REDLAND City Council’s annual curlew count will be held on February 9.
During the count, which has run each year since 1997, volunteers visit the island to record bush stone-curlew sightings in order to monitor their population on Coochie.
Queensland Wader Study Group chairperson David Edwards said monitoring bush stone-curlews could reveal important information about their behaviours and environmental pressures.
“Coochie is a closed environment, and that helps us to get a good count of birds in an area,” Mr Edwards said.
“It shows the increase and decrease, which is important for the conservation of the birds, and showing how long they live, how they breed and what factors can influence them.”
In 2018, council recorded its largest number of sightings to date, recording 216 young, juvenile and adult birds.
During the first curlew count, 37 birds were sighted.
Coochie’s bush stone-curlew population had stabilised in recent years, Mr Edwards said.
“(Populations have been) pretty stable on Coochie,” he said.
“The Wader Study Group has done some flagging and we’ve been able to see where they move in the island.
“It shows just how important it is that the people of Coochie love the bush stone-curlew and also shows they’re not impacted as heavily by dogs and traffic as other areas on the mainland.
“I think the people of the island have taken them on as being an important part of the island life.”
Australian Wildlife Conservancy estimates the population of bush stone-curlews across the country to be 10,000 to 15,000.
The curlew count will be conducted on Saturday, February 9 from 4:30pm until 8pm.
