Snipe Hunt
(Ghostly hooting sound)
So it’s not really a vocalization, it’s not a call. What you heard is a Wilson’s snipe doing its territorial sound, but it’s made with its wings and its tail.
(Ghostly hooting sound)
What male Wilson’s snipe do this time of the year, in the spring, they do this flight—these winnowing flights they’re called—so each time they flap their wings, it pushes air through the stiff outer tail feathers and it makes the woo-woo-woo kind of sound.
(Ghostly hooting sound)
They make that sound to establish their nesting territory and attract a female. It’s a courtship sound.
(Ghostly hooting sound)
I’ve had people describe it to me in various ways. They sometimes think it’s an owl, they’re not sure what it is. Some people think it’s a motor noise. (Ghostly hooting sound) It’s a metallic sound going on over your head, so it’s really hard to pinpoint where the bird is. Plus, the bird’s tiny, it’s about the size of a robin. They’re actually very delicately beautiful when you get to see them up close. It’s a really neat bird, a bizarre little bird.
(Ghostly hooting sound)
It’s eerie, it’s strange because it’s often happening at dusk or at night, so it’s coming out of the darkness. That’s what’s fascinating is that it happens at a time that’s sort of magical. I always think of dusk as magical, because almost anything can happen. Your imagination kind of goes wild and when you hear sounds out of this, oh, semi-darkness they seem ethereal, otherworldly, wild, and they are. And it’s neat. We use other senses. I love when we use more than just our eyes.
(Ghostly hooting sound)
I’m Katy Duffy. I’m the Interpretive Planner for Yellowstone National Park. I’ve been hooked on birds, obsessed with them for 40 years. (Laughs) I’m addicted birder.
(Ghostly hooting sound)
This is Yellowstone National Park. Thanks for listening.
