First cohort planning · Late July / August 2026
Shorebird Steward Program · Moreton Bay · How it works

The Plan

A conversation with Gazza. A visit to the waterline. A ShorelineWatch record. A debrief. An updated plan. Then back to the waterline. This is how field literacy is built — one cycle at a time.

Your first time through — Gazza builds your plan from scratch

🗣Talk to Gazza 📄Your Plan 📚Study 🌊Waterline 👁Observe 📱ShorelineWatch 🔄Return Updated Plan THE Field Cycle REPEATING
Step 1 of 8
🗣
Talk to Gazza
The placement interview
Ten questions. Gazza maps your ecological literacy, field experience, and what draws you to the bay. Not a test — a conversation. From your answers he builds your personal lesson plan: where to start, what to focus on, what to build toward.
Gazza reads every ShorelineWatch record before you return
ShorelineWatch

ShorelineWatch — at the waterline, for as long as it takes

Six steps. Your phone. Works offline. Every submission joins the Moreton Bay longitudinal dataset. Below is a real session — what a Steward sees and records at Kakadu Beach on a high-tide visit.

ShorelineWatch · Moreton Bay Preview — not live High tide · 1–2 hours at the site · Tap steps to explore ↓
Site
Kakadu Beach Constructed Roost — Bribie Island
Date
AUTO — 21 Sep 2026
Time
AUTO — 09:48 AM
GPS location
AUTO — 27.0512°S 153.1648°E
Open ShorelineWatch →Steward login required · works offline after install
Birds present
Yes — approx 1,840 birds
Species recorded
Bar-tailed Godwit · Red-necked Stint · Far Eastern Curlew · Curlew Sandpiper · Grey-tailed Tattler
Behaviour
Roosting — settled. Flock compact. Arrivals still coming in.
Active disturbance
None observed at time of record
Species count — two-tier
Tier 1 — Confirmed ID
Bar-tailed GodwitCE
~820
direct count
Red-necked StintLC
~640
flock estimate
Far Eastern CurlewCE
14
direct count
Tier 2 — Probable / Mixed
Curlew SandpiperCE
~280
mixed flock
Grey-tailed TattlerVU
~85
probable
Unknown small waders
~100
unresolved
Vehicles & access
Vehicle tracks Motorbikes
People & animals
Dogs off-leash — present People near bird zone Noise disturbance
Infrastructure
Litter / debris Signage damaged — significant Fencing damaged
⚠ Dog off-lead flagged — estimated 185m from roost. Alert response observed in flock edge. No flush.
Access to site
✅ Open
Vegetation / wrack
✅ Intact
Water quality
💧 Clear
Beach / foreshore
⚠️ Some litter — plastic debris above tide line
Additional notes
Signage post leaning — east platform access sign. First migrants of season. Godwit numbers lower than Kakadu Beach peak (~2,500) — early September arrival still building.
📷 Roost overview
09:51 AM
📷 Dog off-lead
09:53 AM
📷 Damaged signage
09:55 AM

Photos are the strongest evidence. A photo of a dog off-lead, tyre tracks, or damaged signage is worth more than a text description in a council submission.

✓ Record ready to submit
Kakadu Beach · 21 Sep 2026 · 09:48 AM · 1,840 birds · Dog off-lead flagged · Photos: 3

Submitting adds this record to the Moreton Bay ShorelineWatch dataset. Gazza will read it before your next session. If you're offline, the record is held locally until you're back in range.

What one season produces

Season 2026–27 · Moreton Bay · Projected outcomes

If 15 Stewards complete the program and visit their sites regularly through the season — this is what the record looks like after 12 months.

⚠ Illustrative · Not actual field records
141
Field records
15
Active Stewards
8
Sites monitored
12
Flagged birds ID'd
48
Site visits
Monthly field activity · Sept 2026 – Apr 2027
Peak species counts · Season 2026–27
Tier 1 — Confirmed identification
Bar-tailed GodwitCE
2,480
peak single count
Far Eastern CurlewCE
47
peak single count
Curlew SandpiperCE
312
peak single count
Red KnotEN
28
direct count
Pied OystercatcherLC
19
resident pair
Tier 2 — Probable / flock estimate
Red-necked StintLC
~1,840
flock estimate
Grey-tailed TattlerVU
~120
probable
WhimbrelLC
~35
probable
Sharp-tailed SandpiperLC
~280
flock estimate
Unknown small waders
~450
unresolved
22
Sites rated GREEN
16
Sites rated AMBER
10
Sites rated RED

GREEN — site meeting ecological standards · AMBER — management attention needed · RED — active threat to roosting birds

The plan starts with one conversation.

Register your interest and Gazza is ready when you are. First cohort: Late July / August 2026 — but the interview and the public chat are open now.

↗ Conversations With Birds