Recovery plan vision, objective, and strRecovery plan vision, objective, and strategies:

Due to the highly secretive behaviour and concealing habitats commonly used, the specific habitat requirements of the Australian Painted Snipe are much less well known than for most other Australian waterbirds. The species typically inhabits shallow freshwater and brackish wetlands, especially where inundation is temporary but also permanent wetlands with shallow zones. Swamps and claypans are favoured wetland types but inundated or waterlogged grassland or saltmarsh, dams, rice crops, sewage farms and bore drains also may be used. In the inland and north, gilgai wetland surfaces are favoured, especially for nest sites. Dominant vegetation in occupied wetlands may include one of more of these elements: grass (e.g. canegrass Eragrostis australasica), sedge, and nardoo (Marsilea), in sward or tussock form; clumps of rushes or reeds; samphire dwarf shrubland; and open-shrubland of lignum (Duma florulenta), river cooba (belalie) Acacia stenophylla. As a secretive species, Australian Painted Snipe sometimes utilises concealing features such as fallen or washed-up timber (Marchant and Higgins 1993).

Recovery plan vision, objective, and strategies:

Long-term vision

The Australian Painted Snipe population has increased in size to such an extent that the species no longer qualifies for listing as threatened under any of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 listing criteria.

Recovery plan objective:

By 2032, sustain a positive population trend (compared to 2020 baseline counts) in the number of mature individuals of the Australian Painted Snipe. This will be achieved by implementing the actions set out in this Recovery Plan that minimise threats while protecting the species’ habitat throughout its range, generating new knowledge to guide recovery and increasing public awareness.

Strategies to achieve objectives

1 Manage and protect known Australian Painted Snipe habitat at the landscape scale
2 Develop and apply techniques to measure changes in population trajectory in order to measure the success of recovery actions
3 Reduce, or eliminate threats at breeding and non-breeding habitats
4 Undertake research to improve knowledge of the habitat requirements, biology and behaviour of Australian Painted Snipe
5 Engage community stakeholders to improve awareness of the conservation of Australian Painted Snipe
6 Coordinate, review and report on recovery progress