[NatureNS] Wood turtles and earthworms

Date: Mon, 18 Feb 2008 14:43:19 -0400
From: "Margaret E.Millard" <mmillard@eastlink.ca>
To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
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Hi Bob, Sorry but no, not woodcocks, we doubled checked with books, online 
and then called in our 'one who knows',  result...definitely snipes. They 
are not infrequent visitors throughout spring and summer but this is the 
first visit we have noticed that went for so long with these guys.

They were here for a couple weeks; either one or both within a dozen feet of 
my window, a good part of the time, some days feeding and snoozing, then 
feeding  from dawn to dusk. One, the first that arrived seemed to be in 
distress and did a lot of sounding off.  That noisy one that appeared was 
getting a lot of very strange  attention  from a song sparrow, and it 
suddenly appeared to me it was trying to feed it all the flapping and 
shoving was it trying to get small white grubs (presumably from the apples) 
into position for the snipe to swallow it.. When the other snipe arrived it 
seemed to show the first one how to feed and the two would fly up into the 
air dropping to  plunge their beaks into the soil again and again and then 
do this rocking. The noisy one stayed nearly continuously but the other came 
and went, or was replaced by another bird. I can't say.

We do get the occasional woodcock, as well, and I have seen the dance from 
them.  They seem to like the front yard better. I thought maybe a mating 
ritual, initially, like confusion over the season, but these guys didn't 
stop and do anything else, but eat then once in awhile head over shoulder 
and sleep.  They fed and fed. The main area they like is an area where there 
is heavy apple drop (three ancient trees) and there are two large compost 
piles, all in a moderately moist, quite shaded if not wet, at times,  area. 
Birds like this place

Marg In Queens
http://margmillard.ca


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bob McDonald" <bobathome@hfx.eastlink.ca>
To: <naturens@chebucto.ns.ca>
Sent: Monday, February 18, 2008 2:06 PM
Subject: Re: [NatureNS] Wood turtles and earthworms


> Could these birds possibly have been American Woodcock?  Considering the 
> description of the site, it sounds more likely.  It would have been great 
> to observe this behaviour!
>
> Bob McDonald
> Halifax
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Margaret E.Millard" <mmillard@eastlink.ca>
> To: <naturens@chebucto.ns.ca>
> Sent: Monday, February 18, 2008 1:10 PM
> Subject: Re: [NatureNS] Wood turtles and earthworms
>
>
>>I watch the 2 snipe(s) doing this "dance" and wondered why. It was quite 
>>common for them to be doing it here under the apple trees near the compost 
>>pile. So they were calling up worms, ...ever neat.
>>
>> Marg in White Point, Queens co.
>>
>>
>>
>> http://margmillard.ca
>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>> From: "Laviolette, Lance (EXP)" <lance.laviolette@lmco.com>
>> To: <naturens@chebucto.ns.ca>
>> Sent: Monday, February 18, 2008 11:10 AM
>> Subject: RE: [NatureNS] Wood turtles and earthworms
>>
>>
>>> Hi everyone,
>>>
>>> Another species known to exhibit this behaviour is the Black-bellied
>>> Plover which uses a rapid foot movement on the tidal mudflats to
>>> stimulate mud-dwelling worms/polychaetes (e.g. Glycera sp. = bloodworm)
>>> to come to the surface. The nature of mud and its consistency changes
>>> when pressure/vibration is applied so this may be one reason why the
>>> behaviour works in the aquatic environment.
>>>
>>> All the best,
>>>
>>> Lance
>>>
>>> ===========================
>>> Lance Laviolette
>>> Glen Robertson, Ontario
>>> lance.laviolette@lmco.com
>>> ===========================
>>>
>>>
>>> ________________________________
>>>
>>
>>
>> -- 
>> No virus found in this incoming message.
>> Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.516 / Virus Database: 
>> 269.20.7/1285 - Release Date: 2/18/2008 5:50 AM
>>
>>
> 

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