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Birds migrating from the Arctic to Botany Bay for the summer months are dwindling in number due to increasing coastal development and climate change, according to experts.
Philip Straw, an environmental consultant on waterbirds and wetlands, said migration has decreased in the Botany Bay area by more than 40 per cent.
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Botany Bay is an annual summer feeding ground for several species of migratory waders like Godwits, Curlews, Sandpipers and Snipes.
"Some species, like the eastern curlew and curlew sandpiper, have declined by up to 80 per cent," he said. "We need to protect this site because it is so important to the migratory shorebirds."
The construction of a third runway for Sydney Airport and the expansion of Port Botany in 2014 has meant less coastal areas for these endangered birds to roost, he said.
Director of the Centre for Ecosystem Science Richard Kingsford said bird numbers have fallen from 2000 in the 1970s to fewer than 1400 today.
"We have data that has been collected since 1944 and we've been able to monitor the numbers of these birds," he said. "It's developments like the Port Botany expansion that destroy yet another area where migratory birds are declining."
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During the Port Botany Expansion, to compensate for the removal of some of the habitat, Sydney Ports renovated and improved areas for the birds, however Professor Kingsford is sceptical that this action mitigated the removal of the birds' original habitat.
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An Australian pelican with pied cormorants on the south-east side of Botany Bay. The bay is an annual summer feeding ground for several species of migratory waders including godwits, curlews, sandpipers and snipes. These intrepid birds fly thousands of kilometres from Siberia and Alaska and arrive exhausted and starving to feed on the tidal flats at Sans Souci and other areas around Botany Bay. Photo: Peter Rae
"The problem with living in a city like Sydney is that there is limited space, if sea levels rise and encroach we can't push the whole city back, there is limited space to work with in the first place," Professor Kingsford said.
The area, which has been deemed a "wetland of International Importance" for more than 40 years, hosts about 35 species of migratory birds who stay in Botany Bay from September to April each year.
Phil Straw consultant avian and wetlands ecologist with local bird experts from the NSW Wader Study Group on the south-east side of Botany Bay on Thursday. Photo: Peter Rae
"The birds rely on this area of Towra Point Reserve, particularly when they need to fly home because in order to 'fuel up' they need to put on 60 per cent of their body weight in fat," Mr Straw said. "If there's no land to feed on, they won't have developed enough fat storage meaning they won't attempt the journey home and as a result they don't breed."
According to Mr Straw, joint studies in Botany Bay by BirdLife Australia and NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service have raised concerns about habitat for migratory birds.
Along with a number of other environmental consultants, Mr Straw is hoping to complete a study in 2017 on behalf of the federal government regarding potential solutions to restore the area and prevent any further decline in numbers.
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