Three rare hooded plover chicks need your help to survive

ENVIRONMENTALISTS are hoping three new baby hooded plovers will fledge at Seacliff, helping the vulnerable birds expand their territory.

Three vulnerable hooded plover chicks have hatched at Seacliff. Pictures: John Cobb

• Rare birds nesting on our beaches

ENVIRONMENTALISTS are hoping three rare hooded plover chicks will fledge at Seacliff, helping the vulnerable birds expand their territory.

And in another good sign for the species, a separate breeding pair has laid eggs at Hallett Cove.

NRM coastal conservation officer Kerri Bartley says the adult hooded plovers are vigilantly protecting their chicks, which hatched at Seacliff late last month.

“They’re defending them against avian predators, and they’re attacking seagulls – they’ve stepped up from last year,” Ms Bartley says.

A hooded plover attacks a seagull at Seacliff to protect its chicks. Pictures: John Cobb

The council is asking locals to keep their dogs leashed, to avoid their pooches scaring or attacking the birds.

“The next five weeks will be a challenge when the chicks are mobile and any dog off leash could just wipe them out,” Ms Bartley says.

Another nest was also discovered at Hallett Cove late last month, and Birdlife Australia needs volunteers to help watch over that nest and warn owners to keep their dogs restrained.

There are only about 50 hooded plovers on the Fleurieu Peninsula, and it is uncommon for the birds to nest this far north.

The same birds nested several times last summer and again in September, but each time, the eggs either didn’t hatch or the chicks died.

For more information, call 8229 9826 or email [e-mail].

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