In the summer of 2010/11 there were 6 warden events in the Mornington Peninsula National Park. Following are the number of days in which a volunteer visited the beach, number of volunteers involved, minimum hours of volunteer time and whether or not the chick fledged.
Beach | Days | Volunt’rs | Hours | Outcome |
St Andrews Beach
(Moana Court) |
14
|
5 | 20 | Successful |
St Andrews Beach
(main car park) |
11 | 5 | 19 | Successful |
Portsea (east SLC) | 18 | 8 | 83 | Chick most likely taken by Kestrel |
Portsea (London Bridge)
|
10 | 2 | 11 | Successful |
Koonya East | 10 | 9 | 25 | Chick most likely taken by Kestrel |
Portsea (Franklin road) | 5 | 1 | 6 | Successful |
Totals | 68 | 164 |
In general the 2010/2011 season has been an improvement on the previous and it demonstrates having a warden increases the chances of survival for chicks. However, I believe there are still far too many chicks perishing within the National Park and positioning of a warden on a beach should be an adjunct to Parks Victoria activities and not be the only form of personal attention this species receives. .
great Pic, love the red soil xo