Sunshine Coast Council will continue to urge beachgoers to avoid some areas, including at a popular dog beach, amid efforts to protect shorebirds.
Council erected signs in sections of off-leash areas at North Shore, Maroochy River and Pumicestone Passage during a trial to advise people about resident and migratory birds from October to April.
The signs urged people to keep their dogs under control, stay away from certain places and to take rubbish home. The signs also included maps of the shorebirds’ feeding and roosting areas.
Some beachgoers and owners of dogs expressed their frustrations at the signs at North Shore, soon after restrictions were imposed at dog-walking haven Point Cartwright.
The trial ended a month ago and the signs have since been taken down but they will be reinstalled next migration season, and potentially during future migration seasons, as part of the council’s continued push to protect the birds.
A council spokesperson said the awareness campaign should ultimately provide resident shorebirds with more peace and migratory shorebirds with space to recover from 10,000km flights from the Arctic.
“We hope that, through continued education over time, we will see increases in numbers of shorebirds utilising (those areas) as awareness and behaviour around shorebirds changes,” they said.
Council observed several species of shorebirds at North Shore and Maroochy River during the trial. They saw red-capped plovers nesting, including the hatching of at least two chicks, far eastern curlews, whimbrels and bar-tailed godwits. Pied and sooty oystercatchers were seen near Pincushion Island.
Council staff carried out a social survey on site at various times before and after signage installation, as well as in the week leading up to the removal of the signs, to determine whether the signage had an impact but the information is yet to be studied.
“Analysis of the results of the social survey will shed some light as to whether community behaviour is changing,” the spokesperson said, before suggesting the campaign would resume in a few months.
“Council anticipates the signage (at North Shore and at beach accesses and boat ramps at Maroochy River and Pumicestone Passage) will be reinstalled when our migratory visitors return in October.”
The campaign could even be expanded.
“Council is in the early stages of reviewing its existing Shorebird Conservation Action Plan and similar initiatives may come about as actions of the next iteration of this plan,” the spokesperson said.
The signs were initially installed after the Understanding Visitors to Maroochy North Shore survey in 2022. More than 2000 people took part in it, and a consequent report was undertaken by the University of Queensland for the council.
The report stated that human-wildlife interactions at North Shore could have a negative impact on shoreline biodiversity, and that disturbances from the dog off-leash area had become too great in recent years, with some birds no longer roosting on the spit.
The report said some beachgoers did not want restrictions to areas and that more awareness and information was required to implement change.
There were mixed reactions to the signage by pet owners on social media.
“It’s getting harder to give our dogs quality of life,” one said on the La Balsa Bow Wows group.
“I love taking my dog to the beach but not if it’s affecting shorebird populations,” another said on the Sunshine Coast Bow Wows group.
“The watercraft are used all along the river and the beach area. They are a bigger problem than all the dogs put together,” another said.
Meanwhile, the council spokesperson said beachgoers were encouraged to also be aware of winter and resident shorebirds.
“While the majority of our avian summer visitors have left for the season, the migratory double-banded plover from New Zealand is still present on our coast between April and July, along with our resident shorebirds,” they said.
“It is still important to be mindful around our birds: making sure to observe them from a distance; choosing a location away from the birds for your activities; keeping your pets under control; and taking your rubbish home.”
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