Early Hunter Region avian records Part 3. A review of historical data about shorebirds in the Hunter Estuary

A review of records for shorebirds in the Hunter Estuary of New South Wales has shown that 12,00015,000 shorebirds utilised the estuary, either as resident, non-breeding visitors or passage birds most years during the period 1970-1999, with 17,000-19,000 birds present some years. The limited data available for earlier years suggests this was a long-standing situation. 33 migratory species were recorded in the estuary (20 species regularly) and nine Australian resident species (one as a vagrant). The most abundant of the migratory species were Bar-tailed Godwits Limosa lapponica and Curlew Sandpipers Calidris ferruginea, both in many thousands each year. Red Knots Calidris canutus and Sharp-tailed Sandpipers Calidris acuminata were sometimes present in similar counts. 500-1,000 each of Pacific Golden Plovers Pluvialis fulva, Black-tailed Godwits Limosa limosa and Eastern Curlews Numenius madagascariensis visited. Seven other migratory species were typically present in counts of hundreds of birds. Of the non-migratory species, most were present in modest numbers (less than 100 birds). However, about 1,000 Black-winged Stilts Himantopus leucocephalus were often in the estuary, and many thousands of Red-necked Avocets Recurvirostra novaehollandiae from the 1980s onwards. Over the 30-year main review period, the numbers of migratory shorebirds visiting in the austral summer declined by around 20%. This was matched by an increase in the numbers of non-migratory shorebirds. The numbers of visiting Curlew Sandpipers decreased by 25-30% (1,000-1,500 birds), with the most change occurring in the 1990s. Lesser Sand Plover Charadrius mongolus numbers plummeted, decreasing by about 90% from their initial counts of around 500 birds. The decline was even more marked for Broad-billed Sandpipers Limicola falcinellus, with their numbers by the mid 1970s less than 5% of their peak. The numbers of Black-tailed Godwits, Common Greenshanks Tringa nebularia and Marsh Sandpipers Tringa stagnatilis also decreased, by 30-50% in each case. During the austral winter, immature Bar-tailed Godwits, Eastern Curlews and Curlew Sandpipers were present in high numbers. Their numbers began to decline in the 1980s. For Double-banded Plovers Charadrius bicinctus and some other small to medium shorebirds, the decline was already underway in 1982 if not earlier.