Coastal development and human recreation disturbance limit Australian Pied Oystercatcher Haematopus longirostris population sizes on E Australian beaches

Australian Pied Oystercatchers Haematopus longirostris and their habitat were surveyed on 72 beaches and 674 km of coastline, from Fraser Island, Queensland to near the New South Wales-Victoria state border, in 2015-2018. A grand total of 232 individual birds (the sum of mean beach counts) and 41 oystercatcher territories were counted. Regression models for mean oystercatcher count density indicated a positive response to the abundance of the surf clam Donax deltoides, a positive New South Wales Far North Coast regional effect and a negative response to the proportion of urban beach. Models for oystercatcher territory density indicated a positive Far North Coast effect and a negative response to pedestrian access density. This report upgrades the coastal development and human recreation disturbance threats for the species.