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Thursday 31 January 2019

Fourth Attempt at the Jack Snipe - on 18th January, 2019

I'd only, as far as I can remember, had three sightings of Jack Snipe in my life - twice in the Scillies and once as Cossington Meadows, Leicestershire. However, I'd recently had three attempts, without success, at seeing the Jack Snipe that has been showing regularly from Crake Hide at Rutland Water.

We had an extended period of dismal weather, culminating in a fall of snow on the night of 17th January. I was getting stir-crazy, having not had a sensible birding session for over a week, and decided something had to be done about it - I'd have another attempt at the Jack Snipe. So off I set mid-morning (I'd had a late night the previous day) on the Friday.

I took my usual rural route and spotted a Buzzard in a field near Hungarton. The snow had all but totally disappeared by then.

Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo) - near Hungarton
I stopped for an early picnic lunch at my usual place, and was delighted to see the Little Owl there again. Sadly the light was awful - as was the photography!

Little Owl (Athene noctua) - my LO Site No.34
As the prime objective was the Jack Snipe, I made my way directly to Crake Hide, not stopping at any of the intermediate hides on the way. The hide was empty when I got there, but I was soon joined by another person. It was quite a while before my companion suddenly spotted movement in the reeds about 40 metres away and confirmed it was a Jack Snipe. It took me a while to find it through my binoculars at this distance, and even longer to find it through the camera lens. We must have watched it for well over half an hour before it totally disappeared from sight, and it never once emerged from the reeds! 

This fairly well illustrates what I could see through the binoculars on one of its more 'showing' positions:-

Jack Snipe (Lymnocryptes minimus) - from Crake Hide, Rutland Water
And this is the one occasion I managed to catch it showing its diagnostic dark stripe on the crown and a short bill:-

Jack Snipe (Lymnocryptes minimus) - from Crake Hide, Rutland Water
I stayed for approximately another hour, during which time the only shots I took were of Little Egret.


Little Egret (Egretta garzetta) - from Crake Hide, Rutland Water
At least I'd seen the Jack Snipe, even if I hadn't got any decent photos. I then set off to see what I could find at some of the other hides.

I didn't get further than Shoveler Hide before I got stalled by what was there. I've always thought Great Crested Grebes look fabulous in their summer plumage, but rather uninteresting in the winter. A relatively close view of a bird on this day changed my mind. I thought it looked wonderful!


Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus) - from Shoveler Hide, Rutland Water
Great Egret has now become firmly established at Rutland Water, and it seems that several of this species have decided to over-winter there. I suspect that we might get them breeding in 2019. This species is now as common as Little Egret was a few years ago. Here are a couple of images of Great Egret from that day.


Great Egret (Ardea alba) - from Shoveler Hide, Rutland Water
I'm not very good with the less common ducks but, while scanning around, I saw what I think might have been a female Scaup. It might have just been a female Tufted Duck with a large white base to the bill, or it could have been a Tufted Duck x Scaup. I'd welcome any opinions on the matter. It stayed at a great distance.


possible female Scaup - from Shoveler Hide, Rutland Water
While looking at the above bird, I also saw another duck which I am not able to positively ID, although I suspect that it's a female or juvenile Pochard - comments welcome!

possible Pochard - from Shoveler Hide, Rutland Water
Goosander are far from uncommon in these parts at this time of year, but I don't often get the chance to photograph one at relatively close quarters. I was, therefore, delighted when this female appeared in front of me and had a spell of preening. In the fourth image, I think she is trying to disguise herself as a dead fish!







Goosander (Mergus merganser) (female) - from Shoveler Hide, Rutland Water
I couldn't stop late as, that evening, I was attending a talk by a good friend on the subject of a photographic trip he'd made to Costa Rica (great talk!). I made a quick visit into all the other hides at this side of the reserve in the hope of finding Smew, but was unsuccessful. I then had to take the quick route home and saw nothing more of interest. It had, however, been another extremely enjoyable afternoon at Rutland Water - and I had seen the Jack Snipe (just!).

I suspect that my next post will feature a return to my garden wildlife. 

Thank you for dropping by.

24 comments:

  1. Well done on seeing the Jack Snipe. This cold weather should being a few more out to be seen I suspect. Another lovely collection of quality photos Richard.

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    1. Thank you, Marc. I really should try and get out more - especially since this cold snap is creating some ice! Best wishes - - - Richard

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  2. Lovely set of photos and I love the Goosander. At least you saw the snipe, even if it was determined to stay well hidden. I can imagine how difficult it was to find it with the camera lens!!! Hope all is going well. We had a very difficult drive back home through France, lots of snow. I will put the photos on the blog in a few days time. So much to do after being away for 6 weeks, but I have managed my last UK bird blog.
    Keep warm and hope all is going well for you. Take care Diane

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    1. Hi Diane! I'm pleased to hear you got home safely, in spite of the snow. I'm looking forward to your next blog post. Things are progressing slowly here - I'd put it at two steps forward followed by one step back, but at least we seem to be moving in the right direction!

      Take good care. My best wishes to you and Nigel - - - Richard

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  3. Fabulous Goosander female is lovely, the best I've seen this year. Thanks Richard.

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    1. Thank you, Bob, for those very kind words. It was a relatively lucky day for me! My best wishes - - - Richard

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  4. Good to glimpse the Jack Snipe. pity it couldn't be tempted out.
    Yet again some grand images but the Great Crested Grebe is stunning.

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    1. Thank you, Adrian. I was rather pleased with the light on the Great Crested Grebe!

      I hope that the snow is not holding you back too much. My best wishes - - - Richard

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  5. Glad you saw the Jack Snipe and the other photographs taken at Rutland Water are excellent Richard

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    1. Thank you, Margaret. For me it was a very worthwhile session. Best wishes - - - Richard

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  6. Amazing birds and pictures. Have a nice weekend

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  7. Hello Richard,
    I do not know all that well in the bird world,
    a Jack Snipe
    I've never heard or even seen, thanks for pointing but my favorite is the little owl
    Greetings Frank

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    1. Hi Frank. The Jack Snipe is a species from the northern part of Europe, but makes its way to UK in winter. I believe it is largely absent from Germany, except on migration.

      I think my favourite will always be the Little Owl!!

      My best wishes - - - Richard

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  8. Congratulations on seeing the Jack Snipe, Richard, even though I had to don my deerstalker hat and monocle to find it in the reeds! We are still in Costa Rica where the birding is quite fabulous, but the heat is starting to get to me a little (mid thirties every day, with 100% humidity). I will be happy to be back to snow and cold on Thursday!

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    1. By amazing coincidence, David, I found two more Jack Snipe yesterday, on my local patch, near the barn where I first showed you one of my Little Owls. I accidentally flushed first one which flew out of the reeds and landed around 50 metres away, and then a second a minute or so later which flew a little further away. Sadly, I didn't get any photos, although I must have been almost on top of them when they flew! I'll give it a day or two then go back and check the location, as it seems they can get quite attached to one spot.

      Temperatures in the mid thirties sounds almost idylic - until you add that humidity to it! I can sympathise with you looking forward to returning to your Canadian winter! I hope that you have a safe and uneventful journey home, and I'm looking forward to your trip report.

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  9. Un reportaje espectacular, me han gustado mucho todas las fotos y en especial las de Mergus merganser, son fantásticas. Este fin de semana pasado pude fotografiar a dos ejemplares pero estaban muy lejos de donde yo me encontraba, así que las fotos no son tan buenas como las tuyas. Enhorabuena Richard, un abrazo desde el Norte de España.

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    1. Gracias por esas amables palabras, Germán. El Mergus Merganser fue un hallazgo afortunado ese día. Sin embargo, no son un pájaro raro aquí. Unos días después, encontré muchos más en un lugar diferente, pero estaban mucho más lejos. Probablemente aparecerán en un informe futuro. Mis mejores deseos desde el centro de Inglaterra - - - Richard

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  10. Wow you must have special eyes Richard to spot that Snipe a bird you do not spot that easy. Love the captures of the Goosander a beautyful bird.
    Regards,
    Roos

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    1. It was not me that had the 'special eyes', Roos, but the gentleman in the hide who saw it first, and then had difficulty in finding a reference point to explain where it was!

      Both sexes of the Goosander are, indeed, beautiful birds. We seem to have more of them than usual this winter.

      My very best wishes. Take good care - - - Richard

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  11. Hi Richard,
    the photo of the buzzard is very beautiful anyway.
    I really love seeing the little owl in the tree !!!!
    That snipe is a search hahahaha ......
    Coincidentally, we wanted to be away last weekend and we actually saw 11 snipe. The photos are still coming. The little egret is also great to see and very beautiful in flight. The grebe in winter meat looks good ;-)
    The duck with the wide white ring looks like a top female.
    I am jaleors on your beautiful pictures of the female merganser.

    Sincerely,
    Helma

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    1. Thank you for your kind words, Helma. It is not difficult to find Common Snipe in this region, but a Jack Snipe does tend to create a lot of interest. The female Goosander was a real treat for me too. My very best wishes - - - Richard

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  12. So sweet to see the little owl and all the other birds you have shared.
    Wishing you good bird sightings.

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    1. Thank you! Sorry for the late reply - I have been away in Scotland. Have a great week - - - Richard

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