Snipe-fest

I have to admit that I have been using the continuing cold weather as an excuse to avoid a resumption of evening visits now that the clocks have gone forward.

In my absence, Matt W has been making hay, or rather counting Snipe. Loads of them. I got a text from him this afternoon saying that he, accompanied by the farmer, counted 126 Common Snipe on the main scrape today.

Now I am guessing he meant what I call the flashes and that the farmer was Steve Green who owns the land which the rest of us are not allowed to walk on. From the fence line you can often see bits of Snipe emerging and disappearing, and I often wonder how many there actually are. This count, whether it was made on the main pool or the flashes is a terrific effort and to put it into a regional context, it beats any count of Snipe reported in the West Midlands in 2010, the latest WMBC Bird Report to have been produced.

I suspect that by leaving the land largely undisturbed, we have all contributed to the success of the species here this winter , and I consider it a small price to pay for a more productive wildlife habitat.