Wilson's Snipe: Rithet's Bog, Victoria, BC

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Originally uploaded by Mary Sanseverino

On my face in the mud -- that's how I took this shot. I crept up on my belly, pushing through bush and leaves until I could get a good look at this lad (or lass, as the case may be). The Snipe thought he was hidden and stayed still for about 20 shots. Happily for me, the Snipe was well lit by a few rays of wan sunlight trickling through the overgrowth. Although a bit of a stubby fellow (about 25 cm / 10 in long), he is beautifully marked -- quite elegant actually.

It was just luck that I even got a chance to shoot this bird at all. On Friday, Feb 13, Jan, Alan, and I were out on a biking and birding expedition to Rithet's Bog. We where hoping to see Virginia Rail, and Wilson's Snipe, along with Merlin and oodles of woodpeckers. If it wasn't for a mother and son we stopped to chat with we would never have seen this fellow. Right after we parted the pair called us back to point out the Snipe. There he was, standing in a muddy seep under willows and blackberry canes. We had walked right by him!

After surveying the scene and trying to get a few shots standing up, it became clear that the Snipe would startle away unless I got in low and quiet. I belly-crawled in and started shooting. The details: f8 at 1/50th of a second. I used my 300 mm zoom lens, and dialed in an ISO of 400. Being down on my belly worked out well in the stabilization department too -- I was able to rest my elbows on the ground and brace myself solidly for shooting. The result was a series of quite sharp images of the Wilson's Snipe.

Even though 300 mm seems like a long lens, when speaking about birds it is very small. And, for best results, one should use a tripod. Hand-held as this (and all) of the Snipe shots were, it was the height of luck that any of them turned out. I'm hoping for more of that luck in my future birding shots!