• Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Local History
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise With Us
  • About Us
  • Subscribe
  • Read Our Newspapers Online
    • Read the Latest Western Port News
    • Read the Latest Mornington News
    • Read the Latest Southern Peninsula News
    • Read the Latest Frankston Times
    • Read the Latest Chelsea Mordialloc Mentone News
Facebook Twitter Instagram
Trending
  • Flinders candidates have their say
  • ‘Town hall’ meets the candidates
  • Saving soles from landfill
  • No guaranteed happy returns for campers
  • Car-sleepers rise amid housing crisis
  • 278 Dundas Street, Rye
  • Pier fears relaxed by budget’s $1.5m
  • Drift set to float at Point Leo
Facebook Twitter
MPNEWSMPNEWS
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Local History
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise With Us
  • About Us
  • Subscribe
MPNEWSMPNEWS
Home»News»Plover’s seven years of disappointment
News

Plover’s seven years of disappointment

By Keith PlattJuly 14, 2020No Comments3 Mins Read
Picture: Gary Sissons
Share
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email
Picture: Gary Sissons

IT can be hard to keep track of hooded plovers as they flit around from one place to another, unrestrained by any travel bans.

But, dedicated followers of the locally endangered birds can sometimes manage to build up a character study of individual birds.

One such bird, UJ, was first tagged as a 28-day-old chick on 5 April 2013 at Hamers Haven, on the Bass Coast.

Last week, she was near Mushroom Reef, Flinders a place that in some ways UJ has come to call home.

Although a blood sample was taken from UJ seven years ago bird banders were unable to determine her gender.

In subsequent years UJ was found to be female, laying eggs in at least 11 nests (usually no more than a small hollow in the sand) over the past five years.

Unfortunately, no volunteers from the dedicated Friends of the Hooded Plover has ever seen a chick hatched in one of UJ’s chosen home sites.

“The failures of theses nests have included tidal inundation, various predators and also unknown causes,” Friends of the Hooded Plover (Mornington Peninsula) president Mark Lethlean said.

“She has had a few partners over the years, including a young bird from Phillip Island flagged Yellow 52, who we know from DNA tests to be male.”

Although it is unlikely that UJ and Y52 are still a breeding pair, they were both back on the Mornington Peninsula this month.

UJ at Flinders and Y52 at St Andrews, near Rye.

Mr Lethlean photographed Y52 feeding with a flock of 20 birds last week and photographer with The News Gary Sissons took shots of UJ at Flinders.

While the locally endangered hooded plover numbers appeared to be on the increase between 2016 and 2018, when 25 birds fledged, or reached the flying stage, things have dropped since, with numbers being more than halved.

“We have seen more nest failures lately, which means less chicks hatching and in collaboration with BirdLife Australia and Parks Victoria we are currently looking to investigate the possible causes,” Mr Lethlean said.

Hooded plovers have a precarious survival rate, with just 25 chicks fledging in the two breeding seasons between 2016 and 2018 from 341 eggs laid in 156 nests. Just 98 of the eggs hatched.

Over the two following years the number of eggs dropped to 271, resulting in 61 chicks of which 12 fledged.

Only once in four years did the number of survivors reach the number regarded as necessary for the hooded plovers to maintain a viable population.

First published in the Western Port News – 15 July 2020

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email

Related Posts

Seeking Jackson

May 9, 2022

Lights on ‘by end of June’

May 9, 2022

Wanted man

May 2, 2022

Car chase

May 2, 2022
Add A Comment

Comments are closed.

Weather
May 16, 2022 - Mon
Mornington, Australia
13°C
overcast clouds
overcast clouds
3 m/s, W
65%
759.81 mmHg
mon05/16 tue05/17 wed05/18 thu05/19 fri05/20
light rain
14/12°C
light rain
13/13°C
light rain
12/12°C
light rain
14/13°C
overcast clouds
14/11°C
Peninsula Essence Magazine

Click here to read

April 27, 2022
Peninsula Kids Magazine

Click here to read

March 2, 2022
Council Watch

Shire offers $500,000 to performing arts

May 2, 2022

Mayor claims record in trust appointment

April 26, 2022
Elections 2022

Flinders candidates have their say

May 16, 2022

‘Town hall’ meets the candidates

May 16, 2022

Caught in the act

May 9, 2022
Interview

Volunteers track koalas for science

May 2, 2022
Property of the Week

278 Dundas Street, Rye

May 11, 2022
100 Years Ago This Week

The passing of an eminent journalist

May 9, 2022
Contact
Street: 63 Watt Road, Mornington, 3931
Mailing: PO Box 588, Hastings, 3915
Menu
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Local History
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise With Us
  • About Us
  • Subscribe
About

Established in 2006, Mornington Peninsula News Group (MPNG) is a locally owned and operated, independent media company.

MPNG publishes five weekly community newspapers: the Western Port News, Mornington News, Southern Peninsula News, Frankston Times and Chelsea Mordialloc Mentone News.

MPNG also publishes two glossy magazines: Peninsula Essence and Peninsula Kids.

Facebook Twitter
© 2022 Mornington Peninsula News Group.

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.