Proposition: That the
visibility of Latham’s Snipe at Kelly Swamp has declined sharply over the
last 6 years.
I base this on the seasons
1999-2003 when on most mornings one could find up to 5 or so snipe feeding in view,
often right in front of and close to the hides, not disturbed even by shrill
cries of ‘wow, look at the snipe!’ coming from inside them.
Now (2006-2009), a glimpse of one or two snipe in the southern marshy area or
the inlet channel is the most one can expect. I do not assert there are
less snipe, although this may be the case, but they are certainly harder to
see.
Here are some possibilities:
a)
Snipe numbers
overall are down. With all the effort put into wader study, it should be
possible to learn more about this, perhaps from studies at the breeding sites.
b)
Less snipe are
coming to the Canberra area. I do not know, and do not know how you could
find out, whether that is so. Certainly one or two snipe are regularly
reported from elsewhere around the suburbs. They might be favouring other
spots (seed d. below), or there might be more, or more reporting,
observers. There was a report of 19 seen in the proposed JW
refuge area in 2007-2008.
c)
The snipe are more
timid. Perhaps they are being hunted somewhere along their migratory
range. I do not know how you could learn more about that.
d)
Kellys is less
attractive to snipe. I think this is quite possible. However the
conditions and the number of visitors seem about the same. Without more
information on a. – c., this seems to me to be a credible explanation.
Perhaps there is some factor at work we do not know about. Perhaps the
repeated drying-out spells have reduced the earthworm population. I would
not blame the cattle, present at all relevant times, or the foxes, for the same
reason. One possibility I would have on the list is the number of
swamphens and moorhens. These have bred up noticeably and they are
aggressive species (particularly swamphens) towards birds the same size or smaller.
They constantly patrol the shallows and grassy verges that are the usual haunt
of the snipe.
Although conveying a familiar
impression of the swamp, I should caution that this photograph, as the alert
swamp-frequenter will perceive, was subject to a teensy bit of addition to
illustrate this contribution.
From: Steve Holliday
[
Sent: Friday, 13 February 2009 3:06 PM
To:
Subject: [canberrabirds] Kellys Swamp
A midday visit to the wetlands, very few
ducks, large areas of exposed mud starting to appear, especially at the
southern end, looks good for shorebirds but 3 Black-fronted Dotterels,
including a juvenile, and 2 Lapwings was all I could find. Plenty of White Ibis
and at least 4 Royal Spoonbills, a mix of young and adult birds.
At Crake Alley there is also some exposed
mud appearing amongst the reeds. Feeding on it today were Fairy-wrens, WB
Scrubwrens, Little Grassbirds (2+), Reed Warblers, Spotless crakes (2+), and a
single Latham’s Snipe which didn’t hang around. There was also an
extended moorhen family with 3 adults and 4 young birds foraging in the area.
cheers
Steve
