A FOX is suspected to have been involved in the destruction of 140 vulnerable fairy tern nests on the Point Walter spit late last month – though humans aren’t out of the frame yet.
Although there is an almost constant night-time vigil over the nests and their chicks by volunteers during the breeding season, Melville Bird Sanctuary founders Jenny Christenson and Tom Lubin said something got past fences meant to protect the colony and ruined more than half overnight.
They said the loss was tragic because it had been a very promising start to the breeding season.
“At first the destruction appeared to have been caused by human and dog disturbances but was later expanded by evidence of at least one fox in the area,” the wrote in the Friends of the Melville Bird Sanctuary’s latest newsletter.
• Tom Lubin and Jenny Christenson enjoy the show put on by a couple of Alfred Cove’s ospreys.
Baiting
“The City of Melville made arrangements for fox baiting and trapping. Additional ‘No Dogs’ signage was also installed including a recent illuminated sign on Honour Avenue, Bicton leading to Point Walter sandbar and reserve.”
They later told the Herald on a tour of the new sanctuary that human and dog footprints on the spit showed that some people weren’t honouring local efforts to protect the tiny birds that nest in the sand.
“Unfortunately, though, dogs chase off the birds, and then when people walk on the mud flats, that compresses them, so it’s more difficult for the birds to feed,” Mr Lubin said.
In the section encompassing Alfred Cove, fishermen chasing flathead from a small beach is also disturbing important migratory species that can come to the area from as far away as Siberia.
“They’re so nervous that even if you’re at this distance, and they see you, they’re off,” Ms Christenson said from the safety of the fences around Troy Park.
Despite the setback, the sanctuary is steadily progressing, with a new bird spotting platform opened recently at the park and an election commitment from Bicton MLA Lisa O’Malley should see another opened in the next few months across Alfred Cove near the Melville Bowling Club.
Another planned for Troy Park will give people incredible views across the park to the Perth city skyline.
“All of the shoreline is part of the bird sanctuary and it goes all the way into Applecross. It’s what was basically the boundary of the Swan Estuary Marine Park,” Ms Christenson said.
Melville council and the state’s conservation and biodiversity department also have long-term plans to revegetate the point at Troy Park that overlooks some of the most popular spots for birds and watchers.
“Unfortunately, before the vegetation happens, there’s a lot of foreshore erosion that has to be fixed, so it won’t be immediately,” Ms Christenson said.
The Friends are also planning to hold their first official bird watching walk today (Saturday February 24), starting from the Pt Walter spit through to the Bicton Baths jetty, which marks the other end of the sanctuary.
Ms Christenson has been running unofficial walks in Alfred Cove every six weeks or so, and Mr Lubin says they’re well attended, with up to 20 people tagging along.
But she says the new walk will offer something different.
“The Blackwall Reach and Point Walter walk you can see a lot on the sandbar, and then after that you go into this little forest area of the reserve,” Ms Christenson said.
Pardalotes
“You’ll see Australian ringnecks, you’ll see pardalotes – you hear them all the time. The lorikeets are deafening and red tailed cockatoos come over.
“So there’s a bit to see, but it’s the views too – that’s stunning.”
The pair have been tireless in pushing the bird sanctuary, which emerged from the debate over a proposed wave park that was knocked back by the state government. Mr Lubin says ironically the park helped kick along the sanctuary.
“I think the wave park ended up having a lot of people realise what they would lose, and as we started to talk about the wave park, there were lots of people who came on board right away.
“You know, we were not activists at all, the two of us; we just got hooked on this,” he said.
To join today’s birdwalk, meet in the Pt Walter carpark near the spit. It’s about 2.6km and there’s some inclines so they suggest a medium level of fitness.
by STEVE GRANT