diff --git a/src/reference/ReferenceSourceReader.ts b/src/reference/ReferenceSourceReader.ts
index 6420e3f347..88553bee2b 100644
--- a/src/reference/ReferenceSourceReader.ts
+++ b/src/reference/ReferenceSourceReader.ts
@@ -147,7 +147,7 @@ export const reconcileUnobservedSymlinkTargets = (
       kind: "symlink",
       path: entry.path,
       code: ancestor.code,
-      message: `Symbolic link target is inside a directory that could not be enumerated: ${ancestor.message}`,
+      message: `Symbolic link target ${JSON.stringify(entry.target)} was not inventoried because directory ${JSON.stringify(ancestor.path)} could not be enumerated: ${ancestor.message}`,
     };
   }
 };
diff --git a/tests/boundary/filesystem/referenceSourceUnreadableDirectories.test.ts b/tests/boundary/filesystem/referenceSourceUnreadableDirectories.test.ts
index ae54e16ce0..cc5b689e49 100644
--- a/tests/boundary/filesystem/referenceSourceUnreadableDirectories.test.ts
+++ b/tests/boundary/filesystem/referenceSourceUnreadableDirectories.test.ts
@@ -108,6 +108,7 @@ describe("reference source native unreadable directories", () => {
             kind: "symlink",
             target: null,
             target_state: "unreadable",
+            limitations: [expect.stringContaining('"hidden/target.txt"')],
           }),
         );
       } finally {