WELCOME TO THE
South Australian Shorebirds
FOUNDATION
The Foundation for South Australian Shorebirds has recently been formed to financially support researchers, citizen scientists, coastal community groups and coastal managers to enhance our understanding on the conservation status of resident and migratory shorebirds.
SUPPORTING RESEARCH
MONITORING
EDUCATION
South Australia has a number of vulnerable resident shorebird species, including Hooded Plover, Australian Pied Oystercatcher, Sooty Oystercatcher and Red-capped Plover. They can be found along parts of South Australia’s coastline, including ocean beaches, estuaries, rock platforms and tidal wetlands. They mostly nest on beaches and adjacent sand dunes, and, in the case of the Sooty Oystercatcher, rocky intertidal zones.
Because nesting often occurs at times of high levels of human activity on beaches in spring and summer, disturbance can significantly affect their nesting success. The Hooded Plover has been designated as endangered. Australian Pied Oystercatchers forage and nest along ocean beaches, as well as estuaries, intertidal wetlands of sheltered bays. Often on sheltered sand spits, they form large roosting flocks comprising mainly sub-adult and non-breeding adults.
Annual grants of up to $10,000 per project will be available to successful applicants for up to 3 years.
_JPG.jpg)
.jpg)
Hooded Plover
Pied Oystercatcher
Red-capped Plover
POTENTIAL PROJECTS SUITABLE FOR FUNDING
-
Resident shorebird population ecology, including their breeding success
​​
-
The roles of resident or migratory shorebirds in South Australia’s coastal trophic ecology
​​
-
Localised movement ecology of resident or migratory shorebirds, using marked-recapture/resighting studies
​​
-
Activities by coastal community groups assisting in the conservation of shorebirds
​​
-
​​Travel scholarships to students or key speakers to shorebird conferences or study sites
​​
-
Depiction of aspects of the life cycles of shorebirds by writers, artists and media presenters.
Applicants are encouraged to seek additional support from other funding groups include Birds SA Conservation grants (www.birdssa.asn.au)
Birdlife Australia Conservation grants (www.birdlife.org.au) to enhance the success of their project.
Applications can be made at anytime; however, they will be assessed at 6 monthly intervals in November or May. Successful projects should commence in January or July.
During our southern hemisphere spring, flocks of the migratory shorebirds arrive on our South Australian coast from their nesting grounds as far away as northern Siberia and Alaska. Here, during summer and early autumn, they forage on small invertebrates living amongst the mud or beach-cast seaweed, significantly increasing their weight, before their extraordinary return flight to their breeding grounds.
More than 15 species visit our shores, and a number of these are deemed as critically endangered, including the Eastern Curlew, Bar-tailed Godwit, Great and Red Knots and the Curlew Sandpiper.
.jpg)
Pied Oystercatcher