Wilson’s Snipe

On 4 November 2019, Erika and I took more photos of Wilson’s Snipe at Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge. I was pleased with how the images turned out, since these shorebirds are often hard to find out in the open. These snipe are named for Alexander Wilson (1766-1813), sometimes called “the father of American ornithology.” Wilson, a weaver and a romantic poet, led an interesting life, before embarking on a 10-volume, illustrated treatise on the birds of eastern North America. This effort was before Audubon. Wilson got to volume 8, and number 9 was published posthumously. The name, Wilson’s Snipe, is a bit confusing due to ornithologists’ arguing if our snipe is the same species as the Old World’s Common Snipe. If the two species are merged, then they are both known as Common Snipe. If you think that slight differences in voice, color, and structure are significant, then you call our species the Wilson’s Snipe. I tend to side with species-splitters, since then you can better know what is being reported—and, of course, you can amass a larger life-list.