The common snipe. Common, but not often visible.

The common snipe is actually reasonably abundant and is listed as a species of least concern on the IUCN species red list category.  However, I have rarely seen them; they are very shy and tend to hide in ground vegetation in or near marshy areas.  I saw my first snipe two years ago.  I was only four feet or so from it and could just make out its form and colouration through the grasses it was hiding behind.

Given their shy nature, I was surprised to find one sitting bold-as-you-please on a fence post while walking a trail near the town of Didsbury, Alberta.  With people frequently coming and going, the local bird population has acclimated to humans and even their dogs.  It was such a pleasure to finally get to see one up close without only hearing it or seeing it through cover.

They have an interesting behaviour where they produce a sound canned winnowing.  It is not a vocalization, rather it is created by the vibration of tail feathers as they dive during a courtship dance.  If you want to hear it for yourself, click here.

Although I have been out almost every day, I haven't seen too many interesting birds.  I will do a few more blogs with the ones I have found and hopefully will come across some new ones shortly.

Thanks for reading.

Eric Svendsen     www.ericspix.com