It's an unexpected arrival that's turned a south Canberra swamp into an interstate tourist attraction for twitchers and their long-lensed cameras.
Three painted snipe flew in, just over a week ago, and their presence at Jerrabomberra wetlands in Fyshwick has generated great excitement on birding cyber-chat sites across Australia.
''Painted Snipe at Kelly's Swamp!!!,'' reads the first post on the Canberra Ornithologists Group chatline. ''Get down there now if you possibly can.''
And they have, with bird enthusiasts arriving from Sydney, rural NSW and Victoria to patiently watch these chestnut-brown, black and white wading birds with their distinctive eye-stripe and elongated bills.
Canberra ornithologist Geoffrey Dabb has spent several days at Jerrabomberra wetlands photographing the painted snipe since their arrival.
They're a must-see bird, ranking high on the life tick-list of Australia's twitchers, he explained.
But they're also an elusive and nomadic species, so a chance to watch and photograph them at close quarters is as rare as the birds themselves.
''They're very enigmatic and normally you'd have to travel to wetlands in North Queensland for even a remote chance that you might possibly see them. Having three turn up here at the wetlands is quite extraordinary,'' he said.
Sydney photographer David Stowe drove down to Canberra almost as soon as he heard the birds had turned up here, happily crouching among the mud and tussocks for several hours to get photos of the birds foraging for insects, and bathing in the shallows.
''They're rare birds, very secretive and you don't often get the chance to see them in such an easily accessible spot. This is definitely one for the life list,'' he said.
Life lists are a twitcher's wish list of the birds they want to see during their lifetime.
Colourful birds, like superb parrots and palm cockatoos, will feature, but the list will also have its quota of less ostentatious birds, known by some twitchers as LBJs, or little brown jobs.
The painted snipe (Rostratula benghalensis) is listed in NSW and Victoria as endangered. It has a scattered distribution and is usually found in wetlands along Australia's east coast, from northern Queensland to the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia.
''No one really knows why they turn up where they do, but it may have something to do with seasonal conditions,'' Mr Dabb said.
''I think we're lucky Canberra has had some good recent rains, and the wetlands are providing ideal habitat for them,''
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