Wilson’s Snipe, Mississippi Valley, Green Island Wetlands, 12/22/2024
We have part of my family over here from Germany for Christmas and today we made a trip down south in the Mississippi Valley to Sabula to watch some Bald Eagles. On the way back we still had time for a brief visit in the Green Island Wetlands. Not all water is frozen and to my big surprise we found a Wilson’s Snipe probing with its long bill in shallow water and feeding on mollusks or whatever else it found. I know here in eastern Iowa we are in migration territory for this bird, but I have seen this species before only in early spring or October. Can you tell that we were excited?
Having the edge of the ice in both photos is a helpful element to tell the story about a not so common bird sighting two days before Christmas.
Nikon Z6II, Nikon NIKKOR Z 600 f/6.3 VR S