Why This Matters

Each year, Twitchathon raises vital funds to protect Australia’s birds. This year, our fundraising goal is to support BirdLife Southern New South Wales in an important project to protect one of our most remarkable and Critically Endangered birds – the Far Eastern Curlew.

The Far Eastern Curlew is the world’s largest migratory shorebird, flying thousands of kilometres from northern Asia to Australia’s coastlines. But their numbers are dropping fast, and without urgent action, they could vanish.

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Project Goals

The money we raise for this project will help deliver:

• Mapping habitat – Identifying and spatially mapping the beaches, tidal flats, and roosts curlews depend on.

• Checking the menu – Sampling mudflats to see if enough nippers (tiny crabs and crustaceans) are available for the birds (this is known as benthic sampling).

• Measuring and understanding disturbance – Monitoring how dogs, boats, and beachgoers affect feeding and resting curlews.

• Testing solutions – Trialling simple fixes, like erecting educational signage, and temporary fencing at roosts, to give birds safe space.

Shorebird habitat around Sydney is already highly restricted and heavily modified. The Port Hacking project will fill key knowledge gaps and test practical ways to reduce threats – helping curlews and many other shorebirds that share the same fragile environments.

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Why Port Hacking?

We know that Far Eastern Curlews (and other shorebirds) use the tidal flats at Port Hacking. It is also one of Sydney’s busiest waterways, with people, dogs, and boats all competing for space. If conservation can succeed here, it can succeed anywhere. With your help, Twitchathon will fund on-ground research and trials that give curlews a fighting chance.

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Timeline

• December 2025 – Project begins

• January 2026 – Peak holiday monitoring

• February 2026 – Food sampling at four key sites

• Spring–Summer 2026 – Ongoing monitoring and conservation trials

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Expert Endorsement

This project has received strong national support:

• “This is an example of ground-up research that aims to improve the ecological understanding of the Far Eastern Curlew in southern Sydney.” – Dr Amanda Lilleyman

• “By filling knowledge gaps and advocating for management changes, this work will improve the resilience of curlew populations to climate change, disturbance, and exploitation.” – Chris Purnell, BirdLife Australia
   

How Twitchathon Helps

Every dollar you raise brings this project closer to reality. Together, we can help ensure Port Hacking remains a place where curlews – and other shorebirds – can thrive.

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Support the Twitchathon 2025 project and help us secure a future for Far Eastern Curlews in Port Hacking.