Managing a breeding population of the Hooded Plover Thinornis rubricollis in a high-use recreational environment

Mornington Peninsula National Park, Victoria, Australia, is heavily used by recreationists. It also holds a breeding population of the Hooded Plover Thinornis rubricollis, a rare endemic shorebird. We monitored the population of plovers over seven breeding seasons, 1991-1998. Mortality of nests (about 60%), and of chicks (over 70%) was high, but preliminary data suggests mortality was low in juveniles. The major cause of mortality of nests was trampling by people. The causes of mortality in chicks is unknown, but mortality was age dependent, and was highest in the youngest chicks. A combination of management techniques that have been phased into operation over the seven years of the study appear to be increasing the reproductive success of the population.