Linda Waters, Vulnerable (ANIMAL & NATURE 2026)

The beloved Hoody (Hooded Plover), a beach nesting shore bird, whose conservation status is rated as vulnerable by the EPBC (Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999) due mainly to habitat destruction. This means it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild. One summer morning, on an unusually empty beach, it was just this one Hoody and me. It wore a yellow band (tagged at Phillip Island), numbered 38. Among the wrack accumulated on the beach the Hoody foraged for small crustaceans, its beak always encrusted with sand. This tiny shorebird scurried between clumps of rotting seaweed and when it stood next to a ribbon of giant kelp, their comparable dimensions spelt a another kind of ‘vulnerable’.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.