Surfing chicks!

Recently, Meg Cullen from BirdLife Australia’s Beach Nesting Bird team held an informative workshop all about Hooded Plovers for an enthusiastic group of 13^th Beach Boardriders Club members.

They gained a greater awareness of Hooded Plovers, their habitat, life cycle, behaviour and their threats and why it is so important for the local community to get involved in their conservation and how they can help out.

They were shocked to hear that in the past 10 years, despite all the best efforts of the local land managers and volunteers that only one chick has survived to fledge along the 13th Beach coastline, Barwon Heads!

The session was held as part of the Club’s coastal small grant funded by the Corangamite CMA through the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program. The Club and its members have committed to actively participate in the Hooded Plover volunteer monitoring program and education and awareness initiatives at surfing events about how to protect the local Hooded Plover populations.

It is great to have the Club on board with their enthusiasm and positivity! We hope that with their assistance we will be able to turn the fortunes of our local hoodies around!