L3 Field Practice | For Shorebirds

Course modules

What L3 covers

Adding Pixels to the Picture, visit by visit.

Level 3 is the transition from Steward to site leader. By the end of L3, a Steward leads field visits, writes formal site reports, contributes independently to Mapping the Mudflats, and brings the full depth of two levels of training to the interpretive encounters that happen at every site — including those with land managers and the people with the most power to change how these sites are managed.

3.1 — Running a site independently

Planning visits around tidal cycles, coordinating with other Stewards, managing the tools and data flow. Knowing who to contact and how to communicate site observations clearly to land managers or site authorities.

Site planningData flowEscalation

3.2 — Waterline Scripts

Every Steward interprets from Day 1 — at L3, that capability is deepened and formalised. The Waterline Scripts are structured approaches to encounters of all kinds: with families, with hostile visitors, with groups, with officials. An L3 Steward can lead an interpretation session, not just respond to an encounter. The science is the same; the depth and the audience have grown.

Public interpretationWaterline ScriptsEngagement technique

3.3 — Mapping the Mudflats: active contribution

Independently documenting ad hoc roost sites, filing new site records, and coordinating with the network. The protocol for reporting a previously undocumented site. What happens to the data and how it is used.

Ad hoc sitesNew site protocolNetwork contribution

3.4 — Site reporting and formal records

Writing a formal site report — structure, language, evidence standards. How to present disturbance data from the Shoreline Assessment and Roost Assessment findings in a document that can be cited in a formal submission or management plan. The relationship between the field record and the formal report.

Formal reportingEvidence standardsland manager interface

Legislative note — Booklet status vs. current EPBC listing The BirdLife Australia Shorebird Identification Booklet (3rd ed., 2020) lists Bar-tailed Godwit (baueri) as Vulnerable. The EPBC Act listing was upgraded to Critically Endangered in 2021. At L3, this gap is not just a field note — it is a legislative one. Any formal site report, submission to a land manager, or disturbance assessment involving baueri must reference the current CE status, not the booklet. The booklet is a field ID guide; the SPRAT database entry is the legal instrument. Cite accordingly.

3.5 — Field leadership: supervised and assessed

Leading a supervised field visit through REF Environmental and BIEPA. Assessment of site management, tool use, interpretation, and reporting. L3 completion confirmed on satisfactory assessment by delivery partner staff. Assessment process in development — contact Borys for current arrangements.

REF EnvironmentalBIEPAAssessed field visit

"We know all we need to protect them. We just need to Act."

For Shorebirds · Shorebird Steward Program

← L1 — Making Landfall ← L2 — Field Practice L3 — Field Practice