The City of Clarence is showcasing its wildlife treasures with a pamphlet designed to cash in on the growing popularly of birdwatching.
The publication reveals nine of the 12 Tasmanian endemic bird species can be seen in the municipality but for me Clarence has two special species which several times a year I make the journey over the Tasman Bridge to see.
The stand-outs are the sooty oystercatcher – common throughout Tasmania but somehow associated with the rocky reefs of the Eastern Shore – and an unusual migratory shorebird, the double-banded plover which arrives each winer from New Zealand.
The Clarence Bird Walks pamphlet has been produced by Birdlife Tasmania in conjunction with the council and Mayor Brendan Blomeley said at the launch the project was about celebrating both the beauty and ecological importance of Clarence’s unique landscapes.
A variety of walks are described in the brochure along with pictures of the birds to be encountered. There is also a checklist of species that birders can tick-off as they go.
Although Clarence is rich in both woodland and coastal habits, it is not surprising that there is a special emphasis on its long and dramatic coastline. Five of the 10 walks take birders through seascapes and wetlands.
First there are the sandy beaches that much of the Eastern Shore is noted for. Surf beaches such as Seven Mile and Hope Beaches often host the endangered hooded plover. Greater crested terns and gannets can be seen offshore.
On lower energy beaches like the Lauderdale sand flats pied oystercatchers, and white-faced herons are common and in summer bar-tailed godwits and red-necked stints may be observed by sharp-eyed walkers.
Several saltmarshes in Clarence have high conservation value for their plant and fauna biodiversity. In addition, these habitats provide valuable resources for a range of bird species. The Clarence Plains Rivulet estuary hosts white-fronted chats, spotted crakes and several other wetland specialists.
Rocky headlands and platforms provide roosting places for the four cormorant species seen in Tasmania, the little pied, black-faced, little and great black cormorants. Sooty oystercatchers, often in pairs, forage on rock platforms along the coastline, especially on South Arm.
Birds found on saltwater lagoons such as Pipeclay Lagoon include black swans and, at times, duck species like Australian shelduck or mountain duck, grey teal, Australian shoveler and the more common chestnut teal. In summer, migratory shorebirds from the Northern Hemisphere may be seen feeding in the shallows; and in winter, the double-banded plovers can also be seen resting or foraging along the shoreline.
The double-banded plover holds special interest for birders here because of their unique pattern of migration. Migratory shorebirds usually fly north to south and return but these New Zealand plovers undertake an east-west journey, leaving their breeding grounds along mountain rivers in the New Zealand Southern Alps to travel to the east coast of Australia, including Tasmania.