After a reasonably good spring and early summer in 2023, APS records quickly dried up. We started 2024 with only one active site nationwide: the property near Balranald, NSW, where Gloria, the first ever APS to be tracked, was caught back in October 2023. Days later, on January 3rd 2024, we would add Marcelina at the same property, but over the next eight months, there were only a handful of sites across the country: https://paintedsnipe.com.au/recent-sightings/ Finally, spring came and we’ve had some nice records since then, most notably the 12 birds found at The Mole Marsh in the Macquarie Marshes, five of which we caught and are tracking, and the eight birds recently found at the Bulbul Crescent wetland near Newcastle. With the exception of Fivebough Swamp and Ita Lake, all other records in 2024 were of single birds. Not including the Balranald birds in early January, there were 40 birds across 17 sites reported nationally in 2024, with half of them at the Macquarie Marshes and Newcastle sites, both of which have previous recent records and warrant close observation and protection.
Clearly, New South Wales was again the standout, with 33 of the 40 birds found. The lack of birds in WA, NT and SA can usually be explained, at least in part, by the relative lack of birdwatchers and birdwatching activity, but that doesn’t apply to Victoria, with just a single bird recorded throughout the entire year. Once again, it’s not hard to see why we are so concerned about this species. Given their cryptic nature, many birds are of course overlooked or go undetected in remote areas, but 40 is nonetheless a dismal number for an entire species over a whole year, especially considering there’s probably never been more effort to find and report these birds. For example, the post-COVID boom in birdwatching activity and eBird use has been huge and the species is very much in the spotlight for twitchers and photographers. Forty birds is less than 2023 had, but a whole lot better than the preceding couple of years, where there were only a handful of records. Still, it seems a far cry from the 400 birds recorded in the couple of years after the millennium drought broke. Special thanks to everyone who has kept us in touch with sightings, making sure we hear about them. Many are reported directly on our website but without all of you keeping your eyes out we’d miss a lot of others. They pop up on various Facebook groups, eBird, birdata, iNaturalist, Instagram and elsewhere. If we have missed any then please let us know. Huge thanks to everyone who supports our project and makes it all possible.
*** Please note that two sites – a Lockyer wetland and Jerilderie – have not yet been reported on our website but are included below and in the 40 figure. All other sites can be found here: https://paintedsnipe.com.au/recent-sightings/ ***
NSW – 33 birds at 9 sites
QLD – 5 birds at 5 sites
VIC
WA
NT
