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Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos)

The Common Sandpiper is a small migratory shorebird that breeds in Eurasia and visits Australia during the non-breeding season. It uses muddy edges, rocky shores and shallow margins of coastal and inland wetlands, including rivers, pools, dams, claypans, estuaries and tidal creeks, so clearing and hydrology changes near wetlands can remove feeding and resting habitat.

Conservation status

Victoria, Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988: Vulnerable.

Breeding season

The Common Sandpiper is a Eurasian breeder and an Australian non-breeding migrant. Timing varies across the broad Australian range, and some birds may remain in northern Australia through the Australian winter.

Months are indicative for field planning and should be adjusted using local records, wetland conditions and pre-clearance surveys. The species is most often an Australian non-breeding migrant, although some birds may remain in northern Australia during the Australian winter.

  • Migration and Australian arrival: Eastern breeding populations migrate to Australia and south Asia to Melanesia for the non-breeding season. The supplied documents do not give a single national arrival month, so this pattern represents the usual period of higher presence rather than a fixed migration date.
  • Non-breeding presence and feeding: The species uses Australian coastal and inland wetlands during the non-breeding season. Some birds may remain in northern Australia throughout the Australian winter.
  • Breeding in Eurasia: Breeding is generally May to August in Eurasia. Australian works are not normally affecting breeding birds, but Australian wetlands form part of the annual migratory cycle.
  • Young dependent in Eurasia: Incubation takes about 22 days and young remain in the nest for about 28 days. The supplied documents do not give a fledging or post-fledging dependence period.
  • Return movement: The species migrates between Eurasian breeding areas and Australian non-breeding areas. Exact return dates for Australian populations are not provided.
  • Highest clearing risk: Risk is highest whenever birds are using a wetland affected by clearing, construction, disturbance or hydrology change. Because the species can occur in Australia across much of the year, site-specific surveys should determine occupancy before works.

Identification

The Common Sandpiper is a small, active shorebird that usually occurs alone or in small numbers. It feeds along wet margins and often bobs its head and teeters while walking.

It is grey-brown above and white below, with white extending upwards in a pointed wedge between the wing and the dark breast band. The bird has an indistinct white eyebrow, a white eye-ring, a dark grey bill with yellow at the base, and legs ranging from greyish-olive to yellowish-brown.

The long tail projects clearly beyond the wing tips when the bird is at rest. When disturbed, it flies low, usually over water, with down-curved, flicking wings.

Body length: 19 to 21 cm

Weight: Not provided in the supplied documents

Call: ‘Tee-tee-tee’, with a tittering or trailing note mainly during breeding

  • Look for a small sandpiper moving quickly along the waterline, repeatedly bobbing its head and teetering as it feeds.
  • Listen for a ‘tee-tee-tee’ call and a tittering or trailing note, although the latter is heard mainly during breeding.

Identification: Separating similar species

The species can be confused with other small sandpipers, including Wood Sandpiper and Terek Sandpiper. The supplied documents do not provide a full comparison of diagnostic differences, so identification should be based on the combination of the long tail projecting beyond the wings, grey-brown upperparts, white underparts, pointed white shoulder or breast wedge, and characteristic teetering movement.

  • Use photographs, call recordings and an experienced observer when the bird is distant, in poor light or seen only in flight.

Identification: Field signs

The main field evidence is the bird itself, its teetering feeding movement, low flicking flight and calls. The supplied documents do not describe diagnostic tracks, scats, pellets, feathers, nests used in Australia, eyeshine or other signs suitable for confirming presence after the bird has left.

  • Record the wetland type, water margin, salinity, substrate, vegetation cover, number of birds and behaviour during a fauna inspection.
  • Treat a single observation as relevant because 56 records have been reported across the BHP strategic assessment area, including locations near Newman, Jimblebar, Rocklea and the railway south of Port Hedland.

Distribution: Australian range

The Common Sandpiper breeds across Eurasia and migrates to Australia and other parts of Australasia during the non-breeding season. In Australia it is widespread in small numbers, with records along all coastlines and at inland wetlands, especially in northern and western Australia.

The species occurs in coastal and inland parts of Australia. It has been recorded in northern and western Australia and may occur at wetlands well inland from the coast.

The supplied documents do not provide a state-by-state range or a bioregion-level distribution. Records and suitable habitat should therefore be assessed locally wherever shallow coastal or inland wetlands occur.

  • Check estuaries, deltas, river margins, pools, billabongs, reservoirs, dams, claypans, marshes, tidal creeks and other shallow wetland edges.
  • Include wetlands near mines, railways, roads and construction areas in targeted checks because the species has been recorded within or near infrastructure footprints.

Distribution: Important locations and populations

Roebuck Bay in northern Western Australia is identified as an area of national importance, with a maximum count of 40 birds. It is about 460 kilometres north-east of the BHP strategic assessment area described in the source.

The Common Sandpiper was known from one location about 10 kilometres east of Newman and was considered likely at another location near the northern boundary of that strategic assessment area. It may occur across the wider area.

East Asian-Australasian Flyway population: About 190,000 individuals

Australian population: About 3,000 individuals

Global population: About 2.6 to 3.2 million individuals

Known records in the BHP strategic assessment area: 56 records

  • Do not assume that a site is unimportant because it supports only one or a few birds. The species is widespread in small numbers and may use wetlands intermittently.
  • Consider local records together with wetland availability, rather than relying only on large shorebird counts.

Distribution: Population trend

The global population trend is decreasing, although some populations are stable and others have unknown trends. Monitoring data from Port Hedland and Dampier saltworks indicated no decline at those monitored sites at the time of the cited assessment.

  • Use repeat surveys and records from wetland edges to detect changes in local use over time.
  • Report observations to the project database and relevant state biodiversity database so that small, dispersed records are not lost.

Habitat: Wetland types

The Common Sandpiper uses a broad range of coastal and inland wetlands, in both saline and fresh water. It is most often associated with shallow water margins where muddy or rocky substrate is exposed.

Australian habitat includes estuaries, stream and river deltas, upstream river sections, lakes, pools, billabongs, reservoirs, dams and claypans. It also uses marshy areas, tidal creeks, mangrove swamps, saltmarshes, freshwater seeps, harbours, docks and sewage treatment filtration tanks.

It generally uses muddy edges or rocky shores and generally avoids large coastal mudflats.

  • Map shallow margins and exposed wet edges within and beside the development footprint.
  • Include both saline and freshwater wetlands in habitat assessments.
  • Inspect temporary or artificial wetlands, including dams and water treatment areas, where shallow margins and prey are available.

Habitat: Structure and setting

The species uses open wet margins with mud, rock, sand or shallow water. It may also forage on grassland along roadsides and occasionally in gardens, but the supplied sources do not define a required vegetation community, tree size, water depth or minimum patch size.

  • Record bank substrate, exposed mud, shallow water, emergent vegetation, nearby grassland and the degree of human disturbance.
  • Assess upstream and downstream connections because altered surface-water and groundwater regimes can change wetland availability.

Habitat: Climate and elevation

During breeding, the species occurs from sea level to more than 4,000 metres in Eurasia, but it generally avoids frozen, snow-covered or very hot areas. Australian elevation limits are not specified in the supplied documents.

  • Apply local habitat assessment across both lowland coastal wetlands and inland wetland systems rather than excluding sites solely because they are inland.

Foraging habitat: Diet

The Common Sandpiper feeds during the day, usually along the edge of shallow water. It is an active hunter that follows prey over mud, rocks and other wet substrates.

The diet includes adult and larval insects, including beetles and flies, spiders, molluscs, snails, crustaceans and annelids. It sometimes takes frogs, toads, tadpoles and small fish, as well as seeds and other plant material.

  • Retain wet margins and exposed muddy or rocky substrate where aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates can occur.
  • Prevent sediment, pollution, excess nutrients and invasive plants from reducing prey availability.

Foraging habitat: Feeding behaviour

The species forages by day and may follow prey over rocks. It has also been recorded swimming underwater. It is generally solitary in its winter range, although birds may gather at night in larger roosts.

  • During surveys, watch the waterline and exposed wet substrate rather than searching only open water.
  • Record feeding, roosting, bathing and flight behaviour because feeding observations help identify habitat being used by the species.

Foraging habitat: Foraging area

The supplied documents do not give a home-range size or regular foraging distance. The species may use a wide range of separate wetland types, from estuaries and tidal creeks to dams, pools, riverbanks and claypans.

  • Assess connected wetland margins and nearby grassland together where a project may remove or alter more than one feeding area.
  • Maintain access to shallow wet margins during construction and operation where practicable.

Breeding habitat: Breeding habitat

The Common Sandpiper breeds in Eurasia rather than in Australia. Australian project assessments should focus on non-breeding feeding and resting habitat, while recognising that breeding habitat can be affected elsewhere along the migratory route.

Breeding habitat includes pebbly, sandy or rocky margins of fast-flowing rivers, small ponds, pools, dams and clear freshwater lake shores. It also uses sheltered sea coasts with rocky or sandy beaches, tidal creeks and estuaries, and may forage in dry meadow near breeding wetlands.

The nest may be an open shallow depression or a more complex nest containing leaves and grass. It is often hidden in thick vegetation and may be placed among shrubs or trees.

  • Protect vegetated margins and adjacent ground cover around suitable freshwater and coastal breeding wetlands where the species occurs overseas.
  • Control recreational and construction disturbance near known breeding sites.

Breeding habitat: Breeding biology

The female builds the nest alone. Both sexes share incubation and care of the young. More than one brood may be produced in a year.

Breeding season: May to August

Clutch size: 3 to 5 eggs

Incubation: About 22 days

Time in nest: About 28 days

Age at maturity: Not provided in the supplied documents

Lifespan: Not provided in the supplied documents

Sheltering habitat: Roosts and cover

The supplied documents describe resting and roosting use but do not identify a specialised den, hollow or burrow. In Australia, the species is usually associated with wetland margins and nearby cover during the non-breeding season.

The species is generally solitary in its winter range, but it may aggregate at night in roosts of more than 100 birds. Suitable non-breeding settings include riverbanks, pond and dam margins, marshy areas, estuaries, tidal creeks, saltmarshes, freshwater seeps, harbours and docks.

The species may use grassland near wetlands and vegetation around shallow water. The supplied documents do not provide roost dimensions, minimum cover height or a required buffer distance.

  • Inspect quiet wetland edges and islands, exposed mud, rocks, low vegetation and other dry resting places at dawn, dusk and during daytime surveys.
  • Keep construction activity, vehicle access and artificial lighting away from occupied wetland margins where practicable.
  • Include roost sites in site controls even when bird numbers are low.

Sheltering habitat: Site fidelity and disturbance

Migratory shorebirds can be affected by the loss of resting and feeding sites because long flights and site fidelity increase reliance on suitable stopover habitat. Disturbance can reduce feeding and resting time and the energy available for migration.

  • Avoid repeated disturbance of occupied roosts and feeding margins during the period when birds are present.
  • Use pre-clearing inspections and stop-work procedures if Common Sandpipers or other shorebirds are found in the active work area.

Threats: Clearing and habitat loss

The main risks are loss or modification of wetland habitat, altered hydrology, reduced prey availability and disturbance. These risks can arise from clearing, earthworks, roads, railways, mining, water extraction, pollution and infrastructure near wetland margins.

Infrastructure and coastal development can remove or modify feeding and resting habitat. Development beside mudflats and other wetlands can also increase disturbance and reduce habitat availability.

The department identified records within or near mine and rail footprints and recommended continued monitoring for the species and suitable habitat around development areas.

  • Avoid clearing muddy, rocky or vegetated wetland margins where practicable.
  • Survey wetlands within and beside the proposed clearing area before works begin.
  • Retain wetland buffers and movement between connected wetland sections where practicable.

Threats: Hydrology and water quality

Changes to surface-water or groundwater regimes can alter the availability of shallow feeding habitat. Silt, pollution, excess nutrients, industrial contaminants and acid sulphate soil exposure can reduce prey and change wetland chemistry.

Invasive plants such as Water Hyacinth and Cord Grass can reduce suitable feeding areas.

  • Prevent sediment and contaminated water from entering wetlands and drainage lines.
  • Manage dewatering, diversion, filling and drainage so that shallow wet margins are not removed or dried unexpectedly.
  • Control invasive wetland plants and prevent their spread between waterbodies.

Threats: Disturbance, roads and predators

Construction, vehicles, recreation and other activity near feeding or roosting sites can disrupt behaviour and reduce time available for feeding and resting. Feral cats and foxes are recognised predators of migratory shorebirds.

The supplied documents do not provide species-specific road mortality rates, disease risks or fire thresholds for the Common Sandpiper.

  • Limit vehicle access, speed and unnecessary activity near occupied wetland margins.
  • Use fauna spotter catchers and environmental officers to check wetland edges before clearing and during works.
  • Keep food waste and construction materials secured to avoid attracting feral predators.
  • Treat fire and roadside drainage as site-specific risks where they alter wetland vegetation, prey or water levels.

Threats: Monitoring and assessment

The department found that the approved class of actions was unlikely to have a significant impact on the Common Sandpiper because no important habitat or ecologically significant proportion of the population had been identified in the assessed area. It nevertheless recommended continued monitoring because the species was known or likely to occur and 56 records had been reported.

New records of important habitat or an ecologically significant proportion of the population should trigger reassessment with the relevant regulator.

  • Repeat surveys around the footprint and nearby wetlands and retain georeferenced records of birds, habitat and behaviour.
  • Assess cumulative effects where several projects affect the same wetland system or connected waterbodies.

Survey methodology: 1. Daytime wetland searches

The Common Sandpiper is a small, migratory shorebird that uses coastal and inland wetlands, including saline or fresh water. Survey effort should focus on muddy edges, rocky shores, shallow water, riverbanks, pools, dams, drainage features and other wetland margins within and near the proposed disturbance area.

Walk or slowly scan all suitable wetland margins, including muddy edges, rocky shores, shallow pools, riverbanks, streams, dams, billabongs, claypans, estuaries and tidal creeks.

Search from a position that does not cause birds to leave the wetland, using binoculars where possible.

Record each bird's location, behaviour, habitat, water level, salinity where known, and distance from the proposed disturbance.

Body length: 19 to 21 cm

Australian habitat: Coastal or inland wetlands, fresh or saline, especially muddy edges and rocky shores

Activity: Diurnal foraging

  • Search both the proposed clearing footprint and nearby retained habitat that could be affected by noise, dust, lighting, drainage changes or access.
  • Pay particular attention to solitary small sandpipers moving along the waterline, bobbing or teetering while feeding, or flying low over water when disturbed.

Survey methodology: 2. Timing and repeat visits

Schedule searches when suitable wetland habitat is present and birds are likely to be using the site during the Australian non-breeding season.

Repeat searches where water levels, inundation or habitat condition change, because the species uses pools, dams, streams, riverbanks, marshy areas, estuaries, tidal creeks and other wetland types.

Avoid relying on a single negative search, particularly where habitat is intermittent or the species has been recorded in the wider project area.

Migration: Breeds in Eurasia and visits Australia during the non-breeding season

Known project-area records in the assessment: 56 records within the BHP strategic assessment area

Australian population estimate cited in: Approximately 3,000 birds

  • Plan searches around daylight hours because the species forages by day.
  • Record the date, start and finish time, weather, recent rainfall, water presence, water level and survey conditions for every visit.
  • Use seasonal records and nearby database records to identify periods when the species may be present before finalising the survey schedule.

Survey methodology: 3. Habitat and detection mapping

Map all wetland habitat within the disturbance footprint and in adjacent retained areas that could be affected by the project.

Mark the location of records, feeding areas, roosting areas if observed, wetland boundaries, drainage lines, access routes and any locations where birds repeatedly flush.

Assess whether a site could support a larger concentration of migratory shorebirds, noting that did not identify a known important habitat site for the species in the assessed area.

Known location in the assessment: One location 10 km east of Newman, within the full conceptual development footprint

Other records near the assessed footprint: Newman and Jimblebar mines, Rocklea mine, and a rail-line section approximately 75 km south of Port Hedland

Important habitat threshold cited in: No known site recorded more than 190 Common Sandpipers, representing 0.1% of the Flyway population estimate of 190,000

  • Document the extent and condition of muddy, sandy, rocky, vegetated and shallow-water margins rather than recording only the open water area.
  • Record disturbance responses, including low flight over water, and keep observers and machinery away from repeatedly used feeding areas where practicable.
  • Use photographs and mapped coordinates to support the pre-clearance and environmental approval records.

Survey methodology: Minimum effort and reporting

  • Use a qualified ecologist to determine the number and spacing of visits from the size, wetland condition, disturbance footprint and project risk, because the supplied documents do not prescribe a species-specific survey effort such as nights, trap nights, transect length or area searched.
  • Record all sightings, calls, flight observations, habitat use and evidence of absence, including nil results and the area and duration searched.
  • Submit confirmed records and suitable habitat observations to the relevant state wildlife database and, where required, the Atlas of Living Australia or project approval reporting system.
  • Reassess the impact assessment if surveys identify an ecologically significant proportion of the population, important habitat, or repeated use of a wetland that may be affected.

Before habitat disturbance: Avoid and minimise

Treat wetland margins and shallow-water habitat as sensitive fauna areas before clearing or construction. The species may occur in small numbers and may be missed if surveys are limited to open water or a single visit.

Avoid clearing or filling muddy edges, rocky shores, shallow pools, riverbanks, streams, dams, billabongs, claypans, estuaries, tidal creeks and other wetlands used by the species.

Retain wetland connectivity and natural surface-water movement so that feeding areas are not isolated or dried, inundated or polluted by project drainage.

Keep work areas, stockpiles, vehicle routes, lighting and noisy activities outside retained wetland margins wherever practicable.

  • Define no-go areas around recorded birds, repeatedly used feeding areas and wetland habitat before mobilisation.
  • Prevent sediment, hydrocarbons, concrete washout, rubbish, weeds and other contaminants from entering wetlands.
  • Control cats, foxes and other introduced predators around retained wetland habitat in accordance with the project environmental management plan.

Before habitat disturbance: Approvals and project planning

Confirm the current EPBC Act status before works because treats the Common Sandpiper as a listed migratory species, while the supplied listing information states that it is not nationally listed as threatened.

Check state fauna legislation, permits and approvals for the project location, including any requirements arising from the supplied Victorian vulnerable listing.

Prepare a fauna management plan that identifies survey results, wetland exclusion areas, daily controls, stop-work triggers, authorised handlers, reporting pathways and emergency contacts.

Departmental conclusion in: The approved class of actions was considered unlikely to have a significant impact on the Common Sandpiper

Departmental recommendation in: Continue monitoring for the species and suitable habitat in and around the conceptual development footprint

  • Refer the action under the EPBC Act if the current protected matters assessment or project design identifies a potential significant impact on a protected migratory species or its habitat.
  • Stage works to avoid periods when suitable wetland habitat is occupied, where the project assessment identifies a practical seasonal constraint.
  • Include water-quality, drainage, lighting, noise, dust, weed and predator controls in the construction environmental management plan.

Before habitat disturbance: Pre-clearance preparation

Complete a pre-clearance inspection immediately before works, with the ecologist checking all mapped wetlands and any habitat that has changed since the original survey.

Mark wetland exclusion zones, access routes, no-go areas and any locations requiring additional fauna supervision before machinery enters the site.

Use exclusion fencing where it can prevent people, vehicles and machinery from entering retained wetland habitat without diverting birds into unsafe areas.

  • Brief machinery operators and spotter catchers on the species' appearance, low flight response, wetland habitat and stop-work procedure.
  • Check that fencing, sediment controls and drainage controls are installed and working before clearing or earthworks begin.
  • Do not treat an unoccupied wetland as unused habitat solely because no bird is seen during the pre-clearance inspection.

During habitat disturbance: Daily controls and spotter practice

The main construction risks are wetland loss or modification, altered hydrology, pollution, reduced prey availability and disturbance. Controls must remain active while machinery, traffic and people are operating near suitable habitat.

Inspect exclusion fencing, wetland buffers, sediment controls, drainage controls and access routes at the start of each shift and after heavy rain or other events that could change site conditions.

Keep machinery, vehicles and personnel within approved work limits and prevent encroachment into marked wetland habitat.

Use a fauna spotter catcher or suitably qualified ecologist to check the active work area and nearby wetland margins before disturbance and while high-risk activities proceed.

  • Position the spotter catcher where the work area and escape flight path over water can be seen without forcing birds towards machinery, roads or unsecured work zones.
  • Stop or pause the relevant activity if a bird enters the exclusion area, is repeatedly flushed, becomes trapped, or cannot move away safely.
  • Use low, controlled vehicle speeds and avoid unnecessary lighting, noise, dust and activity beside retained wetlands.

During habitat disturbance: Wetland and habitat feature handling

Do not drain, fill, divert or otherwise modify a wetland, pool, stream, dam, claypan, estuary or tidal creek unless the action is approved and the fauna management plan specifies controls.

Keep excavated spoil, spoil water, fuels, chemicals, concrete washout and waste away from wetland margins and prevent runoff into feeding areas.

Maintain natural water movement and prevent sudden changes in water level caused by dewatering, bunding, diversion or blocked drainage.

  • Treat muddy margins, shallow water and rocky shores as habitat features requiring protection even where no nest, hollow, burrow or other fixed fauna feature is present.
  • Do not use nest boxes, hollow handling, log relocation or rock relocation as substitutes for protecting wetland habitat for this species.
  • Inspect trenches, pits and open drains daily, provide safe escape routes where appropriate, and cover or barricade them when unattended.

During habitat disturbance: Animal found, injury and stop work

If a Common Sandpiper is found in the work area, stop the activity that could affect it and allow the bird time to leave without chasing or cornering it.

Do not handle the bird unless the person is authorised and competent under the relevant state requirements and the approved fauna management plan.

If relocation is authorised and necessary, move the bird only to nearby retained wetland habitat that is safe, suitable and outside the disturbance area, using the least stressful method available.

  • Contact the project ecologist or fauna manager immediately when a bird is injured, trapped, grounded, unable to fly, repeatedly flushed or found in a dangerous location.
  • Transfer an injured bird to an appropriately authorised wildlife carer or veterinarian as soon as practicable, following state requirements.
  • Stop work and obtain ecological advice if birds repeatedly use the work area, if a wetland is unexpectedly discovered, or if pollution, sediment or altered drainage reaches suitable habitat.
  • Record the date, time, location, activity, bird response, photographs where appropriate, people involved, action taken and outcome.

After habitat disturbance: Post-clearance checks

Close-out checks must confirm that wetland habitat, water movement and fauna controls remain suitable after clearing and construction. Record outcomes so the project can respond if use by Common Sandpipers changes.

Inspect the completed work area and retained wetland margins for stranded or injured birds, damaged exclusion fencing, sediment deposition, spills, rubbish, weed spread and changed drainage.

Check that temporary access tracks, bunds, sumps and drainage controls have not isolated or polluted muddy edges, shallow pools, streams, dams or other feeding habitat.

Remove temporary materials and rehabilitate disturbed wetland margins when approved to do so, without causing further disturbance during occupied periods.

  • Complete a fauna check before demobilisation and again after major rain, dewatering, flooding or changes to the work area.
  • Maintain wetland buffers and exclusion fencing until the project ecologist confirms that the area is stable and no longer presents a construction risk.
  • Report any death, injury, habitat loss, pollution event or unexpected concentration of birds under the project approval and incident systems.

After habitat disturbance: Monitoring and reporting

Continue monitoring for Common Sandpipers and suitable habitat in and around the disturbance footprint where required by the approval, fauna management plan or risk assessment.

Compare post-work records with pre-work records, including bird numbers, locations, habitat condition, water levels and disturbance responses.

Use the monitoring results to identify important habitat or an ecologically significant proportion of the population before the review timeframe where relevant to the project.

monitoring recommendation: Continue monitoring for presence of the species and suitable habitat in and around the conceptual development footprint

Follow-up use of results: Use survey results to identify important habitat or an ecologically significant proportion of the population

  • Submit confirmed records and monitoring results to the relevant state wildlife database and the approval regulator where required.
  • Keep survey sheets, maps, photographs, incident records, rehabilitation records and fauna handling records with the project environmental documentation.
  • Review controls if birds stop using a retained wetland, are repeatedly displaced, or appear to lose access to feeding habitat.

After habitat disturbance: Offsets and residual impacts

Reassess residual impacts where works remove or materially alter wetland habitat, change hydrology, or cause repeated disturbance to feeding or resting areas.

Seek regulatory advice on any offset or compensatory action required by the approval, rather than assuming that rehabilitation alone addresses residual impacts.

Document the avoidance, mitigation, monitoring and any approved offset measures in the final environmental report.

  • Do not rely on an offset to justify avoidable clearing or pollution of wetland habitat.
  • Include timing, duration, location, monitoring method and intended outcome for any approved offset proposal or management plan.

Rehabilitation actions: Restore wetland structure and hydrology

Rehabilitation should restore the wetland functions used by the species, especially shallow feeding margins, suitable water levels and access between wetland areas. The supplied documents do not identify a planting list or species-specific nest-box requirement.

Reinstate natural drainage patterns and shallow wetland margins after construction, subject to approvals and the site rehabilitation design.

Recreate muddy, sandy or rocky edges and shallow water areas where these were part of the pre-disturbance habitat.

Remove spoil, hardened surfaces, temporary bunds and other obstructions that prevent birds from reaching retained feeding areas.

Habitat to restore: Coastal or inland wetlands, fresh or saline, including muddy edges, rocky shores, pools, streams, dams, marshy areas, estuaries and tidal creeks

Foraging period: Daytime

  • Use local provenance wetland and riparian plants where revegetation is needed, selecting species suited to the site's salinity, hydrology and wetland type.
  • Do not plant or retain dense invasive vegetation that reduces open feeding margins or changes water movement.
  • Control weeds and prevent new weed establishment in and around rehabilitated wetlands.

Rehabilitation actions: Predator, disturbance and fire controls

Manage cats and foxes around retained and rehabilitated wetland habitat in accordance with approved threat management programs.

Limit recreational, traffic and construction disturbance at feeding and roosting areas, particularly while rehabilitation is establishing.

Use a site-specific fire management approach that protects wetland vegetation, water quality, shelter and natural drainage.

  • Inspect rehabilitated areas for predator activity, rubbish, erosion, sediment, weeds and unauthorised access.
  • Prevent lighting from shining across wetland margins where night roosting or movement could be affected.
  • Coordinate fire, weed and access controls with the land manager and relevant state agency.

Rehabilitation actions: Monitoring and success measures

Monitor water presence, water levels, wetland extent, bank and edge condition, vegetation establishment, weed cover, erosion, sedimentation and access to feeding margins.

Repeat bird searches using the same mapped locations and comparable conditions used during pre-disturbance monitoring.

Treat rehabilitation as unsuccessful if drainage remains altered, wetland margins are inaccessible, pollution persists, invasive weeds dominate, or Common Sandpipers and other wetland fauna are repeatedly displaced.

  • Set site-specific completion criteria for stable drainage, functioning wetland margins, weed control, erosion control and safe access for wetland fauna.
  • Record Common Sandpiper presence, numbers, behaviour and habitat use without flushing birds unnecessarily.
  • Continue monitoring until the agreed rehabilitation criteria are met and address failures through adaptive management.

Sources