Snipe Nara Japan September (1 Viewer)

[MacNara]

Snipe Nara Japan September

This morning I went to a nearby area of ricefields where there are sometimes autumn snipe. Early September temperatures here are what would have been mid-August ten years ago. I had basically given up when I did manage to find three snipe in a slightly rough patch (probably will not be harvested directly).


Eventually I flushed them (by accident, I tried to keep a distance). One was Common, but the other two were not.



In the first photo, the bird at the front is the Common Snipe. ID'd on flight.


I think the other two, which flushed together, are Latham's Snipe. In Japanese, Latham's Snipe is 'Big Snipe'; Swinhoe's Snipe is 'Medium Snipe'; and Pintail is 'Pin-tailed Snipe'. I think the larger size and the long tail are evident in both the ground shots and the flying shots of the not-Common birds.



The ID as such isn't vital, but a definite ID would be nice. The main goal is for me to learn a little more about snipe ID.

 

[MacNara]

Bonus point: a couple of years ago we had a flush of Swinhoe's in my local spot - indeed the first time I had ever seen them. One bird stood out with it's legs sticking out well in flight. One knowlegeable friend said that he would be it was Pintail. Also I have a book which point out the long extending legs of Pintail in flight. Are there any comments on this.

1. Two birds flushed separately.
2.Swinhoe's Snipe (note short leg projection)
3. Possible Pintail Snipe (note longer leg projection)
4. From a book pointing out that an ID feature for Pintail in flight is the longer leg projection