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What's That Sonny?
You'll have to speak up, I'm hard of hearing.
Birds of course do have ears and excellent hearing, they just aren't easily visible on most species outside of the owl family. |
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Look Both Ways Before Taking a Picture
I arrived early one April morning at Ridgefield and was going to sit beside Quigley Lake to watch and listen to the blackbirds. As I started to pass a car parked on the south side of the lake I noticed a lovely sight across the road, a Wilson's snipe just above the waterline. The snipe were actively calling out around the refuge but this little beauty was silent during our brief encounter. I didn't stay long since I was blocking the road and I could see in my review mirror that with each passing moment more and more cars were pouring onto the auto tour.
I'm not as into shorebirds as many birders but even I love every encounter with these enigmatic birds. |
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Showoff
The most famous bird to be named after a volleyball, Wilson's snipes should not be confused with Wesley's snipes, which don't exist.
Look them up in a bird guide and, depending on the age of the book, you may see them listed as common snipe instead of Wilson's. They had been considered a race of the common snipe of Eurasia but are now considered a separate species. The birds themselves don't seem to have noticed. |
