Liam McNally
Members of the Friends of the Melton Botanic Garden played their part in documenting population numbers of a rare bird over the weekend.
On Saturday, January 14 Latham Snipe bird populations were recorded across Australia’s east coast as a part of the Australian Latham Snipe Project, before they migrate back to Japan for the breeding season.
A group of volunteers walked along Ryans Creek and around Darlingsford Lake within the garden to flush out and count the number of Latham Snipes residing in the wetland.
Latham Snipes were first spotted in Melton Botanic Gardens in 2009, and since 2014 populations have been regularly surveyed for the project.
The Australian Latham Snipe project is led by Federation University of Australia which use the survey findings to assess vulnerability levels and track migration habits.
This survey just two Snipes were found, down from four spotted in the November survey.
Friends of the Melton Botanic Garden president John Bentley said he believes that this is due to heavy rains providing more wetland habitats for the birds.
“Normally we would see a bit more but this year the Melton Botanic Garden has had a low count because I think there’s been a lot of water around so there’s a lot of wetland areas for them to go to,” he said.
“Some of the better areas like Port Fairy have recorded record numbers this year.”
The Snipes will leave Victoria in February for a journey that will eventually lead them to Japan for their breeding season, and will return in August.
The Latham Snipe is listed as threatened under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Act and are vulnerable due to loss of wetlands along their migratory route.
