Recently we have seen a small arrival of one of our favourite wading birds – the Jack Snipe. Jack Snipe are about half the size of a Common Snipe, and arrive into the UK from early October (from their Eastern European breeding grounds), and stay as late as the end of March-early April. Numbers arriving and recorded in the valley can vary depending upon water levels and survey input. Being quite small, and cryptically plumaged, Jack Snipe can be hard to spot hiding in the sward, and unlike other wading species which are easily flushed and take flight, Jack Snipe choose to rely on their camouflage and sit tight - characteristically flushing at the last minute from right underneath your feet, and even then, only flying a short distance away.
Up to 14 have been seen and subsequently caught and ringed at Bank Island recently, with thanks to our team of volunteers and a thermal camera used to locate the birds. Once a bird has been located a large net is dragged over the ground, with the birds jumping up when the net passes over the top of them. With such a difficult bird to survey by other methods, this technique helps generate accurate counts and information of a species which is still quite poorly understood.
