Victorian Wader Study Group
Encyclopedia
The Victorian Wader Study Group (VWSG) is an Australia
n non-profit
, volunteer, ornithological
fieldwork group that gathers biometric
and other data on wader
s and tern
s, mainly through regular catches of large samples of several species by cannon-netting at sites along the coast of Victoria.
waders at night. The first place they tried was in the Cheetham Salt Works
at Altona
, though better results were obtained later at a coastal site adjacent to the Werribee Sewage Farm
, near the town of Werribee
, 30 km south-west of Melbourne
on Port Phillip
.
In 1978 the group was joined by Dr Clive Minton
, who had been a pioneer in the development of cannon-netting in Britain
as a means of catching large numbers of waders and waterfowl
for banding
and demographic
studies. Minton introduced the technique to the group, with the first cannon-net catch being made at Werribee on 31 December 1978. Thereafter, although the group continued to use mist-netting occasionally for a few years, cannon-netting became the principal method used for catching waders.
At first operating under the aegis of the Victorian Ornithological Research Group
, the VWSG was formally established as an independent body in 1979, with David Robertson and Clive Minton elected as co-convenors. Since 1981 it has had a close relationship with the Australasian Wader Studies Group
(AWSG), a special interest group of Birds Australia
. The VWSG was incorporated
in Victoria in 1987. The group’s mission is to
, Western Port
, Anderson Inlet
and Corner Inlet
. Annual visits are made to Mud Islands
in Port Phillip
, south-eastern South Australia
and King Island, Tasmania, as well as occasionally elsewhere. VWSG equipment and members usually form the core of the almost annual expeditions of the AWSG to north-west Western Australia
.
The average number of cannon-netting catches made by the VWSG is over 40 a year, with an average annual total of over 7000 waders processed. Principal species caught are Red-necked Stint
, Curlew Sandpiper
, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper
, Red Knot
, Sanderling
, Double-banded Plover
, Bar-tailed Godwit
, Ruddy Turnstone
, Pied Oystercatcher
and Sooty Oystercatcher
. The main tern species studied are Crested and Caspian Tern
s, with other species studied opportunistically.
, and the migratory
waders that visit its shores breed in northern Asia
and Alaska
, passing through the densely populated and rapidly developing regions of eastern and south-eastern Asia on their journeys twice a year. Over the years the VWSG has been operating, the emphasis of fieldwork has evolved from simply obtaining biometric and moult data to understand the biology of the birds, to obtaining information on breeding success and survival rates to understand and monitor population levels in the flyway. Most migratory waders caught by the VWSG are fitted with colour-coded plastic leg-flags in a flyway-based program to determine the exact routes and staging areas used by the birds on migration. The group is also assisting with the satellite tracking of larger waders.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n non-profit
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
, volunteer, ornithological
Ornithology
Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and the aesthetic appeal of birds...
fieldwork group that gathers biometric
Biostatistics
Biostatistics is the application of statistics to a wide range of topics in biology...
and other data on wader
Wader
Waders, called shorebirds in North America , are members of the order Charadriiformes, excluding the more marine web-footed seabird groups. The latter are the skuas , gulls , terns , skimmers , and auks...
s and tern
Tern
Terns are seabirds in the family Sternidae, previously considered a subfamily of the gull family Laridae . They form a lineage with the gulls and skimmers which in turn is related to skuas and auks...
s, mainly through regular catches of large samples of several species by cannon-netting at sites along the coast of Victoria.
History
The origins of the VWSG go back to 1975 when Dr David Robertson and others started mist-nettingMist net
Mist nets are used by ornithologists and bat biologists to capture wild birds and bats for banding or other research projects. Mist nets are typically made of nylon mesh suspended between two poles, resembling an oversized volleyball net. When properly deployed, the nets are virtually invisible...
waders at night. The first place they tried was in the Cheetham Salt Works
Salt evaporation pond
Salt evaporation ponds, also called salterns or salt pans, are shallow artificial ponds designed to produce salts from sea water or other brines. The seawater or brine is fed into large ponds and water is drawn out through natural evaporation which allows the salt to be subsequently harvested...
at Altona
Altona, Victoria
Altona is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 13 km south-west from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Hobsons Bay. At the 2006 Census, Altona had a population of 9685....
, though better results were obtained later at a coastal site adjacent to the Werribee Sewage Farm
Werribee Sewage Farm
Werribee Sewage Farm or, more formally, the Western Treatment Plant of Melbourne Water, is an 110 km² sewage treatment farm adjacent to the town of Werribee, 30 km west of the city of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, on the coast of Port Phillip Bay...
, near the town of Werribee
Werribee, Victoria
Werribee is a city in Melbourne, Australia, 32 km south-west from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Wyndham. At the 2006 Census, Werribee had a population of 36,641. Statistically, Werribee is considered part of Greater Melbourne.Werribee is...
, 30 km south-west of Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
on Port Phillip
Port Phillip
Port Phillip Port Phillip Port Phillip (also commonly referred to as Port Phillip Bay or (locally) just The Bay, is a large bay in southern Victoria, Australia; it is the location of Melbourne. Geographically, the bay covers and the shore stretches roughly . Although it is extremely shallow for...
.
In 1978 the group was joined by Dr Clive Minton
Clive Dudley Thomas Minton
Clive Dudley Thomas Minton, AM is a metallurgist, administrator, management consultant and amateur ornithologist. His interest in birds began in childhood. He attended Oundle School and went on to complete a PhD degree in Metallurgy at the University of Cambridge. Although involved in studies...
, who had been a pioneer in the development of cannon-netting in Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
as a means of catching large numbers of waders and waterfowl
Waterfowl
Waterfowl are certain wildfowl of the order Anseriformes, especially members of the family Anatidae, which includes ducks, geese, and swans....
for banding
Bird ringing
Bird ringing or bird banding is a technique used in the study of wild birds, by attaching a small, individually numbered, metal or plastic tag to their legs or wings, so that various aspects of the bird's life can be studied by the ability to re-find the same individual later...
and demographic
Biodemography
Biodemography is the science dealing with the integration of biology and demography.Biodemography is a new branch of human demography concerned with understanding the complementary biological and demographic determinants of and interactions between the birth and death processes that shape...
studies. Minton introduced the technique to the group, with the first cannon-net catch being made at Werribee on 31 December 1978. Thereafter, although the group continued to use mist-netting occasionally for a few years, cannon-netting became the principal method used for catching waders.
At first operating under the aegis of the Victorian Ornithological Research Group
Victorian Ornithological Research Group
The Victorian Ornithological Research Group is a small project-focused ornithological group of amateurs and professionals based in Victoria, Australia. It was formed in 1962. It publishes a bulletin, VORG Notes...
, the VWSG was formally established as an independent body in 1979, with David Robertson and Clive Minton elected as co-convenors. Since 1981 it has had a close relationship with the Australasian Wader Studies Group
Australasian Wader Studies Group
The Australasian Wader Studies Group , established in 1981, is a special interest group of the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union, also known as Birds Australia. It publishes a journal, The Stilt, usually twice a year, with occasional extra issues...
(AWSG), a special interest group of Birds Australia
Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union
The Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union, also known as Birds Australia, was founded in 1901 to promote the study and conservation of the native bird species of Australia and adjacent regions. This makes it Australia's oldest national birding association. It is also Australia's largest...
. The VWSG was incorporated
Corporation
A corporation is created under the laws of a state as a separate legal entity that has privileges and liabilities that are distinct from those of its members. There are many different forms of corporations, most of which are used to conduct business. Early corporations were established by charter...
in Victoria in 1987. The group’s mission is to
" …gather, through extensive planned fieldwork programs, comprehensive data on waders and terns throughout Victoria on a long-term basis. This scientifically collected information is intended to form a factual base for conservation considerations, to be a source of information for education of a wider audience, to be a means of generating interest of the general community in environmental and conservation issues, and so be a major contribution to Australian, Flyway and Worldwide knowledge of waders and terns."The VWSG has a membership of about 150, mainly based in Melbourne, and publishes an annual bulletin. As well as conducting fieldwork, it has constructed cannon-nets for, and lent equipment to, other organisations in Australia to encourage more widespread research on waders. It also assists government agencies monitoring migratory birds as potential disease vectors for avian influenza.
Fieldwork
As well as Werribee, a site which has become relatively less important over the years, the principal regular fieldwork areas of the VWSG include Swan BaySwan Bay (Victoria)
Swan Bay is a shallow, marine embayment at the eastern end of the Bellarine Peninsula in Port Phillip, Victoria, Australia. The township of Queenscliff lies at its southern end, and St Leonards at its northern. It is partly separated from Port Phillip by Swan Island, Duck Island and Edwards Point...
, Western Port
Western Port
Western Port, is sometimes called "Western Port Bay", is a large tidal bay in southern Victoria, Australia opening into Bass Strait. It is the second largest bay in Victoria. Geographically, it is dominated by the two large islands; French Island and Phillip Island. Contrary to its name, it lies to...
, Anderson Inlet
Anderson Inlet
Anderson Inlet is a shallow and dynamic estuary in South Gippsland, Victoria, Australia where the Tarwin River enters Bass Strait. It forms a 2,400 ha almost enclosed bay next to the town of Inverloch, for which it provides a popular and protected beach. At low tide its intertidal mudflats...
and Corner Inlet
Corner Inlet
Corner Inlet is a 600 km2 bay, 200 km south-east of Melbourne, in South Gippsland, Victoria, Australia. Of Victoria’s large bays it is both the easternmost and the warmest...
. Annual visits are made to Mud Islands
Mud Islands
The Mud Islands reserve is located within Port Phillip, about 90 km south-west of Melbourne, Australia, lying 10 km inside Port Phillip Heads, 7 km north of Portsea and 9 km east of Queenscliff. The land area of about 50 ha is made up of three low-lying islands surrounding a shallow tidal 35 ha...
in Port Phillip
Port Phillip
Port Phillip Port Phillip Port Phillip (also commonly referred to as Port Phillip Bay or (locally) just The Bay, is a large bay in southern Victoria, Australia; it is the location of Melbourne. Geographically, the bay covers and the shore stretches roughly . Although it is extremely shallow for...
, south-eastern South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
and King Island, Tasmania, as well as occasionally elsewhere. VWSG equipment and members usually form the core of the almost annual expeditions of the AWSG to north-west Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
.
The average number of cannon-netting catches made by the VWSG is over 40 a year, with an average annual total of over 7000 waders processed. Principal species caught are Red-necked Stint
Red-necked Stint
The Red-necked Stint is a small migratory wader.- Description :These birds are among the smallest of waders, very similar to the Little Stint, Calidris minuta, with which they were once considered conspecific...
, Curlew Sandpiper
Curlew Sandpiper
The Curlew Sandpiper is a small wader that breeds on the tundra of Arctic Siberia. It is strongly migratory, wintering mainly in Africa, but also in south and southeast Asia and in Australasia...
, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper
The Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Calidris acuminata is a small wader.- Taxonomy :More recently, a review of new data has indicated that this bird should perhaps better be placed into the genus Philomachus- as P...
, Red Knot
Red Knot
The Red Knot, Calidris canutus , is a medium sized shorebird which breeds in tundra and the Arctic Cordillera in the far north of Canada, Europe, and Russia. It is a large member of the Calidris sandpipers, second only to the Great Knot...
, Sanderling
Sanderling
The Sanderling is a small wader. It is a circumpolar Arctic breeder, and is a long-distance migrant, wintering south to South America, South Europe, Africa, and Australia...
, Double-banded Plover
Double-banded Plover
The Double-banded Plover , known as the Banded Dotterel in New Zealand, is a small wader in the plover family of birds. It lives in beaches, mud flats, grasslands and on bare ground...
, Bar-tailed Godwit
Bar-tailed Godwit
The Bar-tailed Godwit is a large wader in the family Scolopacidae, which breeds on Arctic coasts and tundra mainly in the Old World, and winters on coasts in temperate and tropical regions of the Old World...
, Ruddy Turnstone
Ruddy Turnstone
The Ruddy Turnstone is a small wading bird, one of two species of turnstone in the genus Arenaria. It is now classified in the sandpiper family Scolopacidae but was formerly sometimes placed in the plover family Charadriidae...
, Pied Oystercatcher
Pied Oystercatcher
The Pied Oystercatcher, Haematopus longirostris, is a species of oystercatcher. It is a wading bird native to Australia and commonly found on its coastline. The similar South Island Pied Oystercatcher The Pied Oystercatcher, Haematopus longirostris, is a species of oystercatcher. It is a wading...
and Sooty Oystercatcher
Sooty Oystercatcher
The Sooty Oystercatcher, Haematopus fuliginosus, is a species of oystercatcher. It is a wading bird native to Australia and commonly found on its coastline. It prefers rocky coastlines, but will occasionally live in estuaries....
. The main tern species studied are Crested and Caspian Tern
Caspian Tern
The Caspian Tern is a species of tern, with a subcosmopolitan but scattered distribution. Despite its extensive range, it is monotypic of its genus, and has no subspecies accepted either...
s, with other species studied opportunistically.
Conservation
Victoria lies at the southern end of the East Asian - Australasian FlywayEast Asian - Australasian Flyway
The East Asian–Australasian Flyway is one of the world's great flyways. At its northernmost it stretches eastwards from the Taimyr Peninsula in Russia to Alaska. Its southern end encompasses Australia and New Zealand. Between these extremes the Flyway covers much of eastern Asia, including China,...
, and the migratory
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
waders that visit its shores breed in northern Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
and Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
, passing through the densely populated and rapidly developing regions of eastern and south-eastern Asia on their journeys twice a year. Over the years the VWSG has been operating, the emphasis of fieldwork has evolved from simply obtaining biometric and moult data to understand the biology of the birds, to obtaining information on breeding success and survival rates to understand and monitor population levels in the flyway. Most migratory waders caught by the VWSG are fitted with colour-coded plastic leg-flags in a flyway-based program to determine the exact routes and staging areas used by the birds on migration. The group is also assisting with the satellite tracking of larger waders.