Tasmania is a stronghold for more than 60 per cent of the remaining eastern hooded plover population. The small, beach-nesting birds are listed as vulnerable under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act), and approximately 25 per cent of the global population of eastern hooded plovers reside on the picturesque coastlines of north eastern Tasmania and the Furneaux Group of islands.

NRM North’s previous 5-year Hooded Plover Project (2019-2023) aimed to safeguard nesting sites by installing temporary protective fencing around nest sites, increasing community awareness about the species and managing coastal weeds in known breeding areas. The project also helped collect data on hooded plover breeding population size and distribution in north east Tasmania to support the planning of future on-ground actions, by contributing to the Birdlife Australia Hooded Plover Biennial Count.

Actions to reduce threats to hooded plover will also provide benefits to other listed shorebird and seabird species with similar ranges such as the little tern, greater sand plover, lesser sand plover and white fronted tern.

Key project achievements include:

• Over 50 ha of weed control for sea spurge (Euphorbia paralias) completed, with manual weeding along a further 43 km of Tasmania’s north east coast, to improve nesting habitat suitability for hooded plover.
• Strategic control of feral and stray cats implemented across 60 ha of priority habitat to reduce threats to successful breeding.
• 24 days of community education and engagement to reduce beach-use behaviour that threatens nesting success.
• Educational signage installed at 18 beaches across Flinders Island and the east coast of Tasmania.
• Installation of barriers at 11 key sites to prevent illegal vehicle access to beaches.
• Shorebird count covered over 200 km of coastline, recording 314 hooded plovers.