Illawarra nature lovers rolled up their sleeves and risked a bite from a shearwater bird over the weekend, in the hope of learning more about the species.
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Volunteers and Office of Environment and Heritage (OEH) staff braved the hot weather on Big Island, off Port Kembla, to survey wedge-tailed and short-tailed shearwaters, counting the number and types present.
Participants had to locate the birds' burrows and then either mimic their "moan" for them to answer back or put their gloved hands inside to physically count them.
OEH senior research scientist for threatened island fauna Nicholas Carlile feared shearwater numbers on the island had almost halved since the 1970s, as a result of a weed infestation.
"There were 1000 wedge-tailed shearwaters and a 100 short-tailed birds in the 1970s but my feeling is there will be about 500 and 50 respectively left and it's because of the grass," he said.
"We are pushing through mats of kikuyu grass; often the birds get tangled in it and they can't get out so they die of starvation.
"Sometimes they'll get stuck over the entrance to their burrow so the birds below also die of starvation because they can't get over the other bird to get out".
The survey is part of long-term plans to restore Big Island, removing weeds and re-planting native species, to increase shearwater and other bird populations.
Mr Carlile said the weekend's bird count would prove important in assessing the success of weed clearing on the island.
"We can look at where the shearwaters have set up their burrows now and then compare them in three or five years," he said.
"We also want to look at numbers - the theory is that as we get rid of the grass, the numbers of birds on the island will increase so taking stock now is really important."
Mr Carlile is hopeful work will also attract old inhabitants back to Big Island, such as the storm petrel, not seen since the 1970s.