Wilson's Snipe

ALBERTA EMERGENCY ALERT, 27 May 2018:

calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/emergency-alert-issued-...

"An emergency alert has been issued for the Municipal District of Foothills due to a large wildfire in Kananaskis Country.

The alert issued by the district indicates the blaze is about 16 kilometres southwest of Bragg Creek “and is moving in a northeasterly direction toward the extreme northwest corner of the MD of Foothills.”

Voluntary evacuation is in effect for areas west of Highway 762, between Highway 22 and 178th Avenue W.

Alberta Wildfire information officer Matt Bell said the wildfire is listed at 100 hectares and is considered out of control."

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This Wilson's Snipe, one of my favourite birds to see and photograph, was waiting for us yesterday morning, 27 May 2018, when a small group of us took part in the annual Priddis area May Species Count. Just a quick, one-second shot, but I was so glad to get it - thanks, Marion, and thank you so much for driving! We took three cars, but one car had to leave early. The Count started at 8:00 am and, this year, we finished around 2:00 pm, which was earlier than usual. The number of species was quite a bit lower than the last two years. Usually, we see a great variety of birds at one of our stops (Barb Castell's), but things were very quiet yesterday. As Barb reminded us, there are more birds earlier in the day, and late afternoon to early evening. Thanks, as always, Barb, for letting us wander round your beautiful garden!

We were very lucky with the weather for our Count. I think the temperature got up to about 22C, cooler than the last few days - today is forecast to have a high of 28C. After driving various back roads, we ended up at Brown-Lowery Provincial Park, where we stopped to eat our lunch. The parking lot was absolutely packed. A short walk within the forest produced two or three past-their-prime Calypso Orchids. Each year, we do this walk to look for these gorgeous flowers, though Brown-Lowery is actually covered by a different group of people for the Count. Not a single owl of any kind was seen by our group yesterday, unlike last year, when we had a beautiful Great Gray Owl.

"Though the long tradition of “snipe hunt” pranks at summer camp has convinced many people otherwise, Wilson’s Snipes aren’t made-up creatures. These plump, long-billed birds are among the most widespread shorebirds in North America. They can be tough to see thanks to their cryptic brown and buff coloration and secretive nature. But in summer they often stand on fence posts or take to the sky with a fast, zigzagging flight and an unusual “winnowing” sound made with the tail." From AllAboutBirds.

www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Wilsons_Snipe/id

According to Fisher and Acorn's book, "Birds of Alberta", "the common Snipe is both secretive and well camouflaged, so few people notice it until it flushes suddenly from a nearby grassy tussock. As soon as the Snipe takes to the air, it performs a series of quick zigzags - an evasive maneuver designed to confuse predators. Because of this habit, Snipes were among the most difficult birds to shoot (in the days when shorebirds were hunted for sport), and skilled sportsmen were known as "snipers" - a term later adopted by the military."

youtu.be/Z16CUdX2g5Q

Lol, will I ever get back to editing and posting photos from our very recent two-week trip to Pt Pelee, Ontario, and Tadoussac, Quebec? I have barely started posting photos from the very first morning!