by Dave Books

A friend and I were hunting pheasants along a marshy lakeshore when my black Lab, Jenny, perked up her ears. We got ready for a rooster to flush as she charged ahead into the mud and shallow water. Suddenly, a small brown bird with a long bill burst out of the reeds, flying low and making a noise like a rusty gate. We watched as the little bird flew rapidly across the marsh, twisting from side to side, uttering Scape! Scape!

The author with Mearns quail.

“Jacksnipe,” I said to my friend Joe. “Why didn’t you shoot? The season’s open.”

“Same reason you didn’t,” he laughed. “I was expecting a rooster pheasant, not a Wilson’s snipe.”

“Wilson’s snipe? I thought they were called jacksnipe,” I said.

Joe is a botanist and an avid bird-watcher. When it comes to plants and birds, he knows his stuff. “The snipe is named for Alexander Wilson,” he said. “Wilson was a naturalist and artist who came to America from Scotland in the late 1700s. He traveled around collecting and painting birds, and eventually wrote a book about them.”

At that point Jenny began to whine and give us her “What are we waiting for?” look.

“Okay, Jenny,” I said. “Find us another bird.”

“Where there’s one snipe, there should be more,” Joe said. “They’re migrating south this time of year.” more…