The First and Second Records of Common Snipe(Gallinago gallinago) for British Columbia. By Rick Toochin, Peter Hamel, and Martin Williams. Published: August 6, 2023.

The Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago) is a medium sized shorebird that is found breeding across Eurasia from Iceland, Great Britain, Scandinavia, and Western Europe through northcentral Eurasia to Kamchatka and the Western Aleutian Islands, and south from northeastern Afghanistan to northern India (Hayman et al. 1986, Brazil 2009, Mullarney and Zetterstrom 2009). This species winters from Western Europe to the Mediterranean region and equatorial Africa throughout the Middle East, Arabia and the Indian Subcontinent to eastern China, South Korea, southern Japan, the Philippines, and Borneo (Hayman et al. 1986, Brazil 2009, Mullarney and Zetterstrom 2009). 

 

The Common Snipe breeds in open fresh or brackish marshland with rich or tussocky vegetation, grassy or marshy edges of lakes and rivers, wet hay fields, swampy meadows, and marshy tundra, in forest tundra and northernmost taiga zones; in general, found in areas providing combination of grassy cover and moist soil, rich in organic matter, and prefers relatively heterogeneous vegetation structure at breeding sites (Pearce-Higgins et al. 2006). 

 

This species is mostly migratory, wintering south to across equatorial Africa, India, Southeast Asia (Hayman et al. 1986). There are some populations that are sedentary or partially migratory, such as birds that are from Great Britian which also receives visitors from further north and east in winter, as well as bird of the subspecies (G. g. faeroeensis) (Marchant 2002), with small numbers also wintering as far north as Iceland, the Faeroes, western Norway, Denmark, and western Germany (Snow and Perrins 1998). The subspecies (G. g. faeroeensis) moves south to Ireland and westernmost Britain, south to the Scilly Islands, in winter with a suspected passage of Icelandic birds through Orkney, Shetland and the Outer Hebrides (Marchant 2002). The Common Snipe moves quickly from the breeding grounds to moulting areas, and after few weeks quickly migrates to the wintering grounds. A high degree of site fidelity at staging sites and at least some evidence that individuals re-use same wintering areas (Sauvage et al. 1998). Birds wintering in North Africa presumably from Russia, likely cross the Sahara on broad front (Van Gils et al. 2020). European and Atlantic birds move to southern and western Europe (Van Gils et al. 2020).  The Common Snipe seems to have shifted its main moulting grounds from continental locations such as the Netherlands to Britain since late 1950s (Van Gils et al. 2020). Autumn passage occurs from late July into November, with arrival in North Africa mainly occurring in late September into early October, south of the Sahara this species mainly arrives from October into early November; with most birds leaving Africa in March; crossing into Europe in March to early May (Van Gils et al. 2020). The males typically arrive on the breeding grounds 10–14 days earlier than the females; detailed study of spring migration across northern Poland found that numbers at five sites peaked in first and second weeks of April (Meissner 2001), while investigation of autumn passage through central Europe has found that it has become later over the last 40 years, most likely in response to climate change (Adamík and Pietruszková 2008). The Common Snipe is a vagrant species to Spitsbergen, Bear Island, Jan Mayen (Van Gils et al. 2020), Mauritania (Snow and Perrins 1998), as well as Palau (Feb 2003) and Yap (Nov 2008) in Micronesia (Pratt et al. 2010). 

 

The only region in North America where the Common Snipe occurs is in Alaska where this species is fairly common to rare in the spring on the Western Aleutian Islands and is much common on the Central Aleutian Islands, the Pribilof Islands and on St Lawrence Island (Howell et al. 2014).

 

Along the West Coast of North America, outside of Alaska the Common Snipe is an accidental vagrant species. There only a couple of recent records for Haida Gwaii in British Columbia and a single accepted record for California by the California Bird Records Committee of a bird found at the San Jacinto Wildlife Area in Riverside County on December 11, 2011 (Hamilton et al. 2007, Tietz and McCaskie 2017). 

There are also a few recent photographed records, including a historic skin specimen record, from Newfoundland and Labrador. These records come from near Jack Lane’s Bay on December 24, 1927 (Austin 1929), at Tors Cove on the Avalon Peninsula on February 19, 2011, at Ferry Land on the Avalon Peninsula January 25-March 4, 2014, at Portugal Cove on the Avalon Peninsula on January 13, 2023 (e-bird 2023).

The identification of the Common Snipe is covered in most standard North American field guides. This is a small to medium sized snipe species measuring 25–27 cm with a wingspan of 44–47 cm and weighing 72–181 g (Hayman et al. 1986, Brazil 2009, Mullarney and Zetterstrom 2009). 

There are 2 subspecies of the Common Snipe. There is the subspecies (G. g. faeroeensis) which breeds in Iceland, the Faeroes, Orkney and Shetland and winters in Great Britian and the nominate subspecies (G. g. gallinago) which is found throughout the rest of this species range (Hayman et al. 1986, Van Gils et al. 2020).

 

The following description of the Common Snipe is mostly taken from Van Gils et al. (2020). This species has a rather long bill and white belly; plumage variable, and a melanistic morph occurs (for example in Ireland); in flight generally faster and more erratic than other snipes of similar size. The neck, breast and flanks are more heavily marked, and, in flight, wings are pointed; open wings are highlighted by a prominent white trailing edge to the wing, and supercilium narrower than the eye stripe at the base of the bill. Sexes alike, differing only in measurements of body and feathers, especially total length of outer tail feather. No significant seasonal variation. Juvenile very similar to adult birds , but the wing-coverts more neatly but narrowly fringed pale buff (versus more prominent oval spots, separated by a dark shaft-streak in adults), rectrices lack dark shaft-streak distally, secondaries and tertials have narrower white tips, edges to outer edge of scapulars also white (yellowish and broader in adults) and primaries worn (fresh in adults); The subspecies (G. g. faeroeensis) darker and more rufous above, with narrower, less contrasting, back stripes.

In British Columbia the Common Snipe is almost identical to the naturally occurring Wilson’s Snipe.

The best field marks to look for is the bold white trailing edge of the Common Snipe which faint on a Wilson’s Snipe and the white panels on the underwings of the Common Snipe which are dark on a Wilson’s Snipe (Dunn and Alderfer 2011). The flight notes of both species are similar (Dunn and Alderfer 2011). 

The Common Snipe is currently and accidental vagrant migrant species in British Columbia with 2 very convincing sight records from Haida Gwaii (R. Toochin Pers. Comm.). The first record was of a presumed adult bird found by Peter Hamel, Margo Hearne, and Martin Williams as it was flushed several times at close range with 8 Wilson’s Snipe in the dunes east of Skonun Point outside Masset on October 17, 2013 (P. Hamel Pers. Comm.). The bird was well observed on the ground and in flight with all observers clearly observing the bright trailing edge to the wing and very pale underside to the wing in flight (P. Hamel Pers. Comm.). This bird was also heard calling and sounded slightly different to the nearby Wilson’s Snipe (M. Hearne Pers. Comm.). The second record of Common Snipe for the province was found by Martin Williams at the Sandspit Golf course in the company of a Wilson’s Snipe on December 31, 2019 (P. Hamel Pers. Comm.). As with the first record, direct comparisons of the 2 birds were made in flight and on the ground leaving no doubt as to the identification of the bird in question (M. Williams Pers. Comm.). Due to the overall similarity of the Common Snipe to our Wilson’s Snipe there are a definite lack of records for this species along the west coast. It seems highly likely that future records of the Common Snipe will occur in British Columbia given the advances that have occurred in identification and our general understanding of both species. With the use of ever better digital cameras, it is only a matter of time before this species is photographed or videotaped, most likely in the winter, such as on a Christmas Bird Count, or during the late fall along the outer coast. Keen observers should pay close attention to snipes in the future in their quest to find this elusive gem. 

 

1.(1) adult October 17, 2013: Peter Hamel, Martin Williams: in dunes east of Skonun [with 8 Wilson’s Snipe] (P. Hamel Pers. Comm.)

2.(1) adult December 31, 2019: Martin Williams: Sandspit Golf course, Sandspit [with Wilson’s Snipe]  (P. Hamel Pers. Comm.)

We wish to thank Don Cecile for editing the original manuscript.

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