The Latham's Snipe (Gallinago hardwickii) is Orange's own long haul migratory bird. It is seen in habitat such as the Ploughman's Wetlands and in swampy meadows and wetlands along the coast and tablelands of Eastern Australia. By this time, our snipe will be winging their way along the East Asian Australasian flyway to Hokkaido in Northern Japan, where they will take advantage of the northern hemisphere summer to breed.

Their migratory journey is long and perilous. It is made even more so by loss of wetland habitat that all migratory birds rely on as fuel stops to obtain energy for long haul flights. Threat of habitat loss is of concern to many of us who love birds, especially as there are government dam project proposals that directly threaten the health of the wetlands upon which our migratory birds are dependent for survival.

Rosemary Stapleton, Secretary of the Orange Field Naturalist and Conservation Society, expresses this concern when she says: "The journey that migratory birds make is amazing. Small birds like the Latham's Snipe fly all the way from Japan to spend the Summer at our local wetlands. Even more species fly to the Lachlan River wetlands and the Macquarie Marshes. Why are the NSW and Australian governments ignoring these amazing natural journeys (and international agreements) and proposing to increase the amount of water captured in Wyangala Dam and Gin Gin Weir?"

Melissa Gray from Healthy Rivers Dubbo is particularly concerned about the threat of further water extraction from the Macquarie River to the Macquarie Marshes. She says plans to build an enormous re-regulating dam at Gin Gin between Narromine and Warren will seal the fate of the Macquarie Marshes and the migratory birds, which breed there. The Marshes are afforded the legal protection under various international agreements, including the Ramsar Convention, the Water Act and the Murray Darling Basin Plan. However, it falls on the community to push our governments to enforce the laws that protect our wetlands. To recognise Migratory Bird Day send a social media post or an email to NSW Environment Minister Matt Kean asking him to stand up for Ramsar Wetlands.

Hopefully, we will see Gallinago harwickii return next Spring.