Rescuing Australian seabirds, shorebirds, sea turtles and sea snakes is the apple of our eye this month

From Eden to Tweed, The Australian Seabird and Turtle Rescue is doing critical work for our seas and skies. Hailing from Ballina, but now with headquaters also in the central and south coast of NSW, ATSR’s mission is to reduce the human impact on seabirds, shorebirds, sea turtles and sea snakes through rescue, rehabilitation, education and research. And we want to help.

For every new boardrider joined, we will donate your membership fee to seabird and turtle rescue.

Our nearest operating base for rescue and rehab is located on a wetland property in Ballina, purchased in 2004 by the organisations founder, ‘The Pelican Man’, Lance Ferris.

Doubling as a sactuary, the base has a hospital with intensive care facilities, turtle rehabilitation tanks, a specialist sea snake facility (being developed), and bird aviaries. Their 24 hour hotline is run by dedicated volunteers, and by joining their responders, you get access to an online training program that includes certificstes in seabird, turtle, and sea snake rescue.

“NSW

2024/5

WE RESCUED

275 BIRDS,

104 TURTLES,

14 SEASNAKES”

Founder Lance Ferris, ‘Pelican Man’
Photo courtesy of the Australian Police, of which he was an officer until 1980.

Jojo the gull is helping to bring awareness to our threatened birds

There are 22 bird species in our land down under that are in critical need of our help. By knowing who these friends are, and what their story is, we can be better allys, ultimately keeping them, their homes, their babies, and their food-sources safe.

This month Jojo is bringing awareness to three birds that may call the Byron Bay region home. Keep an eye out, inform yourself, and share what you know to others in your flock.

Get to know these friends who range from vulnerable to critically endangered. You can see the full list of Priority Birds from the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW).

You can also better equip yourself by learning other native species in need of our support in the Threatened Species Action Plan.

Hooded Plover

Vulnerable

Hooded Plovers prefer wide beaches backed by dunes with large amounts of seaweed, creek mouths and inlet entrances, although are sometimes found around other coastal lakes and lagoons.

They like to breed in the same place each year, and lay eggs in simple scrapes above the high-water mark.

Key threats include beach use by people, dogs, vehicles and horses, urban developments along the coastline which changes the size and shape of the beach, increasing storm events and the rising sea-level.

Red Goshawk

Endangered

Red Goshawks are solitary and thinly dispersed across roughly 15 percent of coastal and nearby country from the western Kimberley to north-eastern New South Wales.

They favour areas near permanent water. Most of their diet is other birds. Females can prey on species as large as Red-tailed Black-cockatoos, while the smaller males typically feed on birds the size of a Rainbow Lorikeet.

The species is of cultural significance to many First Nations peoples, including the Tiwi people on the Tiwi Islands and the Lama Lama people on Cape York Peninsula.

Key threats include habitat loss and fragmentation due to land clearing, and habitat degradation due to grazing practices.

Eastern Curlew

Critically endangered

Eastern Curlews are large wading birds found along coastlines all around Australia. Every year this migratory shorebird travels from our shores to breed in Russia and north-eastern China.

While on migration Eastern Curlews face multiple threats including habitat loss, human disturbance, and illegal hunting.

In Australia, their feeding grounds and roosting sites are increasingly close to where people are building houses and other infrastructure.

In the last 30 years their population has plummetted by 80 percent.

Sweet Surf Boardriders aren’t competitive, but we are combative.

Our boardriders membership is a chance to join our flock of like-minded surfers, it is our hope that our community will have impactful conversations in and out of the sea. It is our promise that we will support organisations doing work that really counts.
This month, for every new boardrider joined, we will donate your membership fee to seabird and turtle rescue.