Hundreds of migratory birds tagged on Western Australia's 80 Mile Beach by volunteer researchers

At this time of year the white sands of 80 Mile Beach, just south of Broome, are home to hundreds of thousands of migratory wading birds. The flocks spend weeks filling their bellies at the coastline's mudflats, before taking off on a route known as a flyway to travel to Siberia to breed.

However, there are concerns that development in Asia is destroying the birds' habitat at important rest stops on their journey. Numbers of some species, such as Curlew Sandpipers, have declined dramatically in the past 30 years.

In 1981 the Australasian Wader Studies Group was formed as a special sub branch of Birdlife Australia. Since that time, the volunteer group has made annual trips to a section of 80 Mile Beach on Anna Plains Station to collect data on the birds' numbers and health.

Read or listen to the full story on the ABC Rural website.

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