Winter habitat use and diet of the Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago) in south-west England.

Abstract

Common Snipe Gallinago gallinago are widespread in lowland Britain in winter, but there is currently little information on their use of farmland habitats. Data collected from three radio-tagged birds revealed that they spent the day resting in patches of rushes Juncus effusus or willow Salix sp. coppice. At dusk they flew distances of 654 ± 100 m (n = 16 flights) to feed on improved and unimproved pasture fields, where they remained until dawn. Extensive counts on farmland showed that grass was the preferred crop-type both by day and night, but that set-aside fields were also regularly visited by Snipe during the day. These data suggest that snipe densities on mixed or pastoral farmland in south-west England typically fall within the range 100-200 birds/km². The presence of shallow standing water and patches of soft soil within fields were the main factors influencing the distribution of Snipe at night. Snipe were more dispersed during the day, but used fields with relatively tall grass and patches of rushes. Invertebrate food consisted primarily of earthworms (Lumbricidae), woodlice (Oniscoidea), craneflies (Tipulidae) and beetles (Coleoptera), but seeds were consumed in equal quantities to animal prey items. There was a significant relationship between the available density of earthworms and Snipe density during the day for ten fields where invertebrate availability was determined.