State and local authorities are pleading with locals and visitors alike to take care not to disrupt the nesting activities of threatened shorebirds when they go to the beach and fragile estuarine environments this summer.
The Share the Shore campaign is the latest attempt to protect the future of these feathered friends, whose numbers have fallen dramatically in recent years.
Each summer, endangered pied oystercatchers and little terns, and critically endangered hooded plovers and beach stone curlews, lay their eggs in shallow nests on our beaches.
But their numbers have fallen dramatically in recent years, and they continue to face threats from dogs, beachgoers, and vehicles.
The Share the Shore campaign is seeking to inform beachgoers of some simple things they can do to help endangered shorebirds raise their chicks on our beaches.
The first is to read and respect signage.
National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) shorebird officers often put temporary signs and fences around nesting areas to protect them and so people know where the birds are.
But the birds will also venture outside these fences and roam the beach looking for food. People are asked to tread carefully when in their neighbourhood, chicks and eggs are well camouflaged in the sand.
The second rule is to keep dogs on a leash at all time unless in a designated off-leash area, and to avoid walking through dune areas with dogs as much as possible.
The third request is to always take fishing lines and other rubbish away.
Every year, dozens of shore birds die from entanglement in fishing line or ingesting rubbish. People are encouraged to take everything with them when they leave the beach.
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