Onkaparinga Council is calling on the public to help name hooded plover couple
Should they be called Romeo and Juliet? Antony and Cleopatra? Or even Ross and Rachel? Onkaparinga Council is calling on the public to help name its longest breeding pair of hooded plovers.
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Should they be called Romeo and Juliet? Antony and Cleopatra? Or even Ross and Rachel?
Onkaparinga Council is calling on the public to help name two of its greatest lovebirds.
A breeding pair of hooded plovers – who have been together for almost a decade at Port Willunga – are currently known as “DP” (the female) and “HV” (the male) due to the codes on their tags but the council is hoping the community can come up with names more befitting of their love story.
They are asking for suggestions on what to name the two birds, who have been repeatedly struck by tragedy.
Despite being together longer than any other plover couple in Onkaparinga, none of their chicks born in the past three years have survived.
After suffering another loss in September, the pair has laid more eggs – due to hatch in mid-November – and bird-watchers have their fingers-crossed they will survive.
Onkaparinga coast and estuary technical manager Kerri Bartley urged the community to keep their dogs leashed while at the beach and to stay out of exclusion zones.
“If you spot council’s temporary beach restrictions, we want you to make sure your dog is on a lead and that you walk past the area along the water’s edge because the hoodies become distressed if they see a dog running around,” Ms Bartley said.
“This pair has been together for a long time and we can easily identify them by their tags. “That’s why we want to name them, keeping the community up-to-date with their attempts to nest this season and alerting people of the plight of this species.
“We really hope this will be a better season for them and we can all play our part to help these precious birds.”
Hooded plovers are a threatened species and chicks have a low chance of survival because they can’t fly for the first five weeks.
They are easily frightened by human and off-leash dog activity and can starve because they are hiding from people and therefore unable to search for food.
Regular breeding sites within the district include Moana Beach, Ochre Cove Beach, Maslin Beach, Port Willunga Beach, Aldinga Beach and Port Stanvac.
Residents have until Wednesday, November 6 to suggest names and can do so by visiting the City of Onkaparinga’s Facebook page.
