Sniping!

Ripples on the water. It’s a snipe! Wow! Two snipe! I sat and watched snipe for the rest of the morning as they bobbed, fed and even displayed. Snipe are almost mythical. There is, of course, the hidden shore bird that erupts at my feet – then the whir of wings as it flies off to dive into cover. And the haunting “winnowing” as snipe display high in the spring sky. Mostly snipe rarely stay still long enough for me to watch them. But this time – I saw those long bills probing the mud, the large eyes and the intricate plumage that is so perfectly camouflaged for living among the mud and plants of wetlands. Why do they bob? What are they finding in the mud? And when they display – the flash of orange tail feathers!

The snipe obliging displayed while I took a video https://vimeo.com/1018855371 They really do bob and the flashing of the orange tail feathers and crouching by each other – very cool!!

I had an amazing day thanks to sharing my morning with snipe. But the day wasn’t over. That evening there were northern lights like this southerner has never seen the likes of. All in all, quite the day!!

Maybe even magic.

all photos, writing and videos copyright J.A. Siderius, 2024