Sunday 9 March 2008

Snipe

It's been raining in short, hard bursts, and the lower fields are soggy and soft. As you sploosh your way through, there is a stirring and a whirring, and a plumpish shape or three or thirty rise noisily and move off for a while. Skewers with wings, these extraordinary birds love the wet rushy pasture, but are incredibly shy and I only ever see them making their getaway. A couple of years ago I saw a parent and a number of young in a field ditch, but they too took to the air as I unwittingly disturbed them. I only wish the snipe would have let me take this photo.

3 comments:

rilly super said...

last summer when we were on holiday the place was alive with these wading birds. In the field next door to where we stayed a pair of curlews had two chicks which they had to defend against the gulls and bonxies. Here, if you wander up the river a bit there are curlews and snipes and even oystercatchers, as there is a flock of them that live in the Reeth meanders but I saw two just a mile ofrom here yeaterday

anyway, have been reading the news about the weather in the southwest and as it os pretty awful even here today I hope you have battened down the hatches and don't suffer any damage. all the best from Rilly

Mopsa said...

Rilly - it sounds fabulous, but what is a bonxie?

Arthur Clewley said...

I think a bonxie is one of these mopsa, a great skua