Below is a message to Birding-Aus. Subscribers to this chatline might have reports. It will not be necessary to report the sightings at Kelly Swamp in January 2021, which are well and truly on the record. In fact, that is probably the
most-reported appearance of Australian Painted-snipe in the period concerned.
From: Birding-Aus <>
On Behalf Of Geoffrey Dabb
Sent: Monday, 17 October 2022 10:24 AM
To: ;
Subject: [Birding-Aus] Request for reports of Australian Painted-snipe
Some concern is being expressed about the state of our endemic Australian Painted-snipe. This is listed as Endangered under the EPBC Act, but it is not among the 22 bird taxons listed as priorities in
the Threatened Species Action Plan 2022-2023. The Action Plan for Australian Birds 2020 says that ‘numbers may now be down to 340 mature individuals’. Monitoring is described as ‘very poor, relying on the assembly of opportunistic records of
birdwatchers …’ . Since the beginning of 2021, there has been an alarmingly small number of reports in the online recording. Pending a more organised approach to assessment of numbers, I am proposing here that an effort be made to get into a central point
all recent observations of the species, including those of an opportunistic nature that might not otherwise find their way into the records.
The period concerned is 1 January 2021 to the present, and continuing. Please send reports to Birdlife Australia, not to me. The contact is Chris Purnell, a co-addressee above. Precise locations need not be disclosed,
if that is a consideration in deciding whether to make a report.
Geoffrey Dabb
