Dog owners are continuing to ignore pleas to keep their animals off an Australian beach known to be home to rare birds.
In May, council installed signs warning that shorebirds threatened with extinction were nesting around Newcastle’s Cowrie Hole, an important rock platform.
But the warnings mysteriously vanished.
“They lasted about a week,” local birdwatcher Neal Hohnke told Yahoo News.
Among the species known to frequent the area are the sooty oystercatcher, which is listed as vulnerable in NSW.
The large birds can grow to 50cm, and their black colouring is unmistakable.
When they’re approached by a predator, they’ll fly away, making a sharp whistling sound designed to draw the threat away from their young.
The NSW government lists disturbances by dogs and the destruction of their eggs as two key threats to their survival.
Dog owners are walking past signs warning about the area’s sensitivity.
(Neal Hohnke)
Neal was pleased to see the signs reinstalled in June, but every day he sees dog owners walk straight past them and onto the rocks.
Doing so risks both the well-being of the oystercatchers and a $330 fine.
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“Everyone, from young girls to elderly men, doesn’t seem to think the signs apply to them,” he said.
“The day after the signs went up, I saw a woman leaning against one, throwing her ball to a dog.
“When I asked her to stop, her response to me was, ‘We’re locals’.”
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Even when kept on leads, the presence of dogs can cause sooty oystercatchers (pictured) and other birds to abandon their nests.
(Getty)Born-and-bred local frustrated by dog act
Neal has lived in Newcastle his whole life, and seeing the Cowrie Hole’s sensitive environment trashed frustrates him.
“I was born and bred here, and I grew up exploring the rock shelves,” he said.
“My father was addicted to the water, and I was there all year round, racing around the pool in the summer, and fossicking in the rockpools in the winter.”
Why all dogs are a problem on the sensitive beach
When dogs are allowed to roam across sensitive environments, they have an impact their owners never see.
Birds that are regularly disturbed will abandon their nests, leaving their chicks to die.
And when they’re forced into the water or the sky, they lose precious feeding time, which can affect their health.
Even when dogs are kept on a leash, their scent can cause wildlife to become stressed and flee.
Council urges dog owners to ‘stick to the rules’
Responding to the issue, the City of Newcastle urged dog owners to “follow the rules” and stick to designated areas, noting that even well-behaved dogs will impact the environment.
“The Cowrie hole is a sensitive coastal habitat that supports several shorebird species, including the threatened sooty oystercatcher,” a spokesperson said.
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