Another urban legend debunked- the silence of the Jacks

The much rated Collins Bird Guide continues the Jack Snipe tradition; "flushes only when almost trodden on, flies up silently..." Well, you quickly learn to never say never in this birding game. A recent blog post by a Norfolk ringer mentioned hearing Jack Snipe when walking a site, which led to three being caught and ringed.

This was questioned on a Ringers' Forum, but several others confirmed they knew the call from their own muddy larks. I'd actually heard it just a few hours before reading the discussion, having just caught and ringed three Jack Snipe of my own (and four Common Snipe) that evening. One even made it as I released it.

And of course, the flight call could be heard all along on the xeno-canto website.  To my rusty old ear, it is lower when compared to Common Snipe. How often might a birder dismiss as just a Snipe, based on the texts? It might be we ringers hear them more because we're about in the dark, when a vocal alarm to fellow Jacks might be useful, but clearly the other blogger picked up during the day.

To many, the uber-secretive Jack Snipe is an elusive beast. Since moving back to North Kent I've found that during the winter months simply watching a saltings go under on a high spring tide means a possibility of both species having to retreat from their day roost. Others can walk the saltings to get a glimpse, but I'm quite content to sit for an hour and watch all the to-ings and fro-ings. The number of Snipe that might be hiding in one small site can be pretty impressive- first time I sussed this was when I counted nearly 50 out of Twinney saltings south of the wharf one February afternoon.

Still another week or two for the main departure, still time to keep an ear out.