To join the Overwintering Project Print Portfolio, artists donate two prints to the project. One print will be exhibited in all core Overwintering Project exhibitions, and one will be for sale for $200, all of which is donated to BirdLife Australia's migratory shorebird research and conservation programs.
Since the start of the Project in 2017 we have so far been able to donate $51,000 to the Australian Wader Studies Group (AWSG), a special interest group of BirdLife Australia instigated in 1981 to coordinate and focus studies on shorebirds in Australia and throughout their migration routes in the Asia Pacific.
This was received with much gratitude, and the artists of the Overwintering Project are now the AWSG's major donors!
Funds raised 2017-2025 have gone toward the satellite tracking of Oriental Pratincoles in Broome, WA (see details below). This is exciting because, despite probably being the most numerous shorebird in NW WA, Oriental Pratincoles have never before been satellite tracked and so the breeding grounds of Australian birds has never before been confirmed! The Overwintering Project is supporting ground-breaking research into these wonderful birds to help secure their future.
In 2026 a portion of funds were directed to support a Mark Barter Travel award for the upcoming Australasian Shorebird Conference to be held in Newcastle, NSW in September 2026.
The Overwintering Project sponsors the Mark Barter Travel Award
This award was created to honour the late Mark Barter, who passed away in 2011. Mark was a leader in waterbird conservation throughout the East Asian-Australasian Flyway, who worked tirelessly to raise awareness globally about the importance of protecting and maintaining migratory waterbird populations. Shorebird workers and others will be aware of the tremendous contribution that Mark made to the understanding and conservation of shorebirds in the East Asian- Australasian Flyway over many years. In view of his substantial contributions through monitoring, training and education focussed on the Yellow Sea region, this Award seeks to build on this work by encouraging the further experience and development of young people who have demonstrated an interest in this work.
The recipient of this Award will be sponsored to attend the next Australasian Shorebird Conference (ASC) which will be held in Newcastle, Australia from 19 – 20 September 2026. The conference will include the excursions offered on 21 September. Following the Conference an opportunity will be given for the recipient to undertake further specific training and/or field experience which may include visiting other locations in Australia. An amazing opportunity, the Award includes return air fares, all internal transportation, accommodation and all conference registration costs. The Award is focussed on potential participants from Asian countries in the East Asian-Australasian Flyway. Applicants must have a demonstrated interest in shorebirds and supporting their conservation through a scientific approach.
I’m very proud to be sponsoring this award which fosters global connections in the shorebird community and will provide one young researcher with a career-changing opportunity. This is the first time that the Overwintering Project has sponsored this award. All other funds raised have gone toward research into the Oriental Pratincole, one of our most numerous but least known migratory shorebirds. Through our assistance it was discovered that this amazing bird breeds further south than many of our other migratory shorebirds, having been tracked to breeding grounds in Cambodia and India, the latter being the most westerly country of the East Asian-Australasian Flyway.
Migrations of the Oriental Pratincole by Grace Maglio and Amanda Lilleyman
The Oriental Pratincole (Glareola maldivarum) is the most numerous migratory shorebird on the Australian non-breeding grounds, but there is an almost complete lack of knowledge of this species, not only in terms of movements within Australia but also there was very limited information about migration routes and breeding sites. Over the last two years, the AWSG have lead world-first research on the tracking of this species. The team have discovered the migration paths of the individuals, including one bird that crossed over from the East Asian-Australasian Flyway to the Central Asian Flyway.
From our tracking, we know that Oriental Pratincole spend less than 12 weeks in Australia for the non-breeding season. This differs from many other migratory shorebirds in the flyway and we are yet to understand the drivers that influence the movement of these birds. Where are the millions of pratincoles that were once counted along Eighty-mile Beach?
We have many more questions about these birds that we would like to answer, but to do this, we need to track more individuals so we can confirm the migratory movements of this species. We are planning the next phase of the project to involve observational studies of nesting birds and a comparison of threats that birds face across the expansive breeding grounds where Oriental Pratincole are found.
Since the start of the Project in 2017 we have so far been able to donate $51,000 to the Australian Wader Studies Group (AWSG), a special interest group of BirdLife Australia instigated in 1981 to coordinate and focus studies on shorebirds in Australia and throughout their migration routes in the Asia Pacific.
This was received with much gratitude, and the artists of the Overwintering Project are now the AWSG's major donors!
Funds raised 2017-2025 have gone toward the satellite tracking of Oriental Pratincoles in Broome, WA (see details below). This is exciting because, despite probably being the most numerous shorebird in NW WA, Oriental Pratincoles have never before been satellite tracked and so the breeding grounds of Australian birds has never before been confirmed! The Overwintering Project is supporting ground-breaking research into these wonderful birds to help secure their future.
In 2026 a portion of funds were directed to support a Mark Barter Travel award for the upcoming Australasian Shorebird Conference to be held in Newcastle, NSW in September 2026.
The Overwintering Project sponsors the Mark Barter Travel Award
This award was created to honour the late Mark Barter, who passed away in 2011. Mark was a leader in waterbird conservation throughout the East Asian-Australasian Flyway, who worked tirelessly to raise awareness globally about the importance of protecting and maintaining migratory waterbird populations. Shorebird workers and others will be aware of the tremendous contribution that Mark made to the understanding and conservation of shorebirds in the East Asian- Australasian Flyway over many years. In view of his substantial contributions through monitoring, training and education focussed on the Yellow Sea region, this Award seeks to build on this work by encouraging the further experience and development of young people who have demonstrated an interest in this work.
The recipient of this Award will be sponsored to attend the next Australasian Shorebird Conference (ASC) which will be held in Newcastle, Australia from 19 – 20 September 2026. The conference will include the excursions offered on 21 September. Following the Conference an opportunity will be given for the recipient to undertake further specific training and/or field experience which may include visiting other locations in Australia. An amazing opportunity, the Award includes return air fares, all internal transportation, accommodation and all conference registration costs. The Award is focussed on potential participants from Asian countries in the East Asian-Australasian Flyway. Applicants must have a demonstrated interest in shorebirds and supporting their conservation through a scientific approach.
I’m very proud to be sponsoring this award which fosters global connections in the shorebird community and will provide one young researcher with a career-changing opportunity. This is the first time that the Overwintering Project has sponsored this award. All other funds raised have gone toward research into the Oriental Pratincole, one of our most numerous but least known migratory shorebirds. Through our assistance it was discovered that this amazing bird breeds further south than many of our other migratory shorebirds, having been tracked to breeding grounds in Cambodia and India, the latter being the most westerly country of the East Asian-Australasian Flyway.
Migrations of the Oriental Pratincole by Grace Maglio and Amanda Lilleyman
The Oriental Pratincole (Glareola maldivarum) is the most numerous migratory shorebird on the Australian non-breeding grounds, but there is an almost complete lack of knowledge of this species, not only in terms of movements within Australia but also there was very limited information about migration routes and breeding sites. Over the last two years, the AWSG have lead world-first research on the tracking of this species. The team have discovered the migration paths of the individuals, including one bird that crossed over from the East Asian-Australasian Flyway to the Central Asian Flyway.
From our tracking, we know that Oriental Pratincole spend less than 12 weeks in Australia for the non-breeding season. This differs from many other migratory shorebirds in the flyway and we are yet to understand the drivers that influence the movement of these birds. Where are the millions of pratincoles that were once counted along Eighty-mile Beach?
We have many more questions about these birds that we would like to answer, but to do this, we need to track more individuals so we can confirm the migratory movements of this species. We are planning the next phase of the project to involve observational studies of nesting birds and a comparison of threats that birds face across the expansive breeding grounds where Oriental Pratincole are found.
Funds from the Overwintering Project helped to pay for satellite trackers that were fitted onto five Oriental Pratincoles in nw WA. Although one of the trackers stopped transmitting very early on, the other four birds quickly shed light on their species' mysterious habits. All four headed north via Indonesia, and by late March were all in mainland Vietnam, Cambodia or Thailand, inhabiting agricultural land and open grassland habitats. But from there, they chose very divergent strategies, with two staying put, another heading west, and another flying north east.
One of the birds had left Thailand by early April and flown west to a subcoastal site in eastern India, and a or so week later, another had flown in the other direction, to Taiwan, leaving the other birds in Cambodia.
The Indian bird is believed to have successfully bred in Karnataka state, in the country’s South West. It’s the first shorebird known to breed in India and migrate to Australia.
One of the other birds is believed to have bred in Cambodia, near Tonle Sap Lake, while the is assumed to have bred near Phnom Penh. The fourth bird, which flew to Taiwan, apparently stayed there there, though its satellite signals were patchy.
Exciting news is that the three breeding birds all made it home to Australia for the summer! By late December the birds from India and Cambodia had returned, although the Taiwanese bird with the patchy transmission has not yet been seen. Two of the birds returned to WA and the third to the NT.
The importance of following their movements is in finding out exactly where they go. It is only then that researchers can understand their requirements when they’re breeding and while on migration, and identify any conservation issues they may face along the way.
IMAGES: The images above and below were provided by Grace Maglio, and show the Pratincole tagged with leg flag ID, SEP, which made its way from the coastal plains of Eighty Mile Beach to the backwaters of the Almatti Dam in Karnataka, India!
One of the birds had left Thailand by early April and flown west to a subcoastal site in eastern India, and a or so week later, another had flown in the other direction, to Taiwan, leaving the other birds in Cambodia.
The Indian bird is believed to have successfully bred in Karnataka state, in the country’s South West. It’s the first shorebird known to breed in India and migrate to Australia.
One of the other birds is believed to have bred in Cambodia, near Tonle Sap Lake, while the is assumed to have bred near Phnom Penh. The fourth bird, which flew to Taiwan, apparently stayed there there, though its satellite signals were patchy.
Exciting news is that the three breeding birds all made it home to Australia for the summer! By late December the birds from India and Cambodia had returned, although the Taiwanese bird with the patchy transmission has not yet been seen. Two of the birds returned to WA and the third to the NT.
The importance of following their movements is in finding out exactly where they go. It is only then that researchers can understand their requirements when they’re breeding and while on migration, and identify any conservation issues they may face along the way.
IMAGES: The images above and below were provided by Grace Maglio, and show the Pratincole tagged with leg flag ID, SEP, which made its way from the coastal plains of Eighty Mile Beach to the backwaters of the Almatti Dam in Karnataka, India!
