From Siberia with love — the birds that seek out our coast and the people who want their habitat protected

On a tranquil morning at Denmark’s Morley Beach, migratory shorebirds from Siberia and Alaska can be seen feeding ferociously among the wetlands before they begin their arduous journey home. Looking through his spotting scope across the mudflats, Denmark Bird Group convenor Brad Kneebone shakes his head as he speaks about the higher than normal water levels affecting bird numbers. The “unusually high” water levels have kept the nutrient-rich mudflats covered late into the summer, forcing some of the short-billed birds to search for food at Nenamup Inlet. Every year from September to March, migratory shorebirds return from their breeding grounds in the northern hemisphere to Australia’s wetland habitats — including Morley Beach on the Wilson Inlet. The area between Cuppup Creek and the Hay River mouth, where thick banks of samphire line the inlet’s shore, is one of just a few salt marshes on the south coast. Mr Kneebone said the Morley Beach mudflats allowed the birds to rest and refuel safely. “They come here primarily for food; it’s what drives any bird,” he said. “It has to be safe in the sense of reasonable lack of disturbance, and there must be roosting sites, the birds take food for three to four hours then rest somewhere away in the samphire, higher ridges or rocks. “If they are disturbed, they don’t have time to metabolise the food, which is a huge issue ... it’s particularly critical six weeks before they migrate, they really have to pump food in, really focus on that. If they’re disturbed constantly, they’re not able to absorb food properly.” DBG committee member Graham Dixon said fewer birds were at the inlet now. “They will come here next year but if there are no feeding grounds, they’ll find somewhere else and that’s the danger, we don’t want to be losing them,” he said. Mr Kneebone said the unfavourable conditions, probably because of climate change, put additional stress on the birds. “We wouldn’t want to see this happen next year, but who knows what’s going to happen,” he said. The migratory shorebirds will embark on a 10,000-12,000km journey home to the far north of the globe during March and April. Larger species such as the bar-tailed godwit may travel 11,000km without stopping, losing up to 50 per cent of their bodyweight. The journey for smaller species weighing about 35g is remarkable. “The smaller birds will fly about 7000-8000km to the Yellow Sea on the Chinese coast but the larger birds like the greenshank and bar-tailed godwit will make it in one flight before going onto their breeding areas,” he said. Of the 36 shorebird species that migrate to Australia, up to 20 species spend their time here. The area is also visited by species such as the critically endangered curlew-sandpiper, sharp-tailed sand-piper and grey plover. The Denmark Bird Group wants the area declared a reserve by the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, so it can’t be turned into farmland.