A Snipe saves the night

Gareth and Kevin Clements went lamping on one of the farms near to Belvide last night. It was a waxing moon with broken cloud, so not the ideal conditions. However, it was dry and with a moderate breeze, and the birds were relatively well-behaved - those that were there.

Disappointingly, Kevin and Gareth only suspected having seen one probable Woodcock, but it flew before getting close enough. There were again no passerines on the fields, but there were at least 15 Common Snipe seen and a few Red-legged Partridge.

Fortunately, we managed to catch and ring one Common Snipe, which was a first for us and the site.

We think it helps if the net holder has the sound system to keep the noise going as they approach the bird.

We are also finding that in pasture fields with relatively long grass snipe species are very good at hunkering down as soon as they see you, which makes them very difficult to find even with the thermal imager. Bring on the next time!

Common Snipe caught and ringed by Belvide Ringers

This is our first posting and the site is still in development, so please continue to watch this space!