|
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
Jack
Snipe Lea Green I don't know if this happens to you, but I often walk past ponds and ditches and think to myself "That looks a good place for a Jack Snipe". Of course I never actually see one, and in all my years birding the species remains one of those birds which I see only very occasionally, and always singularly. That all changed on the morning before a typically bleak bonfire night in 2000. I was with Ray, on the summit of an old slag heap at Lea Green Flash in St. Helens. The top was bleak to say the least, with just a few, shallow muddy pools, and very sparse vegetation, though in places it was a little denser. As we walked, suddenly a small snipe flew up, silently almost from under our feet. It doubled back over our heads, with no zig-zag flight and landed in vegetation behind us. We had both seen the shortish bill, wedge shaped tail and even caught a glimpse of the face pattern, so we had no hesitation in identifying it as a Jack Snipe. A few steps further and a second bird flew up. I would say that this was little more than two feet in front of us, and was so small that my initial reaction was that it was a lark or pipit. Again it was silent, again the flight was short and direct, again the bill was short and the tail wedge shaped. A second Jack Snipe. Starting to get excited now, we split up and worked the area a little more methodically, scanning the ground in front of use before each step. Even so, we didn't spot a single bird on the ground, yet another five Jack Snipe flew up from under our feet. Seven in total, but how many there were still hidden, I wouldn't like to even guess. As I said earlier, the habitat here is very bleak, with minimal ground cover. The slag heaps are mainly made up from shale. I also found it a little odd that the birds should be on the summit, the most exposed part of the whole site during a period of particularly bad weather. There are many muddy pools in much more sheltered parts of the site. Whatever the answer, it was a great experience, and one of the highlights of my local birding. |
|||||||||||||||||||
 |
|
 |
||||||||||||||||||
