It’s almost time for the much-loved Little Terns to arrive on Central Coast shores.
Each year the endangered birds make the long journey to the Central Coast from South-east Asia for their annual breeding season.
To prepare for the Little Terns arrival, Central Coast Council will conduct sand-building works at Karagi Point, The Entrance North – at the location where the strongly site-faithful birds are likely to nest.
Machinery will be on site from Wednesday, September 13, for up to a week and will involve strategic fencing and sand-building to mitigate threats to Little Tern eggs and chicks.
Works will include: installing a small sand-filled geo-fabric barrier parallel with the beach and to the east of the Little Tern nesting area, about 200m long; constructing a sand berm along the eastern inside edge of the fenced area to act as a secondary barrier, grading into existing sand levels; and taking sand from the area between the Little Tern nest site and The Entrance Channel.
Once the nesting area has been secured, Council will carry out maintenance as required before fencing and geo-fabric is removed at season’s end.
The Little Terns are expected to arrive on the Central Coast in October to begin their breeding season.
Residents and visitors to the area can help protect the eggs and chicks and make their breeding season another success by keeping well back from the fenced area as they are highly sensitive to disturbance and can abandon their nest site if they feel unsafe; take litter with you when leaving the beach – especially all food waste, fishing tackle and bait; avoid being unnecessarily noisy (loud music, boat and jet ski motors, fireworks etc.); avoid flying kites and drones near the fenced area; report fox sightings in the area; and keep cats indoors at night and dogs away from the reserve.
Dogs (including dogs on leads) are prohibited from Karagi Point at any time.
Unauthorised disturbance to endangered species or their nests could result in severe financial penalties.
Council staff and rangers will be regularly patrolling the area.
Source:
Central Coast Council