Seward, Alaska
While driving
slowly down a quiet road in Forest Acres, a bird suddenly flew low in front of
my car and landed at the side of the road. A WILSON’S SNIPE! I immediately
stopped, turned off the ignition, and rolled down the window to watch.
The snow had
recently retreated right next to the road, revealing a bedraggled assortment of
spruce cones, spruce needles, twigs, gravel, dirt, and emerging dandelions. The
brown streaky-stripy-spotted Snipe blended in perfectly. Fortunately, after
long seconds of watchful immobility, the long-billed Snipe chose to ignore the
paparazzi in the car blind.
It was
fascinating to observe the chunky shorebird with short legs and long toes bob
gently as it deliberated, then thrust that long beak into the dirt. Probing
deep into the duff, it pulled out several invertebrates including what looked
like a small earthworm. By vibrating its head like a tiny jackhammer, lunch
quickly shot up the bill and down the hatch.
I understand the
tip of the bill is quite flexible and can also determine the difference between
a small cold pebble and a small cold invertebrate.
The Snipe mined
the rubble along the roadside and found a treasure-trove of delicacies to eat.
I would not have recognized the café potential here, and was impressed and
pleased to learn from an expert. As a dandelion-weeder, I too have often
found earthworms and slugs in the dandelion roots. I wonder if the emerging
dandy greens attracted the Snipe?
This unexpected
encounter of a usually hard to observe Snipe sure made my day!
Happy Birding!
Carol Griswold
Seward Sporadic
Bird Report Reporter
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