Waterbirds on the wing

Despite Australia’s international and national obligations to protect waterbirds and their habitats, rates of wetland habitat loss are increasing and waterbird populations have declined. Waterbird breeding, foraging, stopover and refuge sites are managed by multiple agencies and different states involving decisions affecting water, vegetation and other pressures, while bird movements do not respect borders. In the context of climate change and competition for water resources, selection and prioritisation of wetlands for water management requires information on movements, wetland use and connectivity for many waterbird species. Satellite transmitters have been deployed since October 2016 in key waterbird breeding wetland locations across the Murray-Darling Basin, focusing predominantly on species that breed in aggregations that are supported by environmental water during breeding, such as ibis, spoonbills and egrets. We use the latest technology in avian GPS tracking to monitor bird movements at local, regional and basin scales. Satellite tracking provides detailed information on the spatial and temporal scales of movements and site use, including routes, timing, and use of breeding, foraging, stopover, refugia and Ramsar sites. These data can be used to inform policy and adaptive management for water and wetlands to support waterbirds through their entire life cycles and to maintain or increase waterbird populations, explicit objectives of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan and the Environmental Watering Strategy. Here, we present key highlights and discoveries from this work.