A hasty road trip was in order, and Max, Henry, Nathan (plus his younger brother and friend) and I headed out early at 5:30 on Sunday morning. We arrived at the spot where they had been seen two days before, hoping to jump out of the car and see them easily. Of course, we saw no snipes. At least a pair of Stubble Quail flying over our heads made up for it!
A last minute check of Birding Aus had revealed that there was another sighting at Pitt Town Bottoms the day before, so after we had given up on the turf farms, we headed straight there. I wasn’t expecting to see them now (I had put most of my money on seeing them at the turf farms), but as soon as we jump out of the car, what’s sitting on the mud but a pair of Australian Painted Snipe! We all spent fantastic hour or so admiring these beautiful birds, who spent their time sitting next to each other, preening, sleeping, and chasing off a Sharp-tailed Sandpiper that got too close.
This small pond on Pitt Town Bottoms Rd is easily my favourite birding site in Sydney right now. As well as the two Painted Snipes, there were many Sharp-tailed and two Wood Sandpipers, Red-kneed Dotterels, Latham’s Snipe, White-winged Triller, Golden-headed Cisticola and hoards of other birds (with surely more to be found!). I’m looking forward to the day when Pitt Town Lagoon itself finally dries out a bit and becomes as good as this pond :)
Male (left) and Female (right) Australian Painted Snipes
Wood Sandpiper
Red-kneed Dotterel and Latham's Snipe
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