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<\/p>\nGoing on a “snipe hunt” is a phrase suggesting a fool’s errand so it was appropriate that one of my first subjects yesterday morning at Bear River was a Wilson’s Snipe. Sharp eyes will notice in my image techs that I photographed this bird with one of my older Canon 7D’s instead of my preferred 7D Mark II. That’s because I had inadvertently moved my Multifunction Switch\u00a0so I couldn’t adjust exposure and I didn’t know why the\u00a0Mark II\u00a0wouldn’t function properly. I didn’t figure it out until I was ready to head home. A fool indeed…<\/p>\n
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\u00a01\/1250, f\/6.3, ISO 640, Canon 7D, Canon<\/em> EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM +1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/p>\n Snipes are elusive subjects. The typical view of one is as it flushes in a fast, zigzag flight but when I approached this bird it watched me warily for a short time and then apparently decided I was no threat so it quickly went back to its business of feeding in the mud.<\/p>\n Snipes are odd-looking birds, partly because their eyes are set so far back on their heads. This allows them full vision on both sides and a binocular overlap in the rear so they can detect the approach of a threat with their beak buried in the mud.<\/p>\n I shot this image vertically so I could get the reflection even though it was in shade.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a01\/1250, f\/7.1, ISO 640, Canon 7D, Canon<\/em> EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM +1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/p>\n The sun was still very low so vegetation shaded most of the setting and\u00a0the snipe had to turn just right to get good light on it.\u00a0 Here it had pulled its beak up from the water\/mud and posed for a moment before…<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a01\/1000, f\/7.1, ISO 640, Canon 7D, Canon<\/em> EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM +1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/p>\n going back to feeding. The setting in most of these images is pretty busy but it’s typical habitat for the species and I enjoy the reflection of the head, eye and beak in this one.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a01\/1250, f\/7.1, ISO 640, Canon 7D, Canon<\/em> EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM +1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/p>\n The water drop falling from the end of the beak made this image a little special for me even though the bright twig behind the base of the bill is annoying.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a01\/2000, f\/6.3, ISO 640, Canon 7D, Canon<\/em> EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM +1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/p>\n When the snipe finished feeding it moved up the bank and yawned and at the same time it flexed its upper bill. Many folks think of the beak as being rigid and inflexible but long-billed shorebirds in particular have quite flexible beaks and can open and close the tips with no movement at the base – a nifty trick when you’re feeding in the mud. That ability is called rhynchokinesis.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Snipes are strong, fast fliers with a top speed estimated at 65 mph (105 km\/hr) and their huge pectoralis muscle supports that ability. The muscle is 25% of body mass which is the highest of all shorebirds. I think this image gives a pretty good indication of the size of that breast muscle.<\/p>\n In fact snipes are such strong, erratic fliers that hunters have extreme difficulty estimating an aiming lead with their shotguns. The challenges involved in snipe hunting are the\u00a0origin of the term “sniper”, which refers to a skilled anti-personnel sharpshooter.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Going on a “snipe hunt” is a phrase suggesting a fool’s errand so it was appropriate that one of my first subjects yesterday morning at Bear River was a Wilson’s Snipe.<\/p>\n![\"wilson's](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/wilsons-snipe-7827-ron-dudley.jpg\")
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\u00a0\u00a01\/2500, f\/6.3, ISO 640, Canon 7D, Canon<\/em> EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM +1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/p>\n