World Conservation Day 2025
Eastern Curlew flying at Narooma, NSW, in September 2025
Canon EOS R5 Mk II with a Canon RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1 L IS USM Zoom [ISO 1600, 500mm, f/8.0 and 1/3200])
Today marks Wildlife Conservation Day 2025, a day to highlight efforts to save endangered animals and their ecosystems. The photo above is an Eastern Curlew (Numenius madagascariensis), which is critically endangered. Curlews conduct an annual massive migration from Russia and north-east China all the way to Australia. They fly at both night and day, following coastlines. Unfortunately, they have been severely impacted by coastal developments that reclaim tidal flats where Curlews search for food. Birds that conduct long distance migrations need to build up energy reserves before they start their flights but they can't be too heavy either. They therefore rely on stopovers at convenient coastal locations to feed. However, growing coastal populations and infrastructure can mean a decline in tidal flats. For migratory birds that are already exhausted, arriving at a feeding ground that they used the previous year but is now undergoing reclamation, can stress or even kill the bird. While there are international treaties to protect migratory birds and their habitats, national governments allow developments in protected areas because of growing human populations. It is a hard balancing act but hopefully we humans are smart enough to find the right balance, such as at Toondah Harbour last year. We probably need to ask ourselves how many new marinas do we need on critically important tidal flats.
