Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola)

Conservation status

Commonwealth, EPBC Act 1999: Vulnerable.

Queensland, Nature Conservation Act 1992: Vulnerable.

New South Wales, Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016: Vulnerable.

Victoria, Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988: Vulnerable.

Northern Territory, Territory Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 1976: Near threatened.

Breeding season

Timing varies across Australia because birds arrive in the north earlier and move south during spring. Some young birds remain in Australia through their first breeding season instead of migrating north.

Month values are ordered January to December. Peak values indicate the main period described in the supplied sources, not continuous presence at every Australian site.

• Australian presence: Birds arrive in northern Australia mainly from August to October. Many continue south through October, with arrival on southern coasts usually from October to November. Some birds remain in Australia during their first breeding season.
• Northward migration: Birds wintering in northern Australia usually depart between February and April. Northward passage through the Flyway occurs mainly from March to June.
• Breeding and laying: Breeding occurs in the northern hemisphere, generally from late May to late June depending on latitude. Birds in Australia are normally non-breeding migrants.
• Young: Incubation lasts 26 to 27 days and fledging takes a further 35 to 45 days. Young birds may remain in Australia during their first breeding season.
• Highest clearing risk: The highest risk in Australia is during the main non-breeding period and spring to autumn movements, when birds are present in feeding and roosting habitat. Disturbance or habitat loss is likely to be most harmful from August to April, with high concentrations commonly occurring from October to March.

Identification

In Australia, Black-bellied Plovers are usually seen in non-breeding or juvenile plumage rather than full breeding plumage. They are large, long-legged plovers with a large head, large dark eyes and a dark bill.

Non-breeding adults are pale brownish-grey above, with white fringes to the upperparts and wing coverts. The forehead, sides of the head and neck are whitish and finely streaked grey-brown. The breast and flanks are lightly mottled or streaked, while the rest of the underbody is white.

The black wing-pit contrasts strongly with the white underwing when the bird flies. This is one of the most useful field characters. The legs and feet are dark grey to black.

Adult size: 27 to 31 cm long, with a 71 to 83 cm wingspan.

Weight: Approximately 250 g.

Identification: Age and plumage

Juveniles resemble non-breeding adults but have darker grey-brown upperparts with bold pale-gold or yellowish-white spotting and notching on the feathers. They also have a darker crown, a clearer white supercilium and stronger brown streaking on the breast and flanks.

Full breeding plumage is unlikely in Australia. Birds may retain some breeding plumage when arriving or before departing, including black underparts, a black face and strongly contrasting white areas on the head and breast.

Identification: Field separation

Separate this species from other medium-sized plovers by checking the combination of large head, large dark eyes, long legs, dark bill, relatively bulky build and the diagnostic black wing-pit in flight.

Pacific Golden Plovers and smaller sand plovers may occur at the same wetlands. The Black-bellied Plover is generally larger and heavier, and has a broader, more substantial appearance. Identification should be confirmed from several characters because plumage varies with age and season.

• Look for the black wing-pit when the bird takes flight.
• Record plumage, body size relative to nearby shorebirds, bill and leg colour, habitat and flock associations.
• Do not rely on calls, nests, tracks or scats for routine identification, because the supplied sources do not describe diagnostic field signs for these features.

Distribution: Australian range

The species is a long-distance migrant. Birds that occur in Australia breed in northern Siberia, Alaska and Canada, and use the East Asian to Australasian Flyway during migration.

Black-bellied Plovers have been recorded in all Australian states and are primarily found along the western and southern coasts. They also occur along the east coast, in the Northern Territory Top End and around the south-eastern Gulf of Carpentaria in Queensland.

The supplied conservation advice does not allocate records to formal Australian bioregions. For project assessment, treat suitable coastal wetlands, estuaries, bays, lagoons, beaches and nearby terrestrial wetlands as potential habitat wherever the species is recorded.

• Western Australia: coastal sites from Albany to the northern Kimberley support a major share of the Australian population.
• South Australia: the largest concentrations include the Coorong and western beaches of the Eyre Peninsula.
• Victoria and New South Wales: coastal bays, estuaries, lagoons and wetlands, including sites around Port Phillip Bay, are used.
• Queensland: regular records occur around the south-eastern Gulf of Carpentaria, as well as other suitable coastal wetlands.
• Northern Territory: small numbers are regularly recorded in the Top End.
• Tasmania: the species has been recorded, although the supplied advice does not identify a major Tasmanian stronghold.

Distribution: Strongholds and population trend

Western Australian sites support about 38 percent of the Australian population. In the east, a larger proportion of birds is associated with the Wrangel Island breeding population than in Western Australia.

Sites used during migration and the non-breeding season form a connected network. Loss or degradation at one site can affect birds that depend on several sites to rest and refuel.

Estimated mature individuals: 11,300, with a range of 9,800 to 14,200.

Change over three generations: Estimated decline of approximately 16 to 44 percent.

Recent annual change: Mean change of plus 1 percent per year from 2012 to 2021, with wide uncertainty.

Internationally important site threshold: More than 800 individuals regularly supported at a site.

Nationally important site threshold: More than 80 individuals regularly supported at a site.

Habitat: Wetland types

In Australia, habitat consists mainly of open coastal and near-coastal wetlands used for feeding and roosting. A suitable site usually contains a mosaic of exposed soft sediment and nearby undisturbed high-tide roosts.

The species uses sandflats, intertidal mudflats, saltmarshes and beaches on oceanic coasts, bays and estuaries. It also occurs around lagoons, near-coastal lakes and swamps, salt-lakes, claypans and, less often, reservoirs.

Feeding and roosting areas may be separated within the same wetland. Both areas should be retained when assessing clearing, reclamation, access tracks, lighting or construction near a record.

• Prioritise open intertidal mud and soft wet sand.
• Check sheltered embayments, estuaries and lagoons for sandy roosts above or between high tides.
• Include nearby mangrove mudflats, rocky platforms, reef-flats and terrestrial wetlands in habitat assessments where birds are recorded.

Habitat: Structure and setting

Feeding habitat is generally open, low and sparsely vegetated, with soft sediment that can be probed. Roosting habitat is commonly sheltered and sandy, including unvegetated sandbanks and sand-spits.

No specific elevation limit is provided. The Australian habitat described in the supplied sources is predominantly coastal or near coastal, although individuals can roost in claypans about 2 km from the sea and around other inland water storage sites.

• Map the tidal extent, upper tidal flats, saltmarsh edge, sandbanks, sand-spits and nearby freshwater or saline wetlands.
• Identify whether proposed works could remove sediment, change inundation, restrict tidal exchange or increase access to roosts.
• Treat artificial sand islands, saltworks, aquaculture areas, ports and wastewater wetlands as potential habitat, while recognising that artificial wetlands may support fewer shorebirds than natural wetlands.

Foraging habitat: Diet

Black-bellied Plovers feed mainly during daylight and usually forage alone or in small numbers. They use stop-start running, pecking and probing to find prey in exposed soft sediment.

The Australian diet includes marine polychaete worms, molluscs and crustaceans such as crabs and sand shrimps. In inland settings, birds may also take insects such as grasshoppers and beetles, and earthworms.

The species depends on healthy sediment communities. Industrial, urban and aquaculture discharges can alter sediment microorganisms and reduce the quality or availability of prey.

• Marine polychaete worms.
• Molluscs.
• Crabs and sand shrimps.
• Occasional insects and earthworms at inland wetlands.

Foraging habitat: Foraging areas and behaviour

Birds forage across the tidal range but may spend disproportionately long periods on upper tidal flats because these areas remain exposed for longer. They are sensitive to disturbance and do not usually form large feeding flocks.

There is no fixed foraging distance or home range reported in the supplied sources. Assess the full wetland unit, including adjacent upper tidal flats and alternative feeding areas used at different tide states.

• Survey exposed mudflats, sandflats, saltmarsh edges and soft wet beach sand across more than one tidal state where practicable.
• Record feeding birds separately from birds roosting on nearby sandbanks or spits.
• Control people, vehicles, dogs, lighting and noisy works near feeding areas because repeated disturbance can interrupt feeding and reduce energy reserves.

Breeding habitat: Breeding habitat

Black-bellied Plovers recorded in Australia do not normally breed here. They breed during the northern summer in Arctic regions, so Australian projects generally affect non-breeding birds rather than nests or dependent chicks.

Breeding habitat includes dry stony tundra with sedge, moss, lichen or grass. The species also uses dwarf birch, peat ridges in tundra marshes, exposed dry ridges, riverbanks, raised sand or gravel beaches and rocky slopes.

Nests are shallow scrapes on dry ground lined with stones and plant material. Neighbouring nests are generally more than 400 m apart.

• Retain open dry ground with sparse tundra vegetation, stones, mosses, lichens, sedges or grasses in the breeding range.
• Avoid assuming that an Australian coastal record represents a breeding site.
• During Australian works, manage feeding and roosting habitat because these are the life-cycle stages occurring in Australia.

Breeding habitat: Reproductive biology

Breeding season: Usually late May to late June, depending on latitude, in the northern breeding range.

Clutch size: Usually three or four eggs; four eggs are also reported in the broader species account.

Incubation: 26 to 27 days, with both parents incubating.

Fledging: Approximately 35 to 45 days after hatching in the Australian conservation advice; about 23 days is reported in the broader North American account.

Age at maturity: Not stated in the supplied documents.

Lifespan: Not stated in the supplied documents.

Sheltering habitat: Roost types

The main sheltering habitat used in Australia is roosting habitat at or near coastal wetlands. Roosts need to remain available while feeding areas are covered by the tide and should be protected from repeated disturbance.

Black-bellied Plovers usually roost in sandy areas such as unvegetated sandbanks and sand-spits along sheltered beaches, estuaries and lagoons. They are also recorded in small numbers on mangrove mudflats.

Less frequent roosts include muddy estuary edges, reservoirs, salt-lakes, claypans about 2 km from the sea, rocky coasts with wave-cut platforms and reef-flats within muddy lagoons.

• Map exposed sandbanks, sand-spits and artificial sand islands as roosting habitat.
• Check sheltered areas during high tide, when birds may be concentrated and more exposed to disturbance.
• Include nearby terrestrial wetlands and claypans in the search area if coastal roosts are unavailable or birds are recorded inland.

Sheltering habitat: Site protection

No nest, den, hollow or burrow is used in Australia. The main sheltering feature to protect is an undisturbed roost with suitable substrate and sufficient separation from people, vehicles, dogs, boats and construction activity.

The supplied documents do not provide a standard roost buffer distance. Project-specific buffers should therefore be based on observed flight responses, site use, the number of birds present, tidal conditions and relevant regulatory guidance.

• Keep plant, workers, vehicles and dogs away from active roosts wherever practicable.
• Avoid placing temporary lighting toward roosts, feeding flats or flight paths.
• Retain access between feeding flats and roosts and avoid barriers that force birds to cross roads or active work areas.

Threats: Clearing and development

The strongest threats are loss and degradation of coastal wetlands across the East Asian to Australasian Flyway, combined with disturbance and habitat change in Australia. Development sites can affect the species directly by removing feeding or roosting habitat, or indirectly by changing hydrology, sediment, light and access.

Residential, commercial, industrial, port, road, marina, canal and resort development can fill, reclaim, fragment or degrade estuaries, mudflats, saltmarshes and other coastal wetlands.

In Australia, shoreline development and altered local hydrology are major drivers of coastal wetland loss. Retaining only the visible feeding flat is not sufficient if nearby high-tide roosts are removed.

• Avoid clearing, filling or reclaiming intertidal mudflats, sandflats, saltmarshes, sandbanks and sand-spits.
• Keep construction compounds, access tracks, laydown areas and spoil outside feeding and roosting habitat.
• Assess indirect effects from drainage, stormwater, sediment runoff, changed salinity, altered tidal exchange and reduced sediment supply.
• Maintain connectivity between feeding areas, roosts and alternative wetland sites.

Threats: Disturbance and infrastructure activity

People, vehicles, boats, dogs, fishing, shellfish harvesting, aquaculture and tourism can cause birds to stop feeding and fly from roosts. Repeated disturbance can reduce energy reserves needed for migration and may affect survival or breeding success.

Light pollution can affect habitat used for feeding and roosting. Noise and movement should be controlled near occupied wetlands, especially where birds are concentrated at high tide.

• Schedule noisy, high-movement works away from periods when birds are concentrated at roosts, where practicable.
• Use exclusion fencing, dog controls, traffic controls and clear signage to keep people and vehicles away from active roosts.
• Turn off unnecessary lighting and direct unavoidable lights away from wetland edges, roosts and flight paths.
• Stop and reassess works if birds repeatedly flush from a feeding or roosting area.

Threats: Hydrology, sediment and vegetation change

Sea level rise, restricted river sediment supply, dams, river regulation and hard shoreline structures can reduce the area of suitable coastal wetland. Sea level rise may submerge feeding and roosting habitat where seawalls prevent wetlands from moving inland.

Cordgrass and mangrove expansion can replace open tidal flats with dense vegetation or elevated marsh. This reduces open foraging and roosting habitat and can restrict movement.

• Prevent sediment-laden runoff, concrete washout, fuel, chemicals and polluted stormwater from entering feeding habitat.
• Control invasive cordgrass and avoid works that promote mangrove or cordgrass encroachment into open flats, subject to approvals.
• Maintain natural tidal inundation, sediment movement and wetland salinity regimes where practicable.
• Do not use fire as a routine management tool in coastal wetlands without assessing effects on saltmarsh, sediment, prey and roost structure.

Threats: Other threats

Across the Flyway, hunting, accidental drowning in fishing nets and traps, pollution, aquaculture, industrial discharges and excessive harvesting of intertidal organisms also affect the species. These threats may reduce prey availability or cause direct mortality.

The supplied documents do not identify a species-specific Australian disease, predator or road mortality pattern. Roads and predators should still be assessed where they could cause wetland fragmentation, repeated disturbance or access to roosts.

• Prevent access by vehicles and dogs to feeding and roosting areas.
• Manage waste, hydrocarbons, pesticides, herbicides, heavy metals and nutrient-rich discharges near wetlands.
• Assess roads and crossings for changes to tidal flows, wetland connectivity and disturbance rather than relying only on collision records.
• Record any injured or dead birds, suspected net entanglement, pollution event or unusual mortality and report it through the project fauna management system.

Survey methodology: 1. Habitat assessment and desktop checks

Survey this species as a diurnal, migratory shorebird in coastal and near-coastal wetlands. Focus on exposed intertidal feeding areas, sheltered sandy roosts and connected wetland habitat, and time surveys to the period when birds are present in Australia.

Map sandflats, intertidal mudflats, saltmarshes, sandy banks and spits, sheltered beaches, estuaries, lagoons, mangrove mudflats and nearby coastal lakes, swamps, salt-lakes or claypans.

Check records from state wildlife databases, the National Directory of Important Migratory Shorebird Habitat, local shorebird groups and relevant land managers before fieldwork.

Identify whether the site is within or near a Ramsar wetland or a nationally or internationally important migratory shorebird site.

Treat feeding and roosting habitat as connected habitat. The species needs multiple sites for feeding, roosting, migration and energy storage.

Typical Australian size: 27 to 31 cm long, with a wingspan of 71 to 83 cm and a mass of about 250 g.

Australian presence: Migratory birds generally arrive in northern Australia from August to October, move south during October, and reach many southern sites between October and November.

Northern departure: Birds remaining in northern Australia usually leave between February and April. Some young birds remain in Australia during their first breeding season.

Survey methodology: 2. Diurnal tidal counts and transects

Survey during daylight across the full tidal cycle where practicable, because grey plovers forage through the tidal range and often spend substantial time on upper tidal flats.

Walk or slowly scan transects covering all accessible feeding and roosting habitat, including the upper tidal flat, soft wet sand, saltmarsh edge, sandy roosts and nearby artificial or terrestrial wetlands.

Record the start and finish time, tide state, weather, observer effort, route, area searched, species, count, behaviour and exact location of every bird or flock.

Use vantage points where walking would disturb birds. Scan with binoculars or a telescope from outside the roost or feeding area.

Repeat counts across suitable tidal states and dates when the project may affect habitat. The supplied conservation advice does not prescribe a fixed number of transects, survey hours or repeat visits, so set effort using the applicable state survey guideline and the habitat risk.

Main food: Marine polychaete worms, molluscs and crustaceans, including crabs and sand shrimps.

Typical feeding habitat: Mud or soft, wet sand on sandflats, intertidal mudflats, saltmarshes, beaches, bays and estuaries.

Typical roost habitat: Unvegetated sandbanks and sand-spits beside sheltered beaches, estuaries or lagoons, with occasional use of mangrove mudflats and inland wetland margins.

• Keep observers, vehicles and equipment away from roosts and feeding birds where possible.
• Do not flush birds to improve identification or counting.
• Record birds that leave before detection as a disturbance response, not as an absence record.

Survey methodology: 3. Roost and disturbance surveys

Search sheltered sandy areas, sandbanks, sand-spits, estuary margins, lagoons, mangrove mudflats and nearby reservoirs, salt-lakes and claypans for roosting birds.

Survey from a concealed or distant position and allow sufficient time for birds to settle before counting. The species is sensitive to disturbance and does not tend to form feeding flocks.

Inspect potential roosts at different stages of the tide, because exposed feeding areas and available roosts change as water levels change.

Record other users and disturbance sources, including pedestrians, dogs, vehicles, boats, fishing, shellfish harvesting, aquaculture and construction activity.

Internationally important site threshold: More than 800 grey plovers regularly supported, based on 1 percent of the flyway population.

Nationally important site threshold: More than 80 grey plovers regularly supported, based on 0.1 percent of the flyway population.

Recorded inland roost distance: Individuals have been recorded roosting on claypans 2 km from the sea.

• Use the least intrusive access route and stop or move back if birds repeatedly flush, circle, call in alarm or abandon the roost.
• Include adjacent habitat that birds may use when disturbed, rather than limiting the survey to the project footprint.

Survey methodology: 4. Identification and records

Confirm identification using the species' pale grey-brown non-breeding plumage, white head and underparts, dark patch near the eye and ear-coverts, and the diagnostic black wing-pit visible in flight.

Expect non-breeding adults and juveniles in Australia. Full breeding plumage is unlikely, although some birds may retain breeding-plumage features on arrival or before departure.

Photograph birds only when this can be done without approaching or flushing them, and retain the original image with the field record.

Record flock size, age or plumage where possible, behaviour, feeding or roosting habitat, tide, disturbance and any leg flags or injuries.

• Submit confirmed records, including nil or notable disturbance records where required, to the relevant state or territory wildlife database and the project record system.
• Report records from internationally or nationally important sites to the project ecologist and relevant land manager before works proceed.

Survey methodology: Minimum effort and reporting

• Use a qualified ecologist to document the survey design and apply the relevant state or territory survey guideline because the supplied documents do not provide a fixed species-specific survey effort.
• Cover every potential feeding and roosting area within the disturbance footprint and the areas likely to receive displaced birds.
• Schedule surveys in the Australian non-breeding period, with repeat tidal observations where the project could remove, modify or disturb wetland habitat.
• Record effort in a reproducible form, including observers, dates, times, tide, weather, route or vantage points, area searched, equipment, detection conditions and results.
• Submit records to the relevant state or territory wildlife database and update the project fauna register.
• Assess the site against the 80 bird national threshold and 800 bird international threshold where repeated counts indicate regular use.

Before habitat disturbance: 1. Avoid and minimise habitat loss

Avoid impacts to feeding and roosting habitat first. A project can affect birds even when no animal is present on the day, because grey plovers depend on a connected network of sites during migration and the Australian non-breeding season.

Retain intertidal mudflats, upper tidal flats, soft wet sand, saltmarsh, open sandy roosts, estuary margins, lagoons and connected near-coastal wetlands.

Avoid filling, draining, reclaiming, compacting or changing the hydrology, salinity, sediment supply or tidal access of feeding or roosting areas.

Retain open sandbanks and sand-spits used for roosting, and avoid replacing open tidal flats with dense mangrove or cordgrass growth.

Maintain movement between feeding areas, roosts and nearby alternative wetlands. Include terrestrial wetlands and claypans up to 2 km inland where they are used by the species.

Avoid new lighting, noise, vehicle access, boat activity and public access beside known roosts and feeding areas.

• Use the smallest practicable disturbance footprint and place compounds, access tracks, stockpiles and lighting outside mapped habitat.
• Use a site-specific disturbance buffer set by the ecologist and approval conditions, based on observed bird responses, habitat sensitivity and the activity proposed.
• Treat nationally or internationally important habitat as habitat critical to the species' survival and do not destroy or modify it.

Before habitat disturbance: 2. Approvals and project planning

Check whether the action is likely to have a significant impact on this EPBC Act listed Vulnerable and migratory species or its important habitat, and obtain an EPBC Act referral or approval where required.

Check state and territory threatened-species, wildlife, wetland, vegetation clearing and disturbance requirements before works begin.

Confirm the current local listing and permit requirements in the relevant state or territory, because the species is listed as Vulnerable in New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria, and Near Threatened in the Northern Territory.

Prepare a fauna management plan that identifies mapped habitat, survey results, exclusion areas, stop-work triggers, authorised personnel, wetland controls, incident response and reporting requirements.

Australian EPBC status: Vulnerable and listed as a migratory species.

International agreements: JAMBA, CAMBA and ROKAMBA, and Appendix II of the Convention on Migratory Species.

• Plan high-noise, high-light or habitat-removal works outside periods of regular use where the approval authority and ecologist identify a lower-risk timing window.
• Stage works so that alternative feeding and roosting habitat remains available before any habitat is disturbed.
• Consult Traditional Owners and relevant wetland managers where the site is on or near Country identified in the conservation advice.

Before habitat disturbance: 3. Pre-clearance preparation

Complete a pre-clearance inspection immediately before works, using the approved survey method and checking all feeding, roosting and alternative wetland areas that could be affected.

Mark exclusion areas, access routes, roosts, feeding flats, sandy banks, wetland edges, drainage lines and any habitat to be retained on plans and on the ground.

Install exclusion fencing or other barriers where they can prevent people, vehicles, dogs and machinery entering habitat without blocking bird movement or tidal flows.

Brief all workers and fauna spotter catchers on the species' appearance, habitat, disturbance sensitivity, stop-work triggers and reporting procedure.

Check that sediment, dust, contaminated water, rubbish, weeds, artificial lighting and noise controls are installed before disturbance.

• Do not use fencing, bunds, lighting or access tracks that funnel birds into unsafe areas or cut off a roost from feeding habitat.
• Treat habitat retained for displaced birds as a no-go area and control access to it before the impact starts.

During habitat disturbance: 1. Daily controls and spotter catcher duties

Keep works away from birds and their feeding and roosting habitat. The fauna spotter catcher should work as part of the construction team, with authority to stop work when controls fail or birds are exposed to unacceptable disturbance.

Inspect exclusion fencing, wetland controls, lighting, access routes and retained habitat before work starts each day.

Use the fauna spotter catcher to check the active work area, nearby roosts and feeding areas before machinery enters or moves between work zones.

Maintain the approved buffer and keep workers, vehicles, dogs, boats and machinery out of marked habitat.

Keep machinery on defined access routes and prevent sediment, concrete wash, fuel, rubbish, spoil and contaminated water entering wetlands or tidal flats.

Direct all sightings and fauna incidents to the fauna spotter catcher and environmental officer, rather than allowing workers to approach birds.

• Use the spotter catcher to communicate clear stop, slow and exclusion instructions to operators by radio or agreed hand signals.
• Do not chase, herd, catch or deliberately flush grey plovers.
• Reduce noise, lighting and activity immediately if birds begin repeated alarm flight, circling, calling, feeding interruption or abandonment of a roost.

During habitat disturbance: 2. If a grey plover is found

Stop the activity affecting the bird and allow the fauna spotter catcher or ecologist to assess the situation from a distance.

Keep people, vehicles and machinery back while the bird moves to retained habitat, unless it is injured, trapped or at immediate risk.

Only an appropriately authorised person may capture, handle or relocate the bird, and handling must follow the permit, animal-welfare requirements and project fauna management plan.

If relocation is approved and necessary, move the bird only to nearby suitable retained habitat identified by the ecologist, with access to feeding or roosting areas and minimal further disturbance.

Take an injured or grounded bird to an appropriately qualified veterinarian or licensed wildlife carer through the approved wildlife rescue pathway.

• Do not relocate a healthy bird simply because it is near the work area if work can stop and the bird can leave without handling.
• Do not place a bird in a cage, vehicle or container unless authorised personnel determine that capture is necessary for its welfare.
• Record the location, condition, action taken, destination, personnel, permit details and outcome for every handled or injured bird.

During habitat disturbance: 3. Habitat and stop-work controls

Stop work if a bird enters the active work area, if a roost or feeding area is disturbed beyond the approved limits, or if exclusion fencing, wetland controls or buffers fail.

Stop work and obtain ecological advice if birds repeatedly abandon a roost, cease feeding, make repeated alarm flights or are prevented from reaching an alternative wetland.

Stop work if unapproved clearing, filling, drainage alteration, lighting, pollution, vehicle access or public access affects mapped habitat.

Protect retained logs, rocks, banks and other terrestrial features only where they form part of a connected wetland or roosting area; the supplied species advice does not identify these as breeding shelters for grey plovers.

Prevent machinery from entering mudflats, saltmarsh, sandbanks, sand-spits and wetland margins unless the action is specifically approved and controlled.

• The environmental officer must decide when controls are restored and when work may resume, with advice from the ecologist where the trigger involves birds or habitat.
• Escalate any suspected pollution, habitat loss or unauthorised disturbance under the approval and incident procedures.

During habitat disturbance: 4. Daily records

• Record daily bird observations, counts, locations, behaviour, tide, weather, disturbance sources, work activity, control checks and any bird responses.
• Keep a register of stop-work events, handling, relocation, injury, mortality, complaints, pollution events and corrective actions.
• Photograph damaged fencing, habitat, pollution or other incidents without approaching birds or entering exclusion areas.
• Report any death, injury, unauthorised habitat disturbance or repeated displacement promptly to the project environmental officer and the relevant authority where required.

After habitat disturbance: 1. Post-clearance checks

Do not treat completion of earthworks as completion of the fauna obligation. Check that habitat and birds have not been displaced into unsafe areas, and keep controls in place until the approved risk period has ended.

Inspect the full work area and retained habitat after clearing, construction or infrastructure installation for stranded, injured or dead birds.

Check feeding flats, roosts, wetland edges, access tracks, drainage structures, sediment controls, lighting and waste areas for direct or indirect impacts.

Confirm that all temporary materials, fencing, spoil, debris and access routes have been removed or stabilised without reducing open feeding or roosting habitat.

Repeat diurnal tidal observations where the project has affected a known roost, feeding area, wetland connection or alternative habitat.

• Keep exclusion fencing, buffers and access controls in place until the fauna management plan and ecologist confirm that they are no longer required.
• Repair any erosion, sediment release, drainage blockage, lighting spill or other impact before demobilisation.

After habitat disturbance: 2. Monitoring and reporting

Monitor use of retained and restored habitat during the next suitable Australian non-breeding period, with timing and effort set by the approval, state guideline and project risk.

Compare post-work counts, habitat condition, tide and disturbance observations with the pre-work baseline rather than relying on a single presence or absence record.

Report grey plover records and any changes in important habitat to the relevant state or territory wildlife database, land manager and approval authority where required.

Document whether birds continued to feed and roost, whether they moved to alternative areas, and whether repeated disturbance or habitat degradation occurred.

Nationally important threshold: More than 80 grey plovers regularly supported.

Internationally important threshold: More than 800 grey plovers regularly supported.

• Include maps, survey effort, raw counts, photographs, incidents, stop-work events, rehabilitation results and corrective actions in the final environmental report.
• If regular counts approach or exceed 80 birds, seek advice on national importance. If they approach or exceed 800 birds, seek advice on international importance and approval implications.

After habitat disturbance: 3. Offsets and corrective action

Apply any offset, compensatory habitat, restoration or additional monitoring required by the EPBC Act approval, state approval or condition of consent.

Do not use an offset as a substitute for avoiding or minimising loss of habitat critical to the species' survival.

Review the work method and strengthen buffers, timing, access, lighting, noise, sediment or wetland controls if monitoring shows reduced feeding, roost use or repeated displacement.

• Escalate unplanned habitat loss or disturbance to the approval holder and regulator, and implement the approved corrective action.
• Retain all fauna and habitat records for the period specified in the project approvals.

Rehabilitation actions: 1. Restore feeding and roosting habitat

Rehabilitation should restore open coastal wetland function, not just plant a vegetated surface. Grey plovers need accessible soft sediment for feeding and open, sheltered areas for roosting, connected across the tidal and non-breeding season network.

Reinstate natural tidal access, wetland hydrology, sediment movement and salinity conditions where works have altered them.

Re-form soft, wet mud or sand on suitable intertidal flats and retain open upper tidal flats for foraging.

Create or restore sheltered, unvegetated sandbanks and sand-spits above or beside feeding areas for roosting, where supported by the approved coastal design and geomorphology.

Retain or restore connections between estuaries, lagoons, saltmarsh, beaches, near-coastal wetlands and inland wetlands used by the species.

Do not revegetate all open roost or feeding surfaces, because dense vegetation can remove the open habitat grey plovers use.

• Use locally appropriate native saltmarsh and coastal wetland species only where planting is required to restore the wetland community, and keep planting out of mapped open sand roosts and feeding flats.
• Use local seed or plant material and a wetland design approved by the project ecologist and relevant land manager.
• Remove or control cordgrass, invasive mangroves or other weeds where they replace open feeding or roosting habitat, subject to permits and a controlled weed-management plan.

Rehabilitation actions: 2. Site protection and threat reduction

Control dogs, vehicles, people, boats, lighting, fishing access and other disturbance around restored feeding and roosting areas.

Install signs, gates, fencing or access controls only where they protect habitat without blocking bird movement, tidal exchange or access to feeding areas.

Maintain sediment, erosion, stormwater, pollution and rubbish controls until the wetland is stable and water quality is suitable for benthic prey.

Do not add hollow-bearing trees, logs, rocks or nest boxes as a grey plover measure unless another species requires them, because the supplied advice identifies open wetland habitat rather than tree hollows or terrestrial shelters.

Main prey group to protect: Macrobenthos, including marine worms, molluscs and crustaceans.

• Avoid pesticides, fertilisers and other contaminants that may reduce or contaminate the macrobenthos used by grey plovers.
• Manage predators and pest animals where an approved ecological assessment identifies a risk to shorebirds or wetland function.

Rehabilitation actions: 3. Monitoring and success measures

Monitor restored areas during suitable tides and daylight in the Australian non-breeding period, using repeat counts and habitat-condition checks specified by the approval or rehabilitation plan.

Measure whether open feeding substrate, upper tidal flats, sheltered roosts, tidal connectivity, wetland water quality and weed control targets have been achieved.

Record grey plover presence, counts, feeding, roosting, disturbance responses and use of nearby alternative habitat.

Compare results with the pre-disturbance baseline and investigate failure if birds do not return, feeding time is reduced, roosts are abandoned or habitat becomes overgrown or contaminated.

• Set measurable completion criteria in the rehabilitation plan for habitat area, open substrate, hydrology, weed cover, access control, water quality and repeated grey plover use.
• Continue maintenance and monitoring until the approval holder and ecologist confirm that the habitat is functioning and threats are controlled.
• Submit significant records and monitoring results to the relevant state or territory wildlife database and land manager.

Rehabilitation actions: 4. Fire and broader wetland management

Use a fire regime that protects saltmarsh, mangrove margins, coastal wetland vegetation and wetland soils, with advice from the land manager and fire authority.

Prevent firebreaks, burns, vehicle access or fuel reduction works from removing open roosts, altering drainage or disturbing birds during periods of regular use.

Coordinate weed, predator, hydrology, sediment and access management across the retained wetland rather than managing the rehabilitation plot in isolation.

• Document any fire, flood, storm or erosion event that changes feeding or roosting habitat and reassess the rehabilitation plan.
• Do not undertake unplanned burning, drainage works or vegetation removal in habitat used by grey plovers without ecological and approval review.

Sources

• Conservation Advice for Pluvialis squatarola (grey plover), Australian Government DCCEEW: https://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/species/pubs/865-conservation-advice-05012024.pdf
• Microsoft Word - SSR149_Vulnerability_Assessment.doc, Australian Government DCCEEW: https://www.dcceew.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/ssr149-web.pdf
• Pluvialis squatarola Black-bellied Plover - Species Summary, a100.gov.bc.ca: https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/speciesSummary.do;jsessionid=2F5C9E5B16CF29FC570540E37A0756F7?id=16615