Jack Snipe reunion

Jack Snipe migrate through the Oslo area from the end of September and can hang around until snow and ice comes with then a few managing to eek out an existence (or at least try to) through the winter on the few streams that refuse to free over.

I made my first attempt of the autumn to find Jack on Friday and succeeded in finding three of the little buggers alongside three of their larger commoner cousins. As is usual the Common Snipe flew up from the wet grassland (but landed again not too far away) before I had even found them in the thermal whereas all three Jack stayed put and allowed me to find them in the thermal. Without the thermal I would have seen none unless one flew up just before I stood on it but even with the thermal you still have to work very methodically to see them.

With two of the birds I set up the camera on the tripod and moved out of view hoping the birds would start feeding and bobbing but they just stayed put although did relax a little bit. How much they relaxed is easiest to see when you see them crouching and freezing when I went to collect the camera. It is of course possible that the presence of the camera and tripod causes them to be wary but I checked in on one bird half an hour after having previously watched it and it was in exactly the same place. All this suggests the birds are at their day time roost. Tracking of wintering birds in England shows they have daytime roosts and can fly a few kilometres every night to separate feeding sites.

The superzoom pictures are not too bad but the video took a bit of tricksing too make. For some reason I am not able to take video when I remotely control the superzoom via my phone although this was possible with the now defunct bazooka. The video was therefore taking using the screen recording function on my phone, so I was recording what my phone was seeing on the app rather than the camera recording.

We can start with photos of all three birds taken with my phone so they are of the Where's Jack variety. After each picture is a zoomed in shot showing the bird and hopefully making it easier to locate in the wider angle shot.

Jack #1 and superzoom

this is what you are looking for

Jack #2 should be easy to find

but here he is if a clue is needed

Jack #3. This one is very difficult

and even in this zoomed in shot is not that easy to find

here I appear to the apple of Jack's eye

and in this shot the flash fired and is also caught in the reflection

even from behind the large eyes that stick ot mean that the bird can see 360 degrees without having to move its head

Jack #1

incredible detail in the feathers

Jack #2 - there are subtle differences in the pattering of the pale feathers above the eye compared to #1

#1 revisited when he had moved slightly so that he was less in the open with his back end pressed against the bank. I have noted this before and serves I think two purposed. One is has aligned its stripes more with the grass so that they serve better as camouflage and two I think it is better poised to explode into flight if it feels the need to flee the scene

a Goosander (laksand) and a couple of Gooses of the Pink-footed (kortnebbgås) variety on Maridalsvannet