Pied Oyster Catchers at Durras Beach

 John Perkins of the South Coast Shorebird Recovery Program has issued this notice about two young Pied Oystercatcher Chicks on the beach at Durras North:

Please keep a watchful eye over the two Pied Oystercatcher chicks on the sand flats adjacent to the informal boat launching area of Durras North during the busy Summer holidays.

These chicks are four weeks old and have not reached the stage of flying at this time. While these chicks are unable to fly they are particularly vulnerable to harm, especially if a dog is brought into where these chicks happen to be foraging.

Durras Lake opening to Durras Beach

On Thursday afternoon of this week a dog was seen chasing two Pied Oystercatcher chicks adjacent to the Durras Lake entrance, fortunately these two chicks had reached flying stage and were able to escape from this pursuing dog.  If this dog had of been instead chasing the “sand flats Pied Oystercatcher chicks” it is very likely these chicks would have been destroyed.

The 2014 shorebird breeding season in the Durras/Murramarang area has been the most successful ever with nine Pied Oystercatcher chicks hatching. There are now in our local area five pairs of adult Pied Oystercatchers. The local population of the listed as endangered Pied Oystercatchers has increased considerably since the original one pair of adult Pied Oystercatchers locally that existed twenty years ago.

Chicks on the beach at Durras Beach

As a consequence of the massive shorebird conservation effort that has occurred over the past twenty years, we are now witnessing the benefits of. We are starting to see what a healthy habitat resembles for Pied Oystercatchers around the Durras Lake entrance area.

The Durras shorebird area including the Durras Lake entrance area is a particularly good news environmental story. It is a story about working collectively to assist ground nesting shorebirds. This story includes, residents and visitors to Durras, the National Parks and Wildlife Service, Shorebird Recovery Program volunteers, Shoalhaven and Eurobodalla Shire Councils and local Caravan Parks who have all made a contribution in providing a helping hand to assist in the breeding success of this most endearing shorebird, the Pied Oystercatcher.

Best wishes

John Perkins

South Coast Shorebird Recovery Program.