A shorebird recovery program volunteer has been angered by vandalism of nesting sites which has left a threatened species displaced.
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Two nesting sites of the endangered Pied Oystercatcher were suspected to have been vandalised over the Labour Day long weekend.
Eggs and one breeding pair have been missing since Sunday from a site on the sand dune between Lake Conjola entrance and the ocean.
An Office of Environment and Heritage spokesman said the nest protection fencing had been vandalised and “eggs due to hatch in a week were taken”.
Another pair with two chicks “smaller than a tennis ball” were displaced from their roped-off nesting site beside the lake. Inside the roped-off area were bike tyre marks in circles.
Signs along the water and near the nesting site, warning people that dogs were prohibited and of the presence of breeding shorebirds, had also been removed. On Tuesday, one displaced chick was found with its parents on the sand flats of the lake.
A Red-capped plover’s nesting site was also vandalised. The small roped-off area had signs removed and two eggs, along with parents, had vanished.
Lake Conjola’s Col Ashford, who has volunteered with the National Parks and Wildlife Service’s Shorebird Recovery Program for more than a decade, said the vandalism angered him and it was “soul-destroying”.
He had spent yesterday morning re-erecting the signs and searching for missing birds.
“You get to know these birds and they know you,” Mr Ashford said. “Once the birds are gone, that’s it.”
An Office of Environment and Heritage spokesman said volunteers had been working on the project for decades and some individuals had put in hundreds of hours each year protecting these birds.
“They have been terribly upset by what’s happened. People are urged to contact police or their local National Parks and Wildlife Service if they see anything like this happening,” he said.
Endangered little terns will nest at the Lake Conjola shoreline when they arrive from their migration in a month.
To volunteer or share concerns with the NPWS contact South Coast Branch Shorebird Recovery Coordinator Jodie Dunn on 0427 012 960 or email jodie.dunn@environment.nsw.gov.au.
