Do animals grieve?

Was up at sunrise, 6.00am. I needed to try and find the Bundeena guy, his friend and their dog for a chat. I've seen their tracks so often across the front line of the fence, including the last time the nest failed when a predator took the eggs.

They walk through the National Park at Bonnie Vale (no dogs allowed) to come to a beach that is also, no dogs allowed. Yesterday they were playing right on the fence line in front of the nest, in front of the no dogs allowed signs, at 7.15am, presumably as some form of protest. There is no other way to think about it given exactly where and how they were behaving. Being local to the area, you have to think the guy in control knows exactly what he was doing.

I had been looking for them, the tracks on the beach were always so fresh, but couldn't work out what time I needed to be on beach to find them.

I didn’t see them both in time to get changed to get across to the beach (did not know how long they'd been at it given the time) and get across for a chat, leaving me to see them disappearing into the distance at Bonnie Vale. Given they come from Bundeena, it is a weekday, the dog is a labrador (a species not known for aggression), I can’t understand why, when they are playing so early, they can’t just go to Horderns that allows dogs off leash until 8.30am.

Prolonged, and repeated nest disturbances, can be catastrophic.

Knocking an endangered bird off nest, deliberately, which him and his hoodie partner are doing, is an offence under the NSW National Parks and Wildlife regulations that has penalities up to $240,000.

Well done! Those two eggs that were taken by the ravens as you played your pointless game with your dog could have cost you a quarter of the average Sydney house price. Lucky for him, not the birds we don't yet have permanent rangers.

But back to the beginning, today.

Out of bed and first thing, look at the nest site. Bird on nest; so, so nice. Puts a big smile on your face, another night over.

Look out to Bonnie Vale picnic area to see if the guy and his dog are on their way. It’s a bit of a distance, even with binoculars, but see a guy in a hoodie and a dog the color and size of a labrador.

OK! Time to go and head them off at the pass!

Walk past the nest site, bird still on nest. Get to Bonnie Vale but turns out it isn’t the guy I’m looking for. This was a paddle boarder with his white standard poodle. Oh well. Sit and watch how it all works. The dog desperately wants onto the paddle board. Once it is on, it is wandering backwards and forwards tipping the board waiting for its human friend to also get on. Interesting watching how to get it all balanced enough for him to get on too and off they go.

It is now 7.00am and it looks like who I wanted to see is not turning up.

I notice 4 pelicans gliding into the Bonnie Vale basin area. That’s very unusual. Time to head towards home and check it out. Get to the end of the remnants of the vegetated hills on the edge of the basin and see an oystercatcher patrolling. Then I see 2 bar-tailed godwits feeding. That is even more unusual than pelicans. I occasionally see a lone eastern curlew feeding early in the morning at low tide, the pelicans and godwits are a very rare treat. Watch that for another half hour then see an oystercatcher fly off towards the back of the basin and just assume they’ve completed nest changeover.

Pass the nesting site, glance in and my brain registers, I am not seeing an oystercatcher on nest. So I go back, I must have the angle or the light wrong. No matter what angle I look at the site from, I am not seeing an oystercatcher on nest. Look around the area again, and only see one oystercatcher in the distance at the back of the feeding area. Wait, and wait, no oystercatcher is appearing. I guess I have to go in and look at the nest.

I’m seeing fox tracks, my heart is starting to sink. I arrive at the nest and there are no eggs. Totally confused, I had seen an oystercatcher on nest. The very first time I’d seen the oystercatcher pair lose their eggs I had seen them sitting on nest after the eggs had been taken, so guess this is a repeat. It takes a little while for it to sink in for them that the eggs are gone. I’m just perplexed as to why it consistently happens on the evening of day 15.

We are just an animal, it is believed what makes us different to other animals is that we are able to think and plan and reflect. It's questionable if we all actively engage in all of these skills at the same time. It is thought that grief is a universal concept. Having seen the oystercatchers dealing with their egg losses, I can believe it. This is a simple story not scientific study:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/pets/animals-grieve-just-as-people-do/

For us (birds, friends and me) from here, it is about planning how to keep Council support. There have been letters of complaint to Council from residents, renters and owners alike. I know we have letters of support from NPA southern branch, Friends of the Royal and Birdlife Australia, much bigger numbers in total than the individual complainers. Just have to hope they hold more weight.

Being on beach I see how interested people are to hear the story of the birds and what is being done to help them. It is a great way to connect with people so that they can be potential champions in the future. The campers spend money at the local IGA, petrol station, Bundeena Kayaks and Maianbar Cafe so they contribute to the local economy (though some of them have a downside in that we also clean up after them, oh well.)

Our oystercatchers seem to be part of a key piece in order to help all beach nesting birds in Australia have a future and hope that Council is able to see that and see the positives coming from that for the Shire as a whole.

Birdlife Australia is based in Victoria and also does a lot of work in South Australia but our pair of oystercatchers, here in Sydney, are starting to gain a lot of weight. This is because Sydney does not see a lot of beach nesting birds anymore, our pair are real adventurers exploring new (once were old) opportunities. The big thing in their favour is we have a dedicated group of volunteers willing to put in the work to help protect them from their main threat; lots and lots, and lots more people and how they want to use the beach.

(http://birdlife.org.au/projects/beach-nesting-birds/research-bnb)

Will be talking with Birdlife Australia about what we need to do in terms of talking with the community about our loss this year.

The very vocal, and very loud naysayers, we’ll never get on board, but I can’t let them bully the rest of the community into compliance because people, naturally, want a peaceful, quiet life.

I have been publicly accused of caring for only 2 creatures on the planet, the pair of oystercatchers. It has been said that I have handled the nesting appallingly in that I did not consult with the community prior to the fence going up.

I am just a volunteer, working with Council, seeking to protect an endangered species. The land the birds have nested on is crown land, under Council control and care. The fence is also Council property. As a volunteer, I have no capacity to stand up and speak on Council's behalf on Facebook or even in a community forum.

I can, however, if you come to the beach, speak on behalf of the birds and let you know their plight and why the fence line and fox traps need to be there and how you can help.

I had decided living in an area such as this, that keeping a cat or dog might not be appropriate. Looking after the wildlife seemed to be a much better choice, but it is so much harder than just keeping a pet. I I have to learn to deal with the stress; to stand against the herd.

I’m thinking in terms of a community consultation perhaps have a neutral third party, like Birdlife Australia, rather than Council, address the forum. They’ll have all the answers in relation to community and beach nesting birds and the experience in how to front an angry crowd and be able to keep the talk on topic. Just need to find the funds to cover it as they are a not for profit group. Their costs are actually reasonable but we need to fly our speakers up, pay for expenses and meet the daily rate.

I'm sure there is a solution to the overnight predators. It may take something totally left field to what is currently being done. Put on your thinking caps and we'll put it to Council and Birdlife Australia.

I would like to try taste aversion (needs Council approval), putting down eggs that will make the foxes sick, (it would be better to remove the foxes, but we are not very successful at it given the location) and perhaps we can at least get chicks up and then work out how to protect them from there for the following 6 weeks. One step at a time.

AWC (Australian Wildlife Conservancy) and BHA (Bush Heritage Australia) are achieving such great results. There has to be a way for our coastal areas, working with local government, to find a way before it is too late.

Will keep you posted as to whether the oystercatchers go for nest number 3 this year and how we are going in terms of keeping support from Council for next nesting either, this year or next.