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Thanks
to all those who have posted messages....... I went to see the bird (Painted snipe) yesterday afternoon and, with
some hints from Neil Williams, who was sitting watching / filming the bird as I
arrived, I saw it within about 30 seconds of my arrival. Pretty good going
and this time only a few metres away. Up until these recent events in
Canberra I'd only seen this species twice before: 1972 & 2003. This
bird spent most of its time completely still with its eyes (or maybe just one at
a time) constantly opening and closing (about equal time in both). Indeed at one
point I said to Neil that it has moved and now I can see the other side of its
head. Hardly surprising for a nocturnal or crepuscular bird resting in the
middle of the day. I only saw its eyes closed when it was resting. The eye is
big and very obvious. It was not feeding. After about 15 minutes of me watching,
it shook itself and appeared to feed on something then walked off deeper into
the reeds and was quickly hidden from view. Several tries to find it again over
the next hour or so failed. Also easily seen at least 2 Baillon's Crakes, plus
later on in the trees above, the Night-Herons and in the main ponds several
Freckled Ducks, etc.
Philip
----Original Message-----From:
Geoffrey Dabb [ Sent: Saturday, 8 December 2012
10:11 AM
To: Subject: RE:
[canberrabirds] Painted snipe @ Kellys
Peter - Like some
other ground-feeding birds, pigeons for example, they close the eyes each time
they peck a food item. Perhaps something to do with protecting the
eye. This will be very evident to photographers and videoers -
some people think it spoils the photo. Personally I think a photo of a
painted-snipe pecking with its eyes open will be a dud, and should be
discarded. g
From: Peter
Ormay [ Sent: Friday, 7 December 2012 11:35
PM To: Geoffrey
Dabb;
Subject: Re: [canberrabirds]
Painted snipe @ Kellys
Most od these birds
seem to have their eyes shut. Is this common in painted snipe? It seems to make
them even harder to see. Any comment?
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