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Red Knot (Calidris canutus)

The Red Knot is a long-distance migratory shorebird that uses intertidal mudflats, sandflats, sheltered bays, lagoons, harbours and coastal saltmarshes outside the breeding season. In Australia it is an EPBC Act listed migratory and threatened species, and it is known to occur in Western Port, where construction noise, vibration, lighting, activity, sediment runoff and loss of feeding or roosting habitat require assessment.

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.

South Australia, National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972: Endangered.

Western Australia, Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016: Endangered.

Northern Territory, Territory Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 1976: Endangered.

Identification

The Red Knot is a medium-sized, compact sandpiper. It is usually encountered in flocks on exposed intertidal mudflats or roosting around the margins of coastal wetlands.

Adults are 23 to 25 cm long. In breeding plumage, the underparts are rich rusty chestnut and the upperparts are blackish, pale and rufous chestnut. In Australia, birds are more likely to be seen in non-breeding plumage, with pale grey upperparts, narrow white fringes on the larger feathers, white underparts and grey barring across the breast and flanks.

Juveniles are broadly similar to non-breeding adults. Sexes are not separated in the supplied field description, although females are described as having more white on the underparts and more white on the rear belly in breeding plumage.

Length: 23 to 25 cm

Weight: Not specified in the supplied documents

Typical Australian plumage: Pale grey above, white below, with grey barring on the breast and flanks

Identification: Separating similar species

The main identification issue in mixed shorebird flocks is separation from the Great Knot, Calidris tenuirostris. The Red Knot is smaller, has a more obvious white wingbar, and its white rump is barred grey so that the rump appears more uniform with the rest of the upperparts.

Use a combination of size, bill shape, rump pattern, wingbar and flock context. Do not rely on one feature when birds are distant, moulting or in poor light.

Identification: Field signs

The supplied documents do not describe diagnostic tracks, calls, scats, nests, eggs, eyeshine or other signs that can reliably confirm Red Knot presence without a bird sighting.

For project surveys, record birds using the site, flock size, plumage, behaviour, roost location and the habitat being used. Treat unidentified medium-sized Calidris sandpipers in suitable coastal habitat as requiring follow-up by an experienced shorebird observer.

  • Inspect exposed mudflats, sandflats and shorebird roosts with binoculars or a telescope before works begin.
  • Record whether birds are feeding, roosting, bathing, preening or flying between wetland areas.
  • Map repeated roost and feeding locations rather than relying only on a single point record.

Distribution: Australian range

The Red Knot has an extremely large global range, breeding in the Arctic and migrating to coastal areas around the world. In Australia, the supplied material identifies it as a regular migratory shorebird of coastal wetlands and records it from Western Port.

Australian records are associated with coastal wetlands, intertidal flats and estuarine habitat. The supplied conservation status information identifies the species in New South Wales, the Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia.

The documents do not provide a state by state bioregional distribution map. Ecologists should therefore interpret a site record against local estuary, bay, mudflat, saltmarsh and Ramsar wetland values rather than assuming that absence from a particular survey means absence from the wider coastal area.

Known Australian stronghold documented in the supplied material: Western Port, Victoria

Western Port site status: Red Knot species or habitat known to occur within the area; the species is also listed as a migratory wetlands species

Relevant wetland: Western Port Ramsar site

States identified in the supplied status information: NSW, NT, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia

Distribution: Global range and populations

The species breeds from Alaska across the Arctic to Greenland and northern Russia. Outside the breeding season it occurs on coastal areas in North and South America, Europe, Africa, southern Asia and Australasia.

The subspecies Calidris canutus piersmai winters in north-west Australia, while Calidris canutus rogersi winters in Australasia. The supplied population estimates cover all subspecies and should not be treated as an Australian population estimate.

Estimated global population: At least 2 million breeding birds, with an upper estimate of 3 million

Population of the canutus taxon: Approximately 260,000 to 275,000 birds in the 2016 to 2020 estimate

Global trend: An estimated 15 to 29 percent decline over three generations, with different populations showing different trends

Distribution: Bioregional interpretation

No national bioregion list is provided in the supplied documents. For site assessment, prioritise coastal and estuarine bioregions containing intertidal mudflats, sandflats, sheltered bays, lagoons, harbours, saltmarsh and connected high-tide roosts.

Western Port is a documented example where Red Knot habitat overlaps a Ramsar wetland and proposed industrial infrastructure. Comparable habitat elsewhere in Australia should be treated as potentially suitable until survey evidence shows otherwise.

Habitat: Non-breeding habitat

Outside the breeding season, Red Knots are mainly coastal. They need accessible intertidal feeding areas and undisturbed places where flocks can rest at high tide.

Recorded habitat includes tidal mudflats and sandflats, sandy beaches on sheltered coasts, rocky shelves, bays, lagoons, harbours and, occasionally, oceanic beaches and saltmarshes.

In Australia, suitable habitat may occur within or beside Ramsar wetlands, coastal saltmarsh communities, estuaries and port areas. The Subtropical and Temperate Coastal Saltmarsh conservation advice lists Red Knot as an international or migratory species associated with that ecological community.

  • Retain intertidal mudflats and sandflats used for feeding.
  • Retain the wetland connections between feeding areas and high-tide roosts.
  • Assess adjacent saltmarsh, shallow water and unvegetated shore areas, not just the construction footprint.

Habitat: Breeding habitat overseas

Breeding habitat is high Arctic tundra. It includes dry upland tundra, weathered sandstone ridges, upland areas with scattered willows and Dryas, moist marshy slopes and flats, well-drained hummocky slopes, and upland glacial gravel close to streams or ponds.

These breeding habitats are outside Australia. They are relevant to the species' annual cycle but are not a basis for identifying an Australian breeding colony.

Habitat: Structural features

The most important structural features for Australian sites are open tidal sediments that can be probed by the bill, nearby shallow wet areas, and roosts that remain above the tide and are protected from people, vehicles, dogs, lighting and repeated disturbance.

The supplied documents do not give a standard roost buffer, minimum mudflat area, elevation threshold or maximum distance between feeding and roosting habitat. These should be determined from site observations and local shorebird guidance.

Foraging habitat: Diet

Red Knots feed mainly on invertebrates in exposed intertidal sediments. They can depend on a small number of productive staging or wintering sites, so local loss of feeding area can affect birds beyond the immediate construction footprint.

Outside the breeding season, the diet includes bivalve and gastropod molluscs, crustaceans, annelid worms and insects. Fish and seeds are taken rarely.

During the breeding season, the diet is mainly insects, crustaceans and hard-shelled prey, with spiders, snails and worms also taken. Early in the breeding season, vegetation including sedge seeds, horsetail seeds and grass shoots can be important when insect prey is scarce.

Australian and other non-breeding prey: Bivalves, gastropods, crustaceans, annelid worms and insects

Other recorded prey: Horseshoe crab eggs, fish and seeds, with fish and seeds taken rarely

Breeding-season prey: Adult and larval flies, moths, caddisflies, beetles, bees, crustaceans, spiders, snails and worms

Foraging habitat: How and where it feeds

The species feeds on exposed tidal mudflats and sandflats and other coastal sediments. The supplied documents do not describe a species-specific feeding distance from roosts or a fixed home range.

Red Knots use few stopover sites or staging areas during their long-distance migration. This makes disturbance, sediment change, prey depletion and loss of a productive feeding patch important considerations even when the disturbed area is small.

  • Survey mudflats and sandflats through suitable tidal phases so feeding birds are visible and accessible habitat can be mapped.
  • Record prey-rich sediment areas, shellfish beds, shallow channels and the route between feeding areas and roosts where these are evident.
  • Control sediment runoff, polluted stormwater, lighting, noise and vibration near feeding areas during construction and operation.
  • Assess changes to sediment movement, water quality and aquatic food resources where dredging, discharge, reclamation or marine infrastructure is proposed.

Foraging habitat: Food-resource risks

Habitat reclamation, coastal development, invasive Spartina, altered sediment supply, erosion, sediment redistribution, compaction, subsidence, shellfish over-exploitation and pollution can reduce the amount or quality of feeding habitat.

The supplied project material identifies uncertainty about the effects of a floating storage and regasification unit on plankton, larvae and bird food resources. Similar uncertainty should be addressed for projects that alter tidal exchange or marine food webs.

Breeding habitat: Breeding biology

Red Knots breed in the high Arctic, not in the Australian coastal habitats described in the supplied documents. Australian project controls should focus on protecting non-breeding feeding and roosting habitat, while recognising that disturbance can affect birds preparing for or completing migration.

The nest is an open, shallow depression on hummocks surrounded by mud and water, stony or gravelly ground, coastal spits, open vegetated tundra or stone ridges.

The supplied documents do not provide a clutch size, incubation period, age at maturity, lifespan or a species-specific breeding month range. They also do not document breeding by Red Knots in Australia.

Breeding region: High Arctic, including Alaska, northern Canada, Greenland and northern Russia

Nest: Open shallow depression on tundra, gravel, stone ridges, hummocks or coastal spits

Breeding season: Arctic breeding season, months not specified in the supplied documents

Clutch size: Not specified in the supplied documents

Incubation: Not specified in the supplied documents

Age at maturity: Not specified in the supplied documents

Lifespan: Not specified in the supplied documents

Breeding habitat: Australian project relevance

Australian clearing or construction is not expected to remove breeding habitat because the documented breeding grounds are Arctic. It can still affect the species by reducing feeding opportunities, disturbing roosts or changing coastal habitat used during migration and the non-breeding period.

Do not dismiss a coastal site as low risk simply because breeding is not expected there. The Department identified a real chance or possibility of significant impact on Red Knot at Crib Point, including disturbance and localised effects on foraging habitat.

  • Treat mapped Australian roosts and feeding areas as habitat used by migratory birds even when no nesting is recorded.
  • Schedule noisy, brightly lit or high-traffic works away from periods when Red Knots are present, where local survey data allow.
  • Use a fauna spotter catcher or shorebird ecologist to review any flock movement, repeated roost use or unexpected concentration before works continue.

Sheltering habitat: Roosts

Red Knots do not use dens, tree hollows or burrows. In Australia, sheltering habitat means open, elevated or otherwise tide-safe roosts where birds can rest without repeated disturbance.

The supplied documents identify roosting and resting habitat as an important component of migratory shorebird sites, but do not specify a standard Red Knot roost design or minimum roost size.

Likely roost settings include undisturbed margins of bays, lagoons, harbours, saltmarshes, sandy shorelines and other ground above the active tide. Site confirmation is needed because roost use can change with tide, weather, water level and human activity.

  • Map all repeated high-tide roosts, including artificial or modified shore areas used by flocks.
  • Keep vehicles, machinery, pedestrians, dogs, lighting and unnecessary noise away from occupied roosts.
  • Provide a clear no-go area around roosts in the construction environmental management plan, with the distance set by site-specific observation and regulator advice.
  • Inspect roosts after changes to shoreline profile, drainage, lighting or access.

Sheltering habitat: No terrestrial refuge features

The species does not require trees, hollows, leaf litter, fallen timber, burrows or dense ground cover for the Australian non-breeding habitat described in the supplied documents.

The main refuge function is freedom from disturbance while birds rest and preen. A roost may be unsuitable if it remains physically intact but is repeatedly flushed by people, vehicles, aircraft, dogs, noise or lighting.

Threats: Clearing and habitat loss

The main project risks are loss or degradation of intertidal feeding habitat, disturbance of roosting birds, and changes to sediment, water quality or prey resources. Red Knots can be affected outside the construction footprint when connected feeding, roosting and tidal habitats are altered.

Land reclamation, coastal development, port infrastructure and loss of intertidal mudflats reduce the area available for feeding. Saltmarsh loss can also remove supporting habitat within coastal wetland systems.

At Crib Point, the Department considered that project activities had a real chance or possibility of significantly affecting Red Knot, including disturbance to breeding habitat as described in the referral material and localised effects on foraging habitat.

  • Avoid direct removal of intertidal mudflat, sandflat, saltmarsh and known roost habitat.
  • Delineate no-go areas before vegetation clearing, piling, dredging, access construction or shoreline works begin.
  • Assess indirect habitat loss from altered access, lighting, noise, sediment deposition and changed tidal flows.

Threats: Disturbance

Noise, vibration, light, increased human activity, recreation, aircraft and foot traffic can flush birds or reduce the time available for feeding and resting. Repeated disturbance can make otherwise suitable habitat functionally unavailable.

The Crib Point material identifies noise, vibration, light and increased activity as risks to migratory birds using Western Port.

  • Use shorebird exclusion zones around feeding and roosting areas.
  • Minimise night lighting spill onto mudflats, saltmarsh and roosts.
  • Plan piling, dredging, vehicle movements and other high-disturbance tasks around local bird-use data.
  • Stop and reassess works if repeated flushing, flock displacement or abandonment of a regular roost is observed.

Threats: Hydrology, sediment and pollution

Changes to sediment supply, erosion, sediment redistribution, compaction, subsidence and tidal processes can reduce feeding habitat or alter prey availability. Polluted stormwater and toxic discharges can damage coastal wetlands and the invertebrates on which Red Knots feed.

The project material specifically recommends sediment controls to protect the Ramsar site and seagrass beds, and a stormwater plan to prevent polluted runoff entering sensitive wetland habitat.

  • Install and maintain sediment and erosion controls before earthworks start.
  • Prevent contaminated or turbid stormwater from entering intertidal feeding habitat.
  • Assess dredging, reclamation, discharge and shoreline works for effects on sediment movement and tidal exchange.
  • Monitor water quality and benthic food resources where marine infrastructure may affect plankton, larvae or invertebrates.

Threats: Food depletion and invasive plants

Over-exploitation of shellfish can reduce prey directly and indirectly. Invasive Spartina can spread across mudflats and reduce their suitability for Red Knots and other shorebirds.

The supplied documents identify habitat degradation and conversion, shellfish exploitation, Spartina invasion and coastal development as major threats across the species' range.

  • Avoid disturbing productive shellfish beds and other prey-rich sediments.
  • Control invasive Spartina where it threatens open intertidal feeding habitat, using approved wetland management methods.
  • Include benthic invertebrate and sediment monitoring in projects that may change the availability of feeding habitat.

Threats: Climate and broader threats

Climate change may reduce breeding productivity in Arctic populations. Habitat loss and degradation, hunting, disturbance and other poorly understood threats affect birds on migration and during the non-breeding period.

The supplied documents do not identify a Red Knot-specific Australian disease, road mortality pattern, fire response or predator control requirement. Roads and fire can still create indirect risks where they increase access, disturbance, runoff or loss of coastal vegetation.

  • Manage construction access so roads do not open regular roosts and feeding areas to vehicles, dogs or people.
  • Prevent fires, smoke and emergency access activity from disturbing occupied coastal roosts where practicable.
  • Record and report unusual mortality, visibly sick birds or repeated predator disturbance to the relevant wildlife authority.

Survey methodology: 1. Map and inspect coastal habitat

Red Knots are migratory coastal shorebirds. Survey work must cover both feeding habitat and roost sites, with particular attention to tidal mudflats, sandflats, sheltered beaches, rocky shelves, bays, lagoons, harbours and saltmarsh. No species-specific survey effort is provided in the supplied documents, so the survey design should be set by a suitably qualified shorebird ecologist and matched to the proposal, habitat and tide cycle.

Map all intertidal and supratidal habitat within and adjacent to the work area before selecting survey points.

Record tidal mudflats, sandflats, sheltered beaches, rocky shelves, bays, lagoons, harbours, saltmarsh, feeding areas and roost sites.

Inspect the wider area for alternative high-tide roosts and connected feeding habitat, because Red Knots use relatively few stopover and staging sites during migration.

Use existing records and local knowledge, including records held by BirdLife Australia, the Australasian Wader Studies Group and relevant state databases, to identify regular use of the site.

Adult body length: 23 to 25 cm

Typical non-breeding habitat: Tidal mudflats and sandflats, sheltered coasts, sandy beaches, rocky shelves, bays, lagoons, harbours and saltmarsh

Internationally important site indicators: Regularly supports 1% of the flyway population or 20,000 or more shorebirds

Survey methodology: 2. Count feeding birds at suitable tides

Complete systematic daytime searches of intertidal feeding areas during suitable low-tide periods, when birds are visible and actively feeding.

Repeat observations across the tide cycle so that birds moving from feeding areas to roosts are not missed.

Record the date, time, tide state, weather, observer position, area searched, flock size, species composition, behaviour and direction of movement.

Scan flocks carefully for Red Knots among other Calidris species, particularly Great Knots and Red-necked Stints.

Use photographs or other verification records for uncertain identifications where this can be done without approaching or flushing birds.

Survey methodology: 3. Locate and assess roosts

Search likely high-tide roosts during the period when feeding habitat is covered or unavailable.

Observe roosts from a distance and avoid walking into the roost or causing birds to flush.

Record the number of Red Knots, the total shorebird count, roost location, roost substrate, surrounding disturbance and any movement between roosts.

Assess whether construction noise, lighting, people, vehicles, vessels or machinery could remove access to the roost or cause repeated disturbance.

Continue observations for enough tide cycles to establish whether the site is used regularly, rather than relying on a single negative survey.

Survey methodology: Minimum effort and reporting

  • Prepare a survey plan that states the area searched, survey dates, tide states, observation periods, weather, observers, detection limitations and any areas that could not be searched.
  • Use repeated low-tide feeding-area searches and high-tide roost searches where the habitat is suitable, with the number and timing of visits justified by the local tide cycle and project risk.
  • Do not treat an absence during one visit as evidence that Red Knots do not use the area.
  • Report all confirmed records, flock counts, roost locations, photographs and incidental observations to the relevant state or territory wildlife database.
  • Submit significant shorebird records to the relevant national or regional monitoring program where requested, and retain the original field data with the project environmental records.
  • Escalate the survey design to the relevant regulator where the site is within or adjacent to a Ramsar wetland, supports regular shorebird use, or may meet an internationally important site indicator.

Before habitat disturbance: Avoid and minimise habitat loss

Treat intertidal feeding areas and high-tide roosts as habitat that may be used even when Red Knots are not present during a pre-clearance visit. Avoid direct loss first, then prevent disturbance, access restrictions and changes to nearby wetland processes.

  • Retain tidal mudflats, sandflats, sheltered beaches, rocky shelves, bays, lagoons, harbours and saltmarsh used for feeding or roosting.
  • Keep the project footprint, laydown areas, access tracks, lighting and noisy plant away from mapped feeding areas and roosts wherever practicable.
  • Maintain movement between feeding areas, roosts and adjacent coastal habitat, and do not place fencing, stockpiles, spoil or temporary buildings across regular shorebird movement routes.
  • Prevent sediment, polluted stormwater, concrete washout, fuel and other contaminants from entering intertidal habitat, seagrass beds or the wider wetland.
  • Design buffers from the field evidence and risk assessment rather than applying an arbitrary distance, and include the buffer in the approved site plan.

Before habitat disturbance: Confirm approvals and plan the works

  • Check the current EPBC Act listing and migratory-species status before works start, and refer the action if it may have a significant impact on Red Knots, their habitat or a Ramsar wetland.
  • Check all state and territory requirements, including wildlife permits, coastal and wetland approvals, vegetation or habitat permissions, and authority to handle or relocate fauna.
  • Schedule the most disruptive works outside periods of regular shorebird use where the survey identifies a lower-risk period, and do not assume that winter or summer is universally suitable across Australia.
  • Stage the works so that only the smallest area needed is disturbed at one time and retained feeding and roosting areas remain available.
  • Include species-specific controls, tide restrictions, lighting controls, stop-work triggers, incident response and reporting requirements in the fauna management plan.

Before habitat disturbance: Prepare and mark the work area

  • Complete a pre-clearance inspection of the entire disturbance area and adjacent feeding and roosting habitat immediately before works begin.
  • Mark no-go areas, wetland edges, roosts, feeding areas, access limits, lighting limits and machinery exclusion zones on the ground and in the construction drawings.
  • Install exclusion fencing only where it will not block shorebird movement between feeding areas and roosts, and inspect it after tides, storms and vehicle movements.
  • Brief all workers that Red Knots are small migratory waders, can occur in mixed flocks and must not be approached, chased or flushed.
  • Confirm the contact details for the fauna spotter catcher, project ecologist, site supervisor, regulator, wildlife carer and veterinary clinic before mobilisation.

During habitat disturbance: Daily site controls

The main field risks are disturbance of feeding and roosting birds, loss of access to tidal habitat, and pollution or altered water movement. Use a stop and assess approach whenever Red Knots or mixed shorebird flocks are present.

  • Inspect the work area and adjacent roosts and feeding habitat before each shift, including the expected tide window and any overnight changes.
  • Keep vehicles, machinery, workers, vessels and lighting within the approved footprint and use the lowest practicable noise and light levels near shorebird habitat.
  • Prevent sediment, dust, fuel, chemicals, concrete washout and polluted stormwater from reaching wetlands, mudflats, sandflats or roosts.
  • Keep dogs, unauthorised people and recreational activity out of marked habitat and do not allow workers to use roosts or feeding areas as access routes.
  • Stop or modify the activity if birds repeatedly flush, abandon a roost, cannot return to a roost, or are prevented from reaching feeding habitat.

During habitat disturbance: Fauna spotter catcher and machinery interface

  • The fauna spotter catcher must inspect the active work area and the immediate approach path before machinery enters or changes position.
  • The spotter catcher must have a clear line of communication with the operator and must be able to stop the plant immediately.
  • Do not rely on a spotter catcher to make an unsafe coastal work area safe, and do not require the spotter catcher to enter water, unstable mud or moving plant exclusion zones.
  • Use the spotter catcher to identify birds and direct workers away from them, but manage Red Knots primarily by avoiding the habitat and stopping disturbance.
  • Record the location, flock size, behaviour, activity under way, control applied and outcome for every Red Knot or mixed shorebird observation.

During habitat disturbance: If a Red Knot is found

  • Pause the activity that may disturb the bird and notify the site supervisor and project ecologist.
  • Do not catch, chase, handle or move a healthy Red Knot unless the person is authorised under the applicable wildlife permit and the action is included in the fauna management plan.
  • Allow a healthy bird to move away naturally and keep people, vehicles, machinery and dogs away from its path.
  • If authorised handling is necessary, use the least stressful method, place the bird in suitable nearby retained habitat and record the release location, time, condition and person responsible.
  • Take an injured or sick bird to an appropriately qualified wildlife carer or veterinarian under the relevant state or territory arrangements, and record the transfer.
  • Apply a stop-work trigger where the bird is injured, trapped, repeatedly flushed, unable to access a roost or feeding area, or where a flock is exposed to an unapproved activity.

After habitat disturbance: Inspect and verify the site

Post-work checks must confirm that retained feeding areas and roosts remain available and that the project has not created new disturbance or pollution pathways. Use the same mapped locations and observation methods used before disturbance so changes can be identified.

  • Inspect the work area, access routes, drainage controls, wetland edges, feeding areas and roosts after each construction stage and after major rain, storm or tide events.
  • Remove temporary fencing, stockpiles, lighting, spoil and access controls that restrict movement to retained habitat as soon as they are no longer required.
  • Check for sediment deposition, contaminated runoff, altered drainage, erosion, new human access and changes in roost substrate or feeding habitat.
  • Complete post-clearance shorebird checks at suitable low and high tides and compare flock counts, locations and behaviour with the pre-work records.
  • Continue monitoring where birds have been displaced, where habitat has been temporarily occupied, or where approval conditions require it.

After habitat disturbance: Report and maintain controls

  • Report all incidents, stop-work events, injured birds, confirmed records, flock counts, habitat damage and corrective actions to the project environmental officer.
  • Notify the relevant regulator and wildlife authority when required by an approval, permit, incident condition or fauna management plan.
  • Maintain sediment, stormwater, lighting, access and exclusion controls until disturbed habitat has stabilised and the responsible ecologist confirms that they can be removed.
  • Update the site environmental record with maps, photographs, tide states, survey effort, observations, incidents and monitoring results.
  • Apply any approved offset, habitat protection or compensatory management requirement where residual impacts cannot be avoided.

After habitat disturbance: Review residual impacts

  • Compare the final disturbance footprint with the approved footprint and the mapped Red Knot feeding and roosting habitat.
  • Assess whether the project reduced access to intertidal prey, caused repeated disturbance, or displaced birds from a regular roost.
  • Escalate unexpected impacts, continued absence from a regularly used site, or changes in flock behaviour to the project ecologist and regulator.
  • Use the results to revise work timing, lighting, access, noise, drainage and monitoring controls for later stages.

Rehabilitation actions: Restore coastal habitat function

Rehabilitation for Red Knots should restore the function of coastal feeding and roosting habitat, not just vegetation cover. The priority is to reinstate tidal access, suitable intertidal substrate, safe roost space and low-disturbance connections between habitat areas.

  • Reinstate natural tidal drainage and prevent permanent barriers between intertidal feeding areas, supratidal roosts and adjacent wetland habitat.
  • Restore mudflat, sandflat, beach, rocky shelf, bay, lagoon, harbour or saltmarsh features that were temporarily occupied or damaged by the project.
  • Remove fill, spoil, temporary hardstand, redundant access tracks and other structures that reduce the area available for feeding or roosting.
  • Use locally appropriate native saltmarsh plants where vegetation has been disturbed, while keeping open mudflat and sandflat areas open for shorebird feeding.
  • Control invasive cordgrass and other weeds where they reduce the availability or suitability of intertidal feeding habitat.

Rehabilitation actions: Manage disturbance, predators and fire

  • Design post-construction lighting so that it does not illuminate roosts, feeding areas or movement routes.
  • Restrict vehicles, dogs, recreational access and people near retained roosts and feeding areas, especially where monitoring shows repeated flushing.
  • Manage introduced predators and pest animals in accordance with the site plan and relevant authority requirements.
  • Use fire management that protects saltmarsh, coastal wetland structure and roost substrate, and do not burn retained habitat without an approved ecological rationale.
  • Keep stormwater, sediment and pollutant controls in place until monitoring shows that runoff is not affecting the wetland.

Rehabilitation actions: Monitor rehabilitation success

  • Set monitoring points at restored feeding areas, roosts, wetland edges and drainage outlets before rehabilitation begins.
  • Monitor habitat condition, tidal access, sediment stability, weed cover, disturbance, flock presence and Red Knot behaviour at suitable low and high tides.
  • Use repeated counts and the same observation areas and tide information used during the impact assessment so results are comparable.
  • Treat rehabilitation as successful only when the approved habitat function has returned, access remains available, controls are maintained and monitoring shows that Red Knots and other shorebirds can feed or roost without repeated project-related disturbance.
  • Submit rehabilitation results and Red Knot records to the relevant state or territory wildlife database and retain the data for approval compliance and future site management.

Sources