Indiana Nature Notes by Alyssa Nyberg, Ecologist at Kankakee Sands
I grew up in rural Ohio and in my family, when a kid needed to get outside for some fresh air and sunshine, and to burn off some energy, they would be told to go outside for a ‘snipe hunt’ to search for snipe. Our parents thought they were sending us on a wild goose chase, to wander around outside trying to track down a non-existent bird.
Well, good news—snipe are real! Most spring and early-summer days we hear Wilson’s snipe (Gallinago delicata) calling from the wetlands here at Kankakee Sands. During a recent walk along the Wet Prairie Trail through the north bison pasture, I flushed several Wilson’s snipe. I knew from their mottled brown feathers, stocky legs and long beaks, that I was witnessing the elusive Wilson’s snipe!
It’s tricky to sneak up on a snipe; their eyes are positioned far back on their heads so that they can see predators from all directions. Snipe see us long before we see them. They will wait, very confident and still, camouflaged in the vegetation. But the moment they feel threatened, they will fly upwards with explosive energy and then speed rapidly away – causing a heart-stopping episode from the one who witnesses it! (My heart did indeed get a workout on the Wet Prairie Trail!)
I think of Wilson’s snipe as being rather solitary in nature. However, while at the Bison Viewing Area in late April, I noticed a group of more than 20 snipe around a sandy shored wetland, probing their long beaks in the mud for a meal of insect larva, worms and snails. This may well have been a migratory group of snipe stopping over for rest and food before continuing journey from as far away as central American onwards to Canada. Though this “wisp of snipe” may have continued further north, some Wilson’s snipe do stay and breed right here at Kankakee Sands.
Wilson’s snipe fall into the category of shorebirds and sure enough, this beautiful bird is one that is wetland dependent, living, feeding and raising its young in wetlands, fens, marshes, muddy fields – areas with saturated soils, water and vegetation in which to hide.
And hide they will! However, you can tune your ear to their repetitive one or two syllable harsh chirp, and also train your ear to listen for the amazing, and mildly haunting, winnowing sounds that is created as the air rushes over its tail feathers. The website All About Birds has sound recordings of Wilson’s snipe calls and the in-flight winnowing. .
This bird, named for ornithologist Alexander Wilson, has so many interesting traits, including this one: Alexander Wilson himself did not believe that birds should be named after people, yet this bird is named after him! As it turns out, the Wilson’s snipe is one of 80 birds to be renamed by the American Ornithological Society in the next few years.
The next time you feel like you should get out of the house for some fresh air and sunshine, make your way to Kankakee Sands for the sights and winnowing sounds of the Wilson’s snipe! They are real!
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The Nature Conservancy’s Kankakee Sands is an 8,400-acre prairie and savanna habitat in Northwest Indiana, open every day of the year for public enjoyment. It’s an exciting year for Kankakee Sands, as we are making major improvements to popular areas within the preserve. If you plan to visit, please check our Facebook page to see if any of the areas you want to see will be impacted by the construction. For more information about Kankakee Sands, visit www.nature.org/KankakeeSands or call the office at 219-285-2184.
Friends of the Sands 