Shelter Cove 3/11--Wilson's Snipe

That slightly darker spot in the grass? Wilson's Snipe

Talk about cryptic! Shelter Cove is usually a good place to find Wilson's Snipe, along with American Tree Sparrow, though up until today I've had no luck with either species. After seeing that Steve had seen one yesterday, I went over there early this morning, put on my rubber boots, and sloshed around the marshy area around the little grove of trees. Neither species appeared. I thought about going to the other side, nearer the road, but from where I stood, ankle deep in cold water, it didn't look too promising

I texted Steve and told him I was looking for "his" snipe. By the time he responded (I did say I was there early) I was just pulling into the parking lot of Cattus Island, about a mile away. He told me the bird was along the fence line--where I didn't check. Normally, I wouldn't have turned around and gone back but this time I did. I parked and walked along the road the length of the fence and saw nothing. Coming back, as it often happens, I spotted the snipe out of the corner of my eye, hunkered down in the grass, facing away from me. The "racing stripes" on its back and its coloration of brown and tan made its camouflage perfect. I took three pictures, the first one inadvertently while the camera was turning on. That is the only one where I captured evidence of its existence. In the other two I could see the bird in the viewfinder and when I pulled down the camera the bird had waddled into into the higher grass and reeds. I went inside the fence and looked around. I considered walking through the grass to flush it (and any friends it might have in there) but then thought, "Just leave the bird alone." So I returned to Cattus Island where I ran into Steve as I was leaving. He hadn't been able to refind the snipe and I see from later reports, no one else did either.