At a recent visit to Slimbridge WWT it was possible to observe the two types of Snipe seen in the UK. They both can be quite difficult to see, but from the Martin Smith hide you could see both almost together. I love the Common Snipe and it was great to watch it probing for food. Below it can be seen stretching its wings and showing off its beautiful markings.
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| Common Snipe |
The Jack Snipe is even more secretive and spends most of it time low down in the vegetation. It has a peculiar bobbing motion. I am not quite sure why it does this, but as Chris Packham always says there is always a good reason in nature. No behaviour happens completely randomly. The natural selection in nature takes care of this.
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| Jack Snipe in cover. |
This was the best image I could get, but I have seen the images of some friends with it out in the open. While I was there, each time it came out, it was immediately scared off by some other bird, quite often Water Rail. Ah well I least I have got something!
That was a great hour spent, really enjoyable and a new species for me the Jack Snipe. That's always a satisfying thing!
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