NORTHERN SUBURBS April Meeting Report
Amellia (Milly) Formby is a passionate shorebird conservationist with many and varied strings to her bow. She started academic life with a Visual Arts degree from Monash University and worked as a professional tapestry weaver at the Australian Tapestry Workshop in South Melbourne for seven years.
This was followed by a degree and masters in Zoology from the University of Melbourne. A move to Western Australia and a ‘light-bulb moment’ while driving to Bunnings inspired her to set in motion a plan to fly a microlight aircraft following shorebirds on their migratory route—known as the
East Asian-Australasian Flyway (EAAF) (below).
Milly introduced us to shorebirds in Australia. We have 18 resident, 36 migrant and 24 vagrant species. The migrant shorebirds use the EAAF—which is the largest flyway in the world, covering four continents and 23 countries—to fly to the tundra in Siberia each year to breed then make the return journey.
For shorebird habitats we tend to think of sandy beaches, but they also include freshwater wetlands, rocky shores, intertidal flats, grasslands and inland salt lakes. Different habitats mean different food sources including bivalves, crustaceans, gastropods and bristle worms, and these different foods are linked to the different types of bills.
Why is Milly so passionate about shorebirds? “Because they are awesome!” she exclaimed. Because they can ‘fly to the moon’. A female Bar-tailed Godwit designated E7 was recorded flying a round trip of 29,000 km from New Zealand to the Arctic, via the Yellow Sea in China in 2007. From banding data, we know some of these birds are over 20 years old. This means a godwit aged 15 years has flown a distance equivalent to flying to the moon!
What is sad about these shorebirds is they are heading towards extinction due to loss of habitat along the EAAF. Some species have experienced rates of decline up to 80 per cent in the last 30 years.
What are Milly’s objectives?
- To build support through a blog and on social media by sharing her experiences through writing, film, drawing and photography.
- To launch a 60-day crowdfunding campaign (hosted by UWA on the Chuffed platform; 28 Feb – 30 Apr) at Avalon Airshow.
- To undertake a research project during the flight using the latest GPS and satellite tracking technologies to gather information on the behavioural ecology of shorebirds during migration.
- To collaborate with scientists, aviators and artists to produce a documentary film.
If you would like to know more about Milly’s current and future adventures, check out her website (with links to Facebook and Twitter)
Willy Dadour