For those who like their bird reports on the anecdotal side, I offer the following.
I was at the Kellys carpark at 0635 to keep an appointment with Elizabeth and Bill C. I checked the quick viewpoints and found nothing unusual - at least 6 night herons though. Steve arrived and we exchanged some gossip on recent obs. Steve moved off and I wandered over to moon at the thistle-squatting galahs. Steve came back quickly.
“There’s a (something) snipe right in front of the hides”
Self: “Yeah - lot of them around at the moment”
SH: “No - a PAINTED Snipe”
Self: “Crikey” (or similar)
The P-s, in accordance with its crepuscular practices, had moved into the typha by 0700, just as nearly all the NHs had gone to roost by then in accordance with theirs.
And a Butterfield Brickbat to BLA for refusing to adopt ‘Australian Painted-snipe’ for this non-snipe, along with the rest of the civilised world.
From: Yarden Oren [
Sent: Friday, 7 December 2012 7:15 AM
To: 'Canberra Birds'
Subject: [canberrabirds] Painted snipe @ Kellys
Steve Holliday has just advised 10 mins ago the presence of a Painted Snipe in the channel next to the bittern hide at Kellys.
