Hooded Plovers' breeding threatened by Kangaroo Island Pro Surf & Music Festivals

naturescopephotography.com Vivonne Bay, Kangaroo Island is a beautiful example of pristine wilderness in remote South Australia. Local residents were shocked earlier this year when Sealink, Surfing SA and the South Australian Government announced plans to introduce the state's largest professional surfing event to the fragile area. The Kangaroo Islanders became divided on the issue of conservation, many dazzled by the promise of the surge of thousands of tourists to the area over the course of the ten days (and many nights) of festivities. Concerns were raised immediately for the protection of the bay's amazing dune system and native vegetation, which in turn provides living and breeding habitat for an exceptional range of organisms. An average population of 15 Hooded Plovers (listed as a Vulnerable species in South Australia) is of particular concern to the conservation groups and locals, as the event falls at the height of their breeding season. Their hatchling mortality rate is one of the worst in the world, without any additional pressure from ill-informed tourists or insensitive event staff. Shy and skittish, these tiny birds leave their nests when disturbed, and only return when the perceived threat is out of sight. Even if the Birds Australia management plan were followed diligently, the likelihood of abandoned nests and dead eggs and chicks is still greatly elevated by the intense and unfamiliar human pressures of sound, light and movement on the beach and in the ...
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