Saturday, November 21, 2020

Jack Snipe



 Jack Snipe, Dunkirk, 20th November 2020 © Tony Martin

'This is a juvenile, identified by a few small feather details. Some half dozen jack snipe are on the Dunkirk scrape on any night all winter, but ringing shows that there's a constant turnover of individuals. Unusually, this individual was present in daylight. The dorsal sheen and golden stripes are stunning, but hidden underneath is a mesmerising metallic purple. One of Britain's most beautiful birds, surely.' TM

1 comment:

mcw said...

Is the purple sheen similar to the purple & mauve seen on kingfishers at close quarters in that it eludes capture in most photographs?