<
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/apr/08/a-high-flying-visitor-the-wondrous-far-eastern-curlew-faces-fresh-threat-in-nt-wetlands-haven>
"Hundreds of far eastern curlews fly nonstop more than 10,000km every year to
Darwin Harbour from Russia and China. But their southern habitat is under
threat from a large industrial development backed by more than $1bn in federal
government funding.
Known for its long curved bill and soft brown feathers, the far eastern curlew
is the world’s largest migratory shorebird and one of 22 priority bird species
the Albanese government has promised to support. The birds fly south each year
to forage, rest and fatten up during summer before returning to the northern
hemisphere.
Far eastern curlews are a marvel in the natural world and affectionately
described as the ultimate endurance athletes. Unable to glide, soar or land on
the ocean, they flap their wings for the entirety of their journeys until they
reach safe and familiar coastal habitat thousands of kilometres away.
The curlew’s global population has fallen by 80% over the past 40 years,
largely due to destruction and development-related changes to its intertidal
habitat.
Government documents show the proposed industrial precinct at Middle Arm, on a
peninsula 13km south of Darwin, will need about 1,500 hectares (3,705 acres) of
native mangroves and savanna woodland to be cleared, affecting “threatened
species, and sensitive and significant vegetation”.
The precinct is a proposed Northern Territory government development involving
the construction of wharves and jetties to be used by industries including
liquified natural gas, carbon capture and storage and critical minerals.
The former NT Labor government was criticised for promoting it as a
“sustainable” development despite documents revealing officials considered it a
“key enabler” for a large gas industry expansion.
Much of the public scrutiny of the project has focused on its potential
contribution to the climate crisis and whether $1.5bn in federal support backed
by Labor and the Coalition is effectively a fossil fuel subsidy.
But a preliminary assessment by the NT government shows the project would cause
significant damage to local wildlife.
It would include the “loss of key high tide roosting habitats” for the far
eastern curlew and the endangered bar-tailed godwit – another migratory species
– as saltpans and mangroves were cleared and reclaimed. Far eastern curlews
rely on these areas for foraging and roosting.
Dr Amanda Lilleyman, a shorebird expert and BirdLife Top End volunteer based in
Darwin, said the Middle Arm development’s potential impact on the species was
concerning and consistent with the loss of its coastal habitat around the
world. “This has been the direct cause of the population declines over the last
40 years,” she said."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
