A FARMING family at Montagu in the far North-West is at the forefront educating the community about thousands of migratory and shorebirds in the area.
Kim Anderson, who is a sixth-generation local of Circular Head, runs the farm with her husband, Bevan.
Kim is also the spokesperson for the Circular Head Coastal Awareness Inc., which is concerned about the impact of wind turbines on Robbins Island on the birdlife.
“This is an international significant wetland that supports up to 25,000 migratory and resident shore birds that call this wetland home, for some species for at least six months of the year while they rest up and fatten up ready for their nonstop flights of up to 12,000km to the Northern Hemisphere,” Kim said.
“This is not about being against renewable energy or windfarms, but this is 100 percent the wrong location.
“Wetlands, birdlife and animals are being driven to extinction all around the world by inappropriate development and we do not want this to happen on our front doorstep.”
Convenor of Birdlife Tasmania Eric Woehler said the Robbins Passage-Boullanger Bay wetlands are the most important area for shorebirds in Tasmania supporting more migratory and resident species than the rest of Tasmania combined.
“The Robbins Passage-Boullanger Bay wetlands support six species of internationally significant resident and migratory shorebirds, and it is critical to manage the area as an integrated system rather than a series of sites,” Mr Woehler said.
The Circular Head group launched on International Wetlands Day, an A3 artwork of Illustrations of the significant birdlife around Robbins Island that was produced by Lois Bury from Hobart.
More information visit the Circular Head group’s Facebook page.