Drought effects on snipe?

October 19, 2018

The count data from the September 15 surveys is still dribbling in, but the numbers received so far show less birds this year compared to previous years. It is still probably too early to say if the drought conditions are affecting snipe, given we are waiting on a few more count results, and conditions on the count day were terrible (really windy and wet in SE Aus). But could this also be a sign of things to come this season? The Bureau of Meteorology has declared this year to be one of the driest on record http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/drought/. And several unusual snipe observations and events have occurred , that hint at potential impacts on migrating birds due to the dry conditions (2 instances of birds that have suffered on migration, one in QLD and one in Gippsland; and 2 unusual behavioural observations).

If you see snipe doing something unusual let us know!

The November 10 count will be really important to see if the low counts are just due to bad weather or birds arriving late, or if there are drought effects on migrants influencing their choice of non-breeding terminus location.