Migrating wader birds in the Cove
Small numbers of Bar Tailed Godwits who live in the arctic tundra of Siberia and Alaska in the Northern Hemisphere summer and in Australia during our summer have been in the cove for the past few months. In early summer there was a group of 4 and now there are 8! There are hundreds of godwits currently living in the Kooragang Island wetlands and Stockton sands after considerable effort by volunteers to preserve the habitats. The Godwits share the amazing East Asian- Australian Flyway migratory path with about 55 other wading birds. Tracking of individual birds showed that this species migrates further without stopping than any other bird.
Waders are a threatened species as their habitats are affected by development both here and in the North . There has been some success in increasing numbers through the Agreement on the Conservation of African–Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA).
For more information see the Melbourne Museum website.
Other migratory birds in the cove are the Koel and the Channel billed Cuckoo.
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