A couple of photo`s of a Common Snipe that was conveniently perched on a post during my recent trip to the Nene Washes, RSPB. A picture that I have taken before, but never tire of doing so.
The Common Snipe is more commonly refered to as the Snipe and is a bird with an unbelievably long bill. The bird is extremely well camouflaged due to its delicately barred and streaked back, very useful for a ground nesting bird. They breed on moorland bogs and wet pastures in upland areas and in fenland and marshes in the lowlands. In winter they can be found in almost any lowland marshy place, both near the coast and inland.
The breeding habitat for Snipe has been reduced over the centuries as the wet grasslands, fens and bogs have been drained and `improved`. The number of breeding Snipe in lowland areas has fallen by 77% in recent years. This number has been reversed slightly on the Nene Washes, an area that is vitally important to this bird and, thankfully still holds fairly good numbers of this beautiful wader.
