Winton Wetlands in north-east Victoria also claims to have 'many 100s' of
Latham's Snipe.
http://www.wintonwetlands.org.au/environment/winton_wetland_woodland_ecology/
"The Winton Wetlands have historically been an important site for waterbirds in
Victoria. More recently it has been identified as a site of international
significance for the conservation of Latham’s Snipe, a migratory bird listed
under a bilateral agreement with Japan (JAMBA), where it spends the northern
hemisphere summer. Many hundreds of Latham’s Snipe spend their southern summer
at the Winton Wetlands, in numbers that are likely to be considered significant
under the RAMSAR convention on internationally important wetlands (Conole,
2008). Other notable wetland bird species occurring at Winton are the
White-bellied Sea-eagle, which nests in the numerous dead trees occurring
around the swamp (having drowned when inundated by the Mokoan irrigation
storage), the Australasian Bittern, the endangered Freckled Duck, the
Australasian Shoveler and the Hardhead, two species of duck listed as
vulnerable in Victoria."
> From:
> To: ;
> Date: Tue, 31 Mar 2015 22:04:04 +1100
> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Pectoral Sandpiper, 100+ Latham's Snipe at
> Yandina Creek Wetlands
>
> Hi Greg,
>
> I haven't heard of such a huge concentration of Latham's Snipe in Queensland
> before, but I know that there have been larger ones in Victoria. In the
> 1970s and early 1980s Latham's Snipe were regularly seen in big numbers at
> Seaford Swamp with the maximum being around 400. The Swamp is now part of
> the Edithvale-Seaford Wetlands recognised as a Ramsar wetland of
> international significance but I am afraid that conditions changed in the
> 1980s and large numebrs are no longer seen there. In the past couple of
> years as the condition of the wetlands has improved the site regularly holds
> 20+ snipe- still a far cry from the glory days.
>
> Around the same period, Belmont Common in Geelong was also known to support
> hundreds of Latham's Snipe in the right coniditions. It still exists but I
> haven't birded there for many years and have to say it doesn't look as
> appealling for snipe as in the 80s.
>
> The current record holder for Latham's Snipe surely has to be Powling Street
> Wetlands in Port Fairy in south western Victoria. In recent years up to 400
> Latham's Snipe have been recorded in what at first glance seems to be a
> fairly insignificant suburban wetland. Unfortunately a local developer
> thought he could trade on its unremarkable looks and sneak in a pretty
> crumby housing development in the middle of it.
>
> Fortunately the locals fought back, with the South Beach Wetlands and
> Landcare Group and Environmental Justice Australia running a case last year
> in Victoria's planning tribunal, VCAT, that reversed much of the ruling in
> favour of the development. For more information on the issue, we published a
> story on it in the June 2013 Australian Birdlife (Vol.2 No.2).
>
> Cheers, Sean
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Birding-Aus On Behalf Of
> Greg Roberts
> Sent: Saturday, 28 March 2015 3:02 PM
> To: birding-aus
> Subject: [Birding-Aus] Pectoral Sandpiper,100+ Latham's Snipe at Yandina
> Creek Wetlands
>
> A Pectoral Sandpiper and an estimated 120-150 Latham's Snipe were present
> this morning at Yandina Creek Wetlands on the Sunshine Coast.
> Also seen were 2 pairs of Black-necked Stork, a pair of Australasian
> Shovelers, a couple of Australian Spotted Crake calling, and a Red-necked
> Avocet, among many other waterbirds. I'm not sure if such a large
> concentration of Latham's Snipe has been seen in Australia before?
> These sightings strengthen the case for the protection of the wetlands,
> which are on private property and are threatened by drainage for cattle
> pasture. The Sunshine Coast Council has been asked to acquire the wetlands
> for a reserve, while the Commonwealth and Queensland governments have been
> urged to ensure the enforcement of wildlife protection laws.
> Pics of the birds this morning and more on the continuing efforts to protect
> the wetlands can be found here:
> http://sunshinecoastbirds.blogspot.com.au/2015/03/pectoral-sandpiper-100-lat
> hams-snipe.html
>
> Greg
> http://sunshinecoastbirds.blogspot.com/
>
> <HR>
> <BR> Birding-Aus mailing list
> <BR>
> <BR> To change settings or unsubscribe visit:
> <BR> http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
> </HR>
>
>
> <HR>
> <BR> Birding-Aus mailing list
> <BR>
> <BR> To change settings or unsubscribe visit:
> <BR> http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
> </HR>
<HR>
<BR> Birding-Aus mailing list
<BR>
<BR> To change settings or unsubscribe visit:
<BR> http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
</HR>
|
