Be Australian: Support the underdog

Where there is an underdog, most Aussie's root for it. Let's hope, with the help of' our locals, our beach nesting birds are able to beat the odds, like this Iguana. Our beach nesting birds have an equally competitive start to life but are battling a larger number of predators, including us people, which is why we see fence lines appearing on Deeban Spit in Spring to protect their eggs. We had another endangered beach nesting bird turn up this year, the little tern. The various beach nesters used to happily nest here more than 20 years ago but are making a reappearance because various big storms are flattening out the beach, removing the spoil created from dredging, making it ideal breeding territory again. While the beach has not supported nesting again until two years ago, the tidal flats outside Fishermans Bay has remained an ideal feeding ground. We also have critically endangered migratory shorebirds that call Deeban Spit home from August through to mid-March. The critically endangered curlews are fighting to put on enough weight to start their migration to the Arctic tundra from mid January. From Australia Day it is important to not disturb the flocks of birds resting on the Spit two hours either side of high tide, or feeding on the tidal flats outside Fishermans Bay outside the four hours of high tide. Causing them to take flight by walking too close or having a dog chase them could cause their death if they start migration and don't have the necessary reserves. Some birds feel they have not put on sufficient weight to survive a migration of over 10,000km, and so don't go. However many birds are left overwintering here, means birds not participating in the breeding pool, potentially moving them from critically endangered, to extinct.