Terning it around – Fairy Tern Workshop

Home 🞂 Newsroom 🞂 Terning it around – Fairy Tern Workshop

Things are ‘terning’ around for this little bird.

Perhaps you haven’t heard much about it, but the Fairy Tern is a small bird which has a wingspan of 44-53cm with a distinctive black cap, yellow-brown bill and white forked tail.

It is currently listed as ‘vulnerable’ on the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999(EPBC Act) and under the Western Australian Wildlife Conservation Act 1950.

To learn more about the species, 15 local people gathered at a Fairy Tern workshop on Sunday at Jurien Bay, to organise a ‘tern around’ before the upcoming breeding season.

The workshop, coordinated by Dr Nic Dunlop and supported by NACC and DPaW, aimed to give attendees more information and a greater understanding of the vulnerable species. Workshop participants discussed important sites for Fairy Tern along the coast from Kalbarri to Guilderton, and made plans to check potential night roosts over the coming new moon, and next month.

What does this mean?

This will help them learn about the bird’s behaviour, development stages and numbers to predict habits prior to changes occurring, in preparation for upcoming breeding events. Participants also developed a way forward to support the South West Fairy Tern Project for the NAR. The project aims to develop local Fairy Tern Conservation strategies, which requires understanding of population structure; and have local people on-ground, keeping an eye out on predictive information prior to breeding, ready to assist with site management options when colonies do breed to give them the best chance of success.

The South West Fairy Tern Project workshop was held today for the Turquoise Coast with 15 local people keen to learn &…

Posted by Northern Agricultural Catchments Council (NACC) on Sunday, October 4, 2015

Fairy Terns are an iconic indicator for coastal sustainability and can provide valuable information on the state of coastal erosion, fisheries and visitor management to name a few.

They often choose breeding habitat that is not ideal for successful breeding events, and can be exposed to human impacts and predation. They nest on or near shorelines, mainland sites and island beaches, sand spits, blowouts, dredged spoil, and development footprints.

Over past summer breeding seasons along the Turquoise Coast, there have been several unsuccessful breeding events due to human impacts (four-wheel-driving through nesting sites) and predation by foxes and cats.

Fairy Tern workshop learnings:

• Two sub-populations in WA
• WA population of Fairy Tern, have the highest genetic diversity of all Australian populations
• 20% of breeding pairs produce 100% of offspring
• Courtship feeding displays of terns are important for successive breeding and management planning
• Information we collect is important to assist in management decisions in a changing climate
• Monitoring Fairy Terns in the region will assist to create a comprehensive regional snapshot of population dynamics and site management
• Citizen science is a very important aspect of the project involving local communities

If you are keen to be involved in the project or if you have sightings of Fairy Tern, they can be lodged with the South West Fairy Tern Project Coordinator fairytern@ccwa.org.au.

Fairy Tern Conservation Guide

View the Fairy Tern Conservation Plan on NARvis

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In 2020-21 I talked about ‘raising the bar’. In 2021-22 we worked on setting the bar on fire. Over the last 12 months, the team at NACC NRM has not stopped.

The Sustainable Agriculture team has extended the program’s reach through collaborations with grower groups in the regions. Specifically, the Beyond Reasonable Drought project and Grower Group Alliance – South West WA Drought Innovation Hub – Geraldton Node project. The Beyond Reasonable Drought partnership with grower groups supported farmers across the region to improve the environmental sustainability of their agricultural production and drought resilience. The outcomes of this project have been consolidated through our successful Expression of Interest to the South West WA Drought Innovation Hub, with support from grower groups across the region, to host the Geraldton Node of the Hub. The program continues to focus on working with agricultural networks to share technical expertise and provide opportunities that will improve land management practices in agriculture across the region.

The conservation outcomes of ranger teams have expanded through work on several land tenures. Maintaining Heritage sites such as Willi Gulli, Racecourse Paddock and Buller River has long been a priority. During 2021-22, the teams have increasingly focused on threatened species and ecosystems.

To this end, Western Mulga rangers have improved management across 19,000 ha for the conservation of Malleefowl through firebreak and access management. They completed the maintenance of water holes and supported the monitoring of over 90 Malleefowl mounds.

Similarly, the Kwelena Mambakort Aboriginal Corporate ranger team have contributed positively to Carnaby’s Black Cockatoo populations by installing artificial hollows and habitat restoration.

All ranger teams have collected native seed, propagated native plants for restoration, and planted native vegetation in key locations across the NAR. Seed collection provides valuable industry experience and has facilitated the planting of over 100,000 seedlings during the year.   

In September 2021, the NACC NRM team delivered the WA Threatened Species Forum, held in tandem with the National Malleefowl Forum. Given the impact of COVID and the timing of this event, having more than 100 delegates from all over Australia was a significant achievement. The two Forums brought together 12 events over five days and featured 14 local artists, 25 businesses and 36 youth participants.

Following the successful relaunch of our updated NARvis, NACC NRM was invited to help lead a significant piece of strategic planning work for the region with Mid West Development Commission and the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development. With funding from the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund, the consortia delivered a Regional Drought Resilience Plan covering the shires of Northampton and Chapman Valley and the City of Greater Geraldton, along with significant technical analysis of drought vulnerability for the South West land division. The development of this plan also included extensive community consultation to ensure that local knowledge and technical advice guided the development of priorities for action.

This planning work links to existing NACC NRM on-ground projects, including Beyond Reasonable Drought and the Chapman Catchment Collaborative regeneration project.

It was a busy year for events with face-to-face events becoming commonplace again. During 2021-22 we hosted events in Gingin, Moora, Dalwallinu, Cervantes, Jurien Bay, Walkaway, Nabawa, Perenjori, Kalannie and Morawa. We supported events in Karakin, Thundellara, Perenjori, Paynes Find, Wubin, Cataby, Warradarge, Northampton, Yuna, Dalwallinu and Dandaragan.

We also supported on-ground works throughout the region, including at the following locations Yuna, Dalwallinu, Dandaragan, Merkanooka, Goodlands, Kalannie, Bunjil, Yardarino, Canna, Kondut, Latham, Kadathinni, Nabawa, Red Gully, Sandy Gully, Waddy Forrest, Devils Creek, Perenjori, Bowgada, Ellendale, Wandana, Namban, Hill River, Warradarge, Gillingarra, Regans Ford and Moonyanooka.

Our region is vast – slightly larger than Tasmania, which for comparison, is serviced by three separate NRM organisations. Covering the NAR region and its many environmental threats is challenging. We continue to focus on partnerships and collaboration to address this challenge. We know that by working with our community through passionate delivery of collaborative on-ground projects and education, the community will value and actively protect our region’s natural capital.

This year we have launched a new Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP). The RAP Working Group consulted widely and developed an Innovate RAP which Reconciliation Australia approved in March 2022. The activities to fulfil these commitments are now in full swing.

Sadly, at the end of 2021, we farewelled former NACC NRM CEO Shelley Spriggs, who lost a long battle with cancer. Shelley was an inaugural inductee to the NRM Leadership Honour Roll. I will always be grateful for her guidance and no-nonsense approach, not to mention her passion for life.

While we have said farewell to some, we have welcomed many new faces across all programs, including our Administration team. We have also hosted a school-based trainee from Nagle Catholic College who has been working towards a Certificate II in Conservation and Ecosystem Management. This trial position has been very successful, and we look forward to making this opportunity available again in 2023.

During 2022 we have taken on new projects that align with our organisational and program objectives, and we have successfully completed some great initiatives that support continued conservation and sustainability outcomes. I want to thank the whole team who continue to go above and beyond for the organisation and each other proving their ongoing commitment to our purpose and our values.