts, Traditional Owners, land managers, volunteers, government representatives and students came together to learn and to share knowledge on beach-nesting birds and their coastal habitats. Participants came from across VIC, WA, SA, QLD, NSW and New Zealand to attend.

The three-day conference included expert presentations, field trips to highlight the local area, and capacity building workshops, where participants can learn more about shorebirds, wetland birds, seabirds, photography, beach-nesting birds, communication skills and art.

The Beach-nesting Bird Conference is aimed at sharing the latest research findings and stakeholder knowledge around beach-nesting bird species, their habitats, threats and conservation management.

The 2024 Beach-nesting Birds Conference is proudly funded and supported by BirdLife Australia. We wish to thank the family of John Rawlins, and the Madden-Sainsbury Foundation who made this conference possible.

Elements of this project received financial support from BirdLife Australia, via a successful grant application to Birdlife Australia’s Community Conservation Grants, by Friends of the Hooded Plover Surf Coast.

Thank you to all our presenters, workshop and field trip leaders for the generosity of their time and expertise.

The next Beach-nesting Bird Conference will be in South Australia, in May, 2026.

Hooded Plover Volunteers Beach-nesting Birds Project

Last chance to register for BirdLife Australia's Beach-nesting Birds Conference! Registrations close Sunday 13th May!

Where: Anglesea, Victoria
When: May 31st - June 2nd

Conference Program: https://bit.ly/BNBConferenceProgram

There is a two step registration:
1. Fill out a short survey with your details, workshop and field trip preferences, and dietary needs: https://bit.ly/BNBConferenceRegistration2024

2. Purchase tickets and an optional Sunday packed lunch: https://bit.ly/BNBConference2024Payment

Our latest Edition of Word About the Hood is now out!

Read the latest in all things Beach-nesting Birds!

https://bit.ly/WordAboutTheHood_Edition30

Do you live on Victoria's west coast, or in South-east South Australia?
Are you interested in learning more about one of Australia's most endangered birds?
Come and learn about Critically Endangered Orange-bellied Parrots and how you can help prevent their extinction.

BirdLife Australia and Avian Monitoring Services' Bob Green are running a workshop at Portland on Sunday May the 26th.

This project is supported by the Glenelg Hopkins CMA .

Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of our Captain and crew, I’d like to welcome you aboard Hoodie Airlines flight 001, a 50-metre non-stop service along the shoreline.

As we prepare for take-off, we request your full attention while we go through the safety demonstration to ensure the journey is as pleasant and carefree as possible.

It’s time to fasten your seatbelts, and if you haven’t already done so, please stow any carry-on dogs on leads and make sure your seat is a safe distance away and in an upright position.

All threats should now be switched off or set to flight-mode to reduce interference with the aircraft.

As this is a short-haul flight, there will be no in-flight meal or entertainment service this evening.

We’d also like to remind you that this is a wildlife crime-free flight. Tampering with birds or destroying nests is prohibited by law and beaches have been fitted with Authorised Officers to detect any breaches.

If you suspect any wrongdoing, please bring it to the attention of our flight attendants on 136 186 or Crime Stoppers Victoria on 1800 333 000.

If you have any questions about the aircraft or flight today, please don’t hesitate to ask us or one of our partners, BirdLife Australia and Parks Victoria

Now, sit back, relax, and enjoy the flight.

BirdLife Australia's National Beach-nesting Birds Conference Registrations now open!

BirdLife Australia’s Beach-nesting Birds Conference is aimed at sharing the latest research findings and stakeholder knowledge around beach-nesting bird species, their habitats, threats and conservation management. We have a range of presentations, workshops and field trips on offer!

Where: Anglesea, Victoria
When: May 31st - June 2nd

Conference Program: https://bit.ly/BNBConferenceProgram

There is a two step registration:
1. Fill out a short survey with your details, workshop and field trip preferences, and dietary needs: https://bit.ly/BNBConferenceRegistration2024
2. Purchase tickets and an optional Sunday packed lunch: https://bit.ly/BNBConference2024Payment

Hope to see you all there!

Check out this amazing story of a Little Tern colony in North Queensland!

We had some excited families and their pooches join us for breakfast events in the Kilcunda (Victoria) area this summer.

With support from the West Gippsland Catchment Management Authority, we had the pleasure of offering pop-up information stalls, children’s activities and even a scope-viewing session on the beach, lending an opportunity to observe Hooded Plovers in their natural habitat!

If you ever see our staff or volunteers out and about at these events, feel free to come and say hello. Our volunteers regularly monitor breeding sites and have an intimate understanding of the local Hoodies breeding in their area, so there’s always something to learn!

BirdLife Australia

We are so lucky to have such dedicated volunteers at BirdLife Australia.

The Regional Coordinator of our Friends of the Hooded Plover Bellarine group decided to celebrate her love of Hoodies, with some new ink!

We love it Tash!

Juvenile Hooded Plover, killed by vehicle on SA beach:

BirdLife Australia staff, volunteers and supportive land managers, work extremely hard and invest much time and effort for every Hooded Plover to have a chance of raising a family.

Not everyone realises how much effort goes into the of management of one site - for an egg to hatch, a chick to survive to fledging - it's because of a team of people behind the scenes and on the beach.

Imagine, all that hard work, getting the egg to hatch and the chick to survive to fledging age, only for that young bird to be hit and killed by a vehicle, in its beach habitat.

BirdLife Australia has previously advised the South Australian Government that this location is one of the top five South Australian beaches where threatened birds are particularly at risk of vehicle strike.

When will this change?

While too late for this young Hooded Plover, BirdLife Australia is once again calling on the South Australian government for urgent and strong State action and leadership to ensure a better, safer and more sustainable future for South Australian beaches.

You can help us advocate for this change: https://www.actforbirds.org/safebeachesforall/email

Threatened Species Commissioner City of Onkaparinga Hooded Plover Volunteers Hoodies Down South - Adelaide Southern Beaches

Email the Minister to stop more avoidable deaths over Easter — Act for Birds Threatened birds are killed and precious beaches remain at risk because of uncontrolled beach driving in South Australia. We know the actions that can save precious coastal wildlife from harm, we just need the Malinauskas Government to act before it’s too late.

Who doesn’t love a free giveaway?

This summer, BirdLife Australia staff and the fantastic Friends of the Hooded Plover Bass Coast volunteers, hosted a few ‘Dogs Breakfast’ events along the Bass Coast (Victoria).

With plenty of free dog leads, treats, stickers and more to hand out, families were able to learn about the Hoodies and how we can safely share our beautiful beaches with them.

These events were a great way to remind dog walkers to use leashes on beaches, and to plan off-leash walks by checking signs and being aware of which local beaches have nesting birds!

Friends of the Hooded Plover Bass Coast and BirdLife Australia acknowledge the support of Coastcare Victoria and the Victorian Government for this event.

Well done Friends of the Red-capped Plover Northern Bellarine!

😂🐣🎤🫶

Taylor Swift might be leaving our shores this week, but our hooded plover chicks still have a few weeks before their Sparks Fly!

These vulnerable birds know All Too Well about how Cruel Summer can be.

The breeding season is nearly over but hoodies are not Out of the Woods yet!

To help, All You Have to Do Is Stay away from nesting sites, give them some (Blank) Space and Forever & Always have dogs on-leads. Don’t be an Anti-Hero!

This superstar might have them in her Wildest Dreams, but hooded plovers need beachgoers not to Forget That they Exist(ed)!

New look, who dis?

Check out our Hooded Plover modelling our latest fashion accessory – now available in Green!

ML Green (Right) decided that Orange was definitely out of season – because this particular Hooded Plover used to have an orange flag! This 13 year old Hoodie used to have the identity of DS Orange (Left) – but the flag came off (which is rare, but happens, which is why all banded birds get a metal band as well). Weighing up the options, Orange was out, we had the option for a White flag, but those are now so popular in Hoodie fashion, it was time for a new colour! Green it was!

Back in 2011, this Hoodie was flagged as a juvenile on the Bass Coast, DS Orange (Left). In 2012/2013, DS Orange (Left), decided that the back beaches of the Mornington Peninsula looked like the perfect habitat to settle down, after meeting a Phillip Island banded bird. This pair continued to breed in the same area for the next 10 seasons! Having 23 nests, 63 eggs, 25 chicks, and four fledglings in that time together. One of those fledglings, rocking the White accessory from the 2017 collection, MD White (Right), moved out and is now breeding on the Bellarine (Point Lonsdale), and has had fledglings of its own – making DS Orange (Left) a grandparent!

Unfortunately, at possibly 17 years of age, the Phillip Island banded partner went missing in 2022. DS Orange (Left) remained on territory and found a new partner, where they have managed to fledge one chick last season, and two this season!

But after DS Orange (Left) has moved forward with its new partner, it shed the old identity (orange flag), and we’ve given it a new, fresh identity – so meet the new ML Green (Right)!

The new fashion statement of Green Flags will start to be used along the Victorian and South Australian coastlines, to continue our research on Hooded Plover movements, and life histories.

Thanks to Mark Lethlean (ML – get it – ML Green – Mark Lethlean… you see what we did there..?) for the photos.

(We know this is not a fashion accessory, this is an extremely important ecological tool to collect important information on Hoodies)

BirdLife Australia Friends of the Hooded Plover - Mornington Peninsula

📢 Appreciation post! Shout out to all of our amazing Australia volunteers who have dedicated so much of their time to help protect 17 hooded plover chicks along our coastline this season as they developed through to fledging stage!

Before the chicks hatch and for another 5-ish weeks until they can fly, they're most at risk of threats like off-leash dogs, avian predators and foxes. So it’s always a massive win if the chicks finally make it through to flying age!
It’s a real credit to the volunteers that our hoodies have had such a safe, successful breeding season.

While 17 chicks have reached fledging stage this breeding season, there’s still a few nests and chicks hatching along our shores as the season starts to wrap-up. So if you’re out on the beach and you see a hooded plover nest or chicks, remember to give them space – and that includes keeping your dog on a lead and well away from the hoodies!

The Hooded Plover program is part of BirdLife Australia’s national beach-nesting bird program and is supported regionally by Green Adelaide, Landscapes Hills and Fleurieu, local councils and volunteers

📷 Photo credit: Ian Forsyth – a juvenile hooded plover that made it through to fledging this breeding season.
📝 Note: this photo was taken by a trained volunteer using a long lens camera.

This season, we had the opportunity to present at a series of tailored workshops across Victoria, with beach-nesting and migratory shorebird, and wetland bird experts from BirdLife Australia presenting on bird identification and best practice monitoring. This was a great opportunity to not only broaden the knowledge of existing volunteers, but also recruit more volunteers by expanding current monitoring to include other bird species and coastal habitats!

Thanks to funding from Parks Victoria’s Volunteering Innovation Fund, we were able to supply participants with a Coastal Champion Kit, which included a wonderful coastal birds factsheet designed by Chrissiecandraw. If you missed out on our workshop, don’t fret! You can check out the factsheet here. How cute are these illustrations?!

https://bit.ly/coastalbirdsfactsheet

Late last year, members of BirdLife Australia's Beach-nesting Birds team travelled to Margaret River, WA, to band Western Hooded Plovers! Grainne, Kasun, Meg met with our BNB Project Officer Lisa who is based in Denmark WA, volunteers and land managers from DBCA.

Hooded Plovers were flagged with blue flags with white engraved letters, which enables us to learn so much valuable information about these birds' movements, breeding behaviour, dispersal and lifespan. The team managed to catch and flag 16 Hoodies which was a great effort! The team also undertook on-ground management training for land managers. We look forward to learning more about these flagged birds - especially where the juveniles end up!

These events were supported through funding from the State Natural Resource Management Program WA. Thank you to the support of Parks and Wildlife Service, Western Australia staff for these events.

Photos: Kasun Ekanayake, Grainne Maguire, Lisa Nicholson

BirdLife Western Australia Threatened Species Commissioner

Have a look at these absolutely stunning Hooded Plovers made from driftwood by Driftwood Artist Alan Borg - Drift Art!!

Oh - we really wish we were the 'friend' receiving these! Lucky, lucky person!

Nine weeks ago, one of our Facebook followers commented that they saw a pair of Hooded Plovers at Lorne. He informed us that one of these birds was flagged RA White.

RA White previously nested at Moggs Creek, so we were slightly concerned that in mid-December, RA White may have decided to create this location as a breeding habitat. And of course, they did decide to breed!

Our concern was that Lorne has never had a breeding pair of Hooded Plovers in the recent history of Hooded Plover monitoring (dating back into the 80's), and that we were headed into peak summer visitor season, with a community that had never seen these little birds before. What chance did this new pair have?

Well, because of the wonderful Lorne Community, Volunteers and Land managers, they were given every opportunity to raise their family successfully.

After 9 weeks of BirdLife Australia's Friends of the Hooded Plover Surf Coast, and local land managers (Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority), monitoring, educating the public about the presence of breeding hooded plovers, as well as installing site protection (fencing/signage/conservation zones), and undertaking events to raise awareness - the community really supported the pair. We've even heard of local police ensuring that the public gave enough space to the birds during New Years Eve events on the beach.

We want to thank the Lorne Community, because after 9 weeks, when these eggs were first spotted, and 5 weeks ago the eggs hatched - we can confirm that the two chicks have fledged! They have reached flying age! Without everyone playing their part, this would not have happened.

For a chick to make it to fledgling stage, without any conservation assistance is only 20%. Every time you add a conservation intervention, you're increasing those odds. Fencing, signage, education, by-laws, community support, predator management, compliance patrols, volunteer and land manager presence - it all has made the difference in this outcome. Thank you to all involved!

BirdLife Australia Great Ocean Road Conservation Regulator Victoria Threatened Species Commissioner

Photos: 1-3 Michael Prideaux. Photo 4: Jason Widdop