On 14th October, local birder Dave Parker discovered a very grey looking Snipe and several of us tried to get to grips with the bird to see if it could be a North American Wilson’s Snipe. This species has only been recorded from the Isles of Scilly in the UK so if this is one, it would not only be the first for mainland Cornwall but the first mainland record for the UK as well. Unfortunately, we failed to see the (very subtle!) salient features – the degree of barring in the tail and underwing coverts for example – as you can see from the photo this was as good as we got! Of course, grey forms of our own British Snipe do occur but one should never be complacent, especially in west Cornwall at this time of year!
By David Flumm
Dedicated to Cornwall's wildlife