Testing in the Swash zone.

 Birdlife Australia (BLA) have a programme of monitoring breeding activity by Hooded Plovers (Hoodies) along the beaches of Mallacoota.  They are currently testing some changes to the signage use to inform the public and particularly to see if it is possible to install some signs in the Swash zone (yes, I'd never heard of this word to cover the area between high and lower water lines before yesterday).  

So a group of locals and a leader, Mel, from BLA went to the Davis/Betka Beach areas yesterday to erect some test signs.  The numbers are recent Hoodie sightings: 1 and 2 are where myself and Frances saw families last Wednesday (vide https://mallacootaweatherwildlife.blogspot.com/2025/03/too-many-hoodies-are.html); 3 is where at least 2 Hoodies were loafing yesterday.

Here are the group shlepping the signs down the beach.  Note the trenching tool being carried on the left!

The trenching tool was quite efficient. but rather too short to give the depth needed so team members scooped out some further sand.

An erected sign.  It is roughly in the middle of the zone.

2 of the 3 signs, with the team heading off to erect sign 3.  

With the signs erected we went to Betka to check for the family of 5.  At least some of them were at position 3 in the image above.

We then progressed to Quarry Beach to check on the family there.  

Success (the 3rd bird was out of this initial snap).  It is apparently considered that this might be the family that have inhabited the Airport site (on the tip of the dirt runway visible in the image above).

The birds flew a little way, but far enough to prove that the young bird (on the right) has fledged!

Later on the evening of the 9th, Mel returned to the started of the Chip Track and installed an explanatory sign: a very good idea.  The QR code links very well to a Survey Monkey page with details about Hoodies and the signs.