BirdLife Tasmania. Annual General Meeting, 10 March 2016

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1 BirdLife Tasmania Annual General Meeting, 10 March 2016

2 BirdLife Tasmania - Annual General Meeting 2016 Agenda: Annual Report - Convenor Annual Report - Treasurer Open discussion, questions and answers Adoption of Minutes, 2015 AGM Election of Office Bearers, 2016/17 Any other business Twitchathon donation, Mona Loofs-Samorzewski Presentation by Dr Dejan Stojanovic, Australian National University The conservation of Tasmanian cavity-nesting birds

3 BirdLife Tasmania - Annual General Meeting 2016 Annual Report for BirdLife Tasmania 2015/16 reports on our activities, achievements and outcomes under two broad headings: communication and education science-based advocacy and conservation

4 BirdLife Tasmania - community and education High quality production of Yellow Throat bi-monthly by Wynne Webber Annual production of Tasmanian Bird Report - dependent upon submission of articles for publication Thanks to Wynne for editing YT and TBR, increasing quality with each issue Andrew Darby is BirdLife Tasmania web-master, working to ensure content is current BirdLife Tasmania presence on Twitter, increasing our profile and engagement Maureen Duffy - tirelessly organising and leading excursions throughout southern Tasmania for several years, key role in engaging with broader community, non-members and visitors to the state

5 BirdLife Tasmania - community and education High-profile involvement with community events and festivals such as Bruny I Bird Festival, Bream Creek Show, Taroona Seaside Festival, SeaFest, Love Living Locally, World Wetlands Day, World Wildlife Day Talks to community groups around the state on wide-ranging topics, strong conservation message based on data, research and arguing for best-practice approaches for conservation and management Engagement with Councils, NRMs, community groups, DPIPWE and PWS On-going efforts with primary and secondary schools (Tasman and Glamorgan Spring Bay) Supported 2015 Twitchathon Teaching of 2 nd year Zoology students and supervising higher degree studies on birds with School of Life Sciences, Geography and IMAS (U Tas) Numerous Media Releases and media articles to highlight conservation issues, resulting in high community profile

6 BirdLife Tasmania - community and education IMAGE: ALAN FLETCHER Pied Oystercatcher Haematopus longirostris Pied Oystercatchers breed in coastal habitats around Australia from mudflats to sandy open beaches. They feed on shellfish, worms, crustaceans & insects in mudflats and beach debris. Pied Oystercatchers establish a territory that breeding pairs defend from September to March. Their nests are simple soup-bowl sized scrapes in the sand above the hightide line on beaches, sandbars & at the edge of estuaries & lagoons. Females lay 2 large well-camouflaged eggs. Both parents rear the chicks. Around Tasmania, shorebirds such as oystercatchers, terns, gulls & plovers lay their eggs in the sand. Disturbing nesting sites can seriously reduce breeding success. In the future, climate change, sea level rise & increased storm impacts will wash away their habitat. Take care & walk on wet sand, keep dogs on leads & vehicles off beaches. birdlife.org.au/tasmania Connies Collectables IMAGE: ALAN FLETCHER Hooded Plover Thinornis rubricollis Hooded Plovers are found along southern Australian beaches in areas with beachwashed seaweed & flotsam. They feed on marine snails, worms & sandhoppers & are usually seen in pairs from the high-tide line to the water s edge. Hooded Plovers breed from September to March. Females lay 2 or 3 eggs directly into a shallow nest scrape above the high-tide line. Both parents incubate the eggs for 28 days. Chicks search for food & can fly when 35 days old. If people & predators approach a parent will walk past pretending to be injured & draw them away. We can help Threatened Hooded Plovers by keeping to the wet sand, dogs on leads & vehicles off beaches. Disturbing nesting birds seriously reduces breeding success. In the future, climate change, sea level rise & increased storm impacts will wash away their habitat. birdlife.org.au/tasmania Connies Collectables IMAGE: ALAN FLETCHER Fairy Tern Sternula nereis Fairy Terns are found on coastal beaches, inshore & offshore islands, sheltered inlets, estuaries & coastal lagoons. They feed in brackish & saline waters. Fairy Terns fly about 3 10 metres above the water s surface, & hover with rapidly beating wings & their orange bill pointing downwards searching for food. They catch very small fish by plunging into shallow water. Fairy Tern nests are a shallow scrape in the sand often with gravel or shell fragments. They breed in colonies & both parents look after the eggs & chicks. Young terns are mobile after 6 days. We can help Vulnerable Fairy Terns in Tasmania by keeping to the wet sand, dogs on leads & vehicles off beaches. Disturbing nesting birds seriously reduces breeding success. In the future, climate change, sea level rise & increased storm impacts will wash away their habitat. birdlife.org.au/tasmania Connies Collectables IMAGE:CHRIS TZAROS Red-capped Plover Charadrius ruficapillus Red-capped Plovers are found across Tasmania in saline & brackish wetlands & on beaches. They re the smallest of our native beach-nesting birds and can be seen running rapidly along the sand, feeding on tiny invertebrates. They nest between September & March. The male, with his bright red cap, digs out several shallow scrapes on the ground & the female with her rusty brown cap chooses one. Both parents incubate the eggs. Females do the day shift & males the night shift, so his bright cap won t easily be seen by predators during the day. When dogs, cats & people are near the nest, the parents pretend to be injured & drag a wing along the ground to lead predators away. We can help Red-capped Plovers by keeping dogs on leads & vehicles off beaches. Disturbance to nesting birds can seriously reduce breeding success. birdlife.org.au/tasmania Connies Collectables IMAGE:FAYE BEDFORD Connies Collectables Coastal Bird Nests Little Tern Chick & Egg Many seabirds & shorebirds live their entire lives on beaches, sand dunes, rocky outcrops & offshore islands. Some seabirds & shorebirds can live for more than 30 years. Terns, pelicans, gulls, oystercatchers & plovers nest directly on the ground, while penguins & shearwaters nest in burrows in the ground. Tasmania has important breeding sites for many species of seabirds & shorebirds around the coast. Avoid seabird colonies & shorebird nesting sites during the nesting season, to minimise disturbance. Leave your pets at home, keep cats inside & keep your dog on a lead at all times. Keep vehicles off beaches. In the future, climate change, sea level rise & increased storm impacts will wash away their habitat. birdlife.org.au/tasmania

7 BirdLife Tasmania - science-based advocacy and conservation Research efforts (primarily surveys) and long-term monitoring of broad range of species and habitats: Little Penguins on Bruny I for Dept State Growth Island surveys in conjunction with PWS and/or care groups beach-nesting bird mapping and surveys (shorebirds and terns) records statewide Winter Gull Counts for SE Tasmania Summer and Winter Wader Counts Increased effort on woodland bird surveys and surveys inside IBAs

8 BirdLife Tasmania - science-based advocacy and conservation Advocacy efforts - submissions made: Draft Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area MP, met with WHC Reactive Mission team in November Senate Inquiry into the threats to marine environment from plastic pollution, appeared before Committee Senate Inquiry into management of fin-fish aquaculture in Tasmania Proposed stabilisation of Prosser River at Orford - impact on Fairy Terns and beach-nesting and migratory shorebirds Proposed changes to Narawntapu NP and Freycinet NP Management Plans to facilitate commercial infrastructure and activities inside Parks Two submissions to EPBC regarding uplisting of migratory shorebirds (Eastern Curlew and Curlew Sandpiper, subsequently listed as Critically Endangered) and six other species currently under review for uplisting

9 BirdLife Tasmania - Into the Future Activities and foci for 2016/17 to build on very successful current strategy that has resulted in BirdLife Tasmania now seen as professional organisation, capable of providing skilled, evidence-based advice based on extensive expertise on a wide range of issues to stakeholders, managers and regulators: aiming for increased influence in Tasmanian and Local Governments in planning, conservation and management of Tasmania s birds and their habitats ongoing surveys and monitoring for existing long-term data sets, further analyses of data to provide ongoing advice and guidance increase community engagement and awareness, increase relevance of BirdLife Tasmania to the broadest spectrum of the community increase conservation efforts for Tasmania s birds and their habitats

10 BirdLife Tasmania - Acknowledgements BirdLife Tasmania s profile and influence with NRMs, State and Local Governments and with other community groups is due entirely to the significant and extensive voluntary efforts of the Committee and members throughout Tasmania Committee members provide ~5 FTE in support of BirdLife Tasmania efforts each month, year-long in the absence of these ongoing, considerable efforts, the conservation status of Tasmania s birds and their habitats would be considerably poorer Important to recognise efforts of Sue Drake (Secretary), Allan Patman (Treasurer), Andrew Darby (web master), Maureen Duffy (excursions Coordinator), Wynne Webber (Honorary Editor), Loris Patman, Dr Rosemary Sandford, Dr Geoff Shannon and Andrew Walter (committee members) for remarkable efforts thanks also to Margaret Bennett, Hazel Britton, Ralph Cooper and Liz Znidersic for their efforts

11 BirdLife Tasmania - Acknowledgements BirdLife Tasmania s demonstrated influence in conservation efforts throughout the state is proof that a voluntary, community-based organisation can result in on-ground improvements to conservation efforts and outcomes important that all members take pride in these achievements - while recognising more effort is required each year as the spectrum of threats to Tasmania s birds and their habitats, and their intensities increases