Common Snipe (AM11)

The sound made by male Snipe in their courtship flights, known as drumming, when the outermost tail feathers are protruded, the bird dives towards the ground and those feathers vibrate in the air. Over any wet area on Egilsay in Orkney. My job as a bird warden on the island of Egilsay include counting the numbers of breeding wading birds on the island. The first two hours after dawn is the best time to count. A spring morning at dawn is always magical but the sound of one – no, two, no there’s more! – of Snipe drumming, with a background of Curlew calls and Skylark song just makes it perfect.

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