Hi all,
Firstly, thanks to Ann Lindsey and Mike Newman for the original find of the
birds at Lenaghans Swamp, and to Mick and Steve Roderick for the updates -
great work. I can only reiterate what Mick and Steve have already said
about being cautious when watching these birds. As most on the list will
know, last year at Rutherglen (Vic) we had a breeding event, and a total of
8 birds were seen over about a month. Conditions at Lenaghans and
surrounds sound perfect for another breeding event, and the trickle of
birds (initially two seen, now up to three) suggests an influx of birds to
the area is a distinct possibility. I am not for one second suggesting not
to go and check the birds out - we want as many people as possible to see
these amazing birds - but please be mindful of disturbance. As Bill
Moorhead has stated, there is also currently a sub-adult female being
treated in Bundaberg after being found in a carpark looking exhausted and
with slight wing damage. Interestingly, this follows on from two weeks ago
where a bird was found on Woolgoolga Beach in NSW and taken into care (only
to die a few days later, sadly). So, there appears to be some movement of
the birds at present - from where is anyones guess.
As a reminder, the Threatened Bird Network and the Australasian Wader
Studies Group are jointly running an Australian Painted Snipe project. This
project was initiated because of concern that the Painted Snipe was
declining, and we have been up and running for 5 years or so. The species
is listed as vulnerable under the Federal EPBC Act, and is also listed from
rare to critically endangered across all mainland states and
territories. It is a challenging species to work on as it is cryptic and
rather nomadic. Neverthless, we organise surveys to look for Painted Snipe
(one of which was last weekend - a huge thanks to all who participated), we
maintain a database of all records that we can find of the species, and we
generally bat for Painted Snipe conservation and act as a central point of
contact for anybody working on the species in any way. It is now
considered a full species, distinct from the Greater Painted Snipe of Asia
and surrounds, and official acknowledgement of this should occur after DNA
analysis of birds caught in Broome several years ago is finalised. If
anyone has (or knows of) any historical records, even if they're 100 years
old, we would love to know about them. And of course, any recent records
like this get us very excited too!
For those who are interested I have copies of several recent papers on the
taxonomy and habitat requirements of the species, and am happy to email
these out. We also produce an occasional newsletter, Painted Snippets,
with the latest edition circulated only a few months ago. Please contact
me if you would like a copy of this too. And please keep a keen eye open
at any wetlands which look suitable for Australian Painted Snipe!
Cheers, Dean
Threatened Bird Network Coordinator
Birds Australia
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