Goya Dmytryshchak
Weighing no more than a matchbox, the red-necked stint migrates more than 11,000 kilometres from the Arctic tundra to Hobsons Bay each year.
To these shores, the short-tailed shearwater flies from Siberia and Alaska – one of the longest migrations of any life form on earth.
Hobsons Bay will celebrate World Migratory Bird Day on Saturday, October 10, with a day of online events via Zoom.
The municipality has five significant bird habitat sites: Truganina Parklands, Altona Coastal Park, Sandy Point, Paisley Challis Wetlands, Rifle Range and Jawbone Reserve.
It borders the Cheetham Wetlands, which is internationally recognised under the Ramsar environmental treaty and home to more than 200 bird species.
The council has nominated three more sites for inclusion on the list of wetlands of international importance: a section of Altona Coastal Park, a section of Paisley-Challis Wetlands at Williamstown and the Laverton Creek estuary.
The day’s events will kick off with the Newport Community Choir launching a song specifically created for this year’s event: Curlews Fly by Sue Kirkpatrick.
Birdlife Australia’s Lindall Kidd and Flyway Print Exchange creator Kate Gorringe-Smith will share an insight into the life of migratory birds.
People can hear how and why birds such as the red-necked stint and critically-endangered curlew sandpiper make such an arduous journey.
Altona resident Matt McArthur will show people what migratory shorebirds eat using his trusty microscope while a council conservation ranger will give tips on birdwatching and ideal locations along Hobsons Bay’s shoreline.
Last year, 19 species of migratory birds visited Williamstown and Altona.
For the full program, visit www.hobsonsbay.vic.gov.au/WMBD2020 or email ranger@hobsonsbay.vic.gov.au.
To join, use the Zoom link: us02web.zoom.us/j/82864410564.
