Shorebird research
Nov 8 2019
Shorebird Quest
Shorebird Quest follows Curtis the Curlew on his perilous breeding migration from Siberia to Roebuck Bay through a fusion of Yawuru Country knowledge, musical theatre, puppetry and original music written by Jaime Jackett. Writer and puppeteer Bernadette Trench-Thiedeman said the show celebrates the biodiversity of Roebuck Bay, bringing life to the creatures that exist in its water and mudflats. Shorebird Quest is a co-creation between Theatre Kimberley, Broome Bird Observatory, Parks and Wildlife Service Yawuru Rangers, Nyamba Buru Yawuru Country Managers, five Broome schools and the community.
Made by Paul Bell (Feral Films) and funded by Rangelands NRM with support from the Federal Government National Landcare Program.
Mar 29 2018
Shorebird Congress Sept 8-9, 2018
Would you like to learn about Roebuck Bay’s remarkable migratory shorebirds and be part of 30th birthday celebrations for the Broome Bird Observatory? Well put aside Sept 8-9, 2018 to hear a series of fascinating presentations put on by the Broome Bird Observatory and Birdlife-Australia. The full list of presenters will be out soon with a brief description of each talk. Register on Broome Bird Observatory website or call direct 08 91935600.
Nov 29 2017
Changing tide for shorebirds
There is a great story on a Question of Balance about the work being undertaken by Chris Hassell, a long term researcher with the Global Flyway Network in Broome to better understand the pressures that face migratory shorebirds on their annual breeding migration. Read the story »
Apr 10 2017
Wing Threads
Amelia Formby started today in a microlight! This awesome zoologist come artist has a dream to follow Broome’s Red Necked Stints from Australia to Siberia in a microlight. With Broome’s migratory shorebirds declining, Amelia wants to draw attention to their predicament and promote urgent action. What an amazing young woman. You can hear Amelia speak about her ambitious project this year in the Science on the Broome Coast series – the date and poster coming soon. Read about it here » 
Sep 27 2016
Remarkable animals in the mudflats
Recognising the intertidal mud ats of Roebuck Bay/Eighty Mile Beach as critical for up to 200,000 wintering migratory shorebirds, Professor Piersma and his team collaborated with DEC (then) to establish research projects to understand these biodiverse wetland wonders. From the research undertaken since 1997, what has been discovered about these invertebrates?
‘The remarkable animals of Roebuck Bay and Eighty Mile Beach’, University of Notre Dame Multipurpose Hall, Thur Oct 6, 6pm.
FREE event, gold coin donations welcome
Sponsored by Inspiring Australia, Rangelands NRM through the Federal Government Landcare Program, Western Australia Government’s State NRM Program, supported by Royalties for Regions, WA Marine Science Institution, Department of Parks and Wildlife and The University of Notre Dame.
The Science on Broome Coast series is put on by Roebuck Bay Working Group and the Yawuru Land and Sea Unit.
Jun 11 2014
Dutch Nobel prize for researcher
Nobel Prize laureate Professor Piersma releasing a satellite tagged migratory shorebird on Roebuck Bay.
Professor Theunis Piersma has won the Dutch Nobel Prize (Spinoza) for his work on migratory shorebirds » Heartiest congratulations from the RBWG. Theunis’ work on Roebuck Bay has been outstanding, not only with migratory shorebirds, but also with the invertebrates in the bay’s mudflats that are the food source that fuels their extraordinary migrations each year.
Theunis is the leading authority on global shorebird and benthic ecology, and being forward thinking, started the Roebuck Bay benthos monitoring program in 1999. This long term monitoring study is still underway today and being carried out by Yawuru Rangers at DPaW and Wardens at the Broome Bird Observatory. Theunis (Team Leader of the Global Flyway Network) employs Chris Hassell, the only on ground researcher focused on Roebuck Bay’s shorebirds and benthos. Theunis is a Professor of Animal Ecology, Head of the Animal Ecology Group, Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Studies (CEES), book author (Life along lands edge and many more) and supervisor of many doctoral and post-doctoral students. And as you would expect, as well as the Dutch Nobel Prize, Theunis is the recipient of many other illustrious scientific awards – an exemplary example is the internationally acclaimed Luc Hoffmann Medal for Excellence in Science and Conservation, awarded by Wetlands International.
Nov 4 2013
Shorebirds in peril
Broome’s migratory shorebirds are struggling to find food on their annual breeding migration due to industrial developments on their staging grounds on the Yellow Sea. © Jan van de Kam.
Roebuck Bay’s shorebirds are an inspiration for their ability to navigate and fly 10,000kms each year to breed in the Arctic Circle. However their migration is under threat as described in the Weekend Australian by Environment Editor Graham Lloyd. Broome’s shorebird expert Chris Hassell is quoted in the story. To read more about the migration and situation in the Yellow Sea, get hold of the book, Invisible Connections by Jan van der Kam from Broome Bird Observatory and Kimberley Bookshop »
Sep 16 2013
The story of Guwayi goes viral
Book reading by Maxine Charlie, author and illustrator of Guwayi the Bar-tailed Godwit. © Kandy Curran
The feature article about Maxine Charlie’s wonderful book Guwayi is being read across the world 🙂
Thanks Maxine Charlie and Global Flyway Researcher Chris Hassell for your outstanding efforts to look after this remarkable international travellers. Here is the feature article that is on Science Network WA, in the Broome Advertiser and Partnership for the East Asian-Australasian Flyway »
May 15 2013
Toxic Lyngbya
Worms are the most abundant invertebrate in Roebuck Bay.© Peter Strain
A UWA ecologist says most invertebrate populations in the mud of Roebuck Bay’s intertidal zone have decreased significantly after blooms of the toxic blue-green Lyngbya. Read the story in Science Network WA »
Apr 30 2013
Roebuck Bay’s shorebirds reach China
To learn about Roebuck Bay’s remarkable shorebird’s perilous flight to the Arctic, read the book, Invisible Connections. The photos by Jan van der Kam are incredible. © Jan van der Kam
Roebuck Bay Working Group’s shorebird experts, Chris Hassell and Adrian Boyle are on the shores of Bohai in China along with Matt Slaymaker and Ginny Chan. As in previous years, the primary aim of their trip is to scan the shorebirds that are passing through on their migration to their northern breeding grounds. To read about their fascinating adventures, the challenges the birds and scientists face on mudflats that are being industrialised, and their sightings, read their regular reports »
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