Birdwatchers furious after man and two teens seen throwing eggs of endangered sea birds
Beachgoers at The Entrance have been asked by local birdwatchers to report any further disturbances of endangered seabirds, after an “absolutely tragic” incident on Sunday.
Central Coast
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The plight of endangered seabirds has been highlighted after the “absolutely tragic” disturbance of an enclosed nesting area north of The Entrance.
And it has led Central Coast Council to warn that big fines and even imprisonment could apply to anyone found harming threatened species.
On Sunday at about 7pm an adult and two children aged 12-15 entered the protected area at Karagi Reserve, which is known as a Little Tern breading ground.
Luke Ullrich was across the channel when he saw the “gut-wrenching” events at an area he and other birdwatchers had been monitoring.
“They went through the Tern fences, they were trying to corral the babies and were throwing eggs at each other,” he said.
“By that time I was yelling at them but I don’t know how long they had been doing it for.”
Little Terns are endangered birds in NSW, which spend the Australian winter in Japan and arrive to breed in our summer.
Little Terns nest in less than 20 locations on the NSW coast.
Central Coast Council has a longstanding practice of erecting temporary fencing and warning signs each breeding season to help protect the critically endangered birds.
During these periods the animals are monitored by dedicated community volunteers.
A spokesman said the council was “extremely disappointed in the alleged behaviour of a group of individuals that disturbed the Little Tern nesting site”.
“Penalties for harming threatened species in NSW include potential fines and imprisonment for these types of offences, these are administered by the appropriate regulatory authority being the NSW Department of Planning, Industry, and Environment,” he said.
Allan Benson from Central Coast Birding Group said the situation was “absolutely tragic”.
“These birds are struggling to survive and some idiot visitors actively vandalised their nests and young,” he said.
“There is no excuse for this behaviour as the fenced area is well sign posted. We appeal to all residents to be aware of the danger of disturbance and to report any repeat of this behaviour.”
Coincidentally, Australian Seabird Rescue Central Coast were given a baby Little Tern to care for on Sunday evening, which they have since learned was found in the hours before the disturbance.
Australian Seabird Rescue Central Coast co-ordinator Cathy Gilmore said the bird – which she said was the size of a 50 cent piece – was doing well and was in a humidity crib in the care of a volunteer at Copacabana.
“We have a local girl making him a hand puppet that will be like a snuggle buddy,” Ms Gilmore said.
“We tried to get him back with his parents. We spent a lot of time down at North Entrance. We put him down on the beach in a few different places (to see if his parents would come) but all to no avail. So we needed to take him back into care.”
A Council spokesman encouraged any residents who witnessed the incident on Sunday to contact the Environment Line on 131 555 to provide any additional information that may help with investigations.