Short Course on the Ramsar Wetlands and Shorebirds is now available.

A pair of critically endangered Far Eastern Curlews drifting over Deception Bay

As we move through February in 2024 the migratory shorebirds in Moreton Bay are busily foraging in order to build up their fat reserves for their return flight to Northern Asia. Up to 28 species of migratory shorebirds including the critically endangered Far Eastern Curlew make Moreton Bay their home during our summer. As the summer closes these wonders are preparing for the breeding season in Northern Asia and Alaska where their upcoming summer will see a proliferation of insects needed to raise the next generation of migratory shorebirds.

Unfortunately, many of these species are in decline and a number of visitors to Moreton Bay are now on the endangered list. The Ramsar convention is an international treaty designed to conserve and encourage the wise use of our wetlands including their flora and fauna. The Moreton Bay Ramsar Site is...

Introduction

Australia has the highest number of hollow-dependent species in the world! Possums, gliders and phascogales as well as lorikeets, parrots, kingfishers, owls and microbats all use hollows.¹ This is no doubt due to the proliferation of Eucalypt species across the continent over many millennia. Many of these trees are long-lived and after a century or so they start to develop hollows and cavities. These naturally formed hollows provide places for these species to shelter, breed and feed.

Since European settlement, there has been a significant loss of the hollows through deforestation and degradation of habitats. This has had a significant impact on many endemic species that have evolved and depend on these hollows.²

While many landowners and managers as well as Bushcare groups are rehabilitating and where possible replanting Eucalypt bushland, it will take many decades before natural hollows become available for local wildlife. To address this problem, many people have...