Mud glorious mud for smallest of the snipe

It is also known as the half snipe and is the smallest member of the family with a much shorter bill than the common snipe.

Another way to tell the two species apart is by the head patterns.

The jack snipe has two yellowish buff stripes on either side of its head while the common snipe also has a third stripe down the middle. The jack snipe also has a distinctive purple and green gloss on its back.

Sometimes the only view of a jack snipe is as it flies away after being flushed.

A common snipe will zigzag away with a harsh scraping cry as it rapidly gains height but a jack snipe will stay in cover often until the last possible moment – there are reports of them being trodden on – before flying silently away for only a short distance before dropping into cover again.

The increasing number of marshes where there are birdwatching hides has increased the likelihood of seeing a jack snipe at close quarters and visitors to the Canal Scrape hide at Spurn have had excellent views of

at least two – this week's photograph by Vince Cowell was taken there.

Twelve have also been caught and ringed by Natural England staff on their Lower Derwent Valley reserve between York and Selby.

The jack snipe is also known for its strange habit when feeding of rocking its body up and down by flexing its legs, like a toy on a spring.

This habit, also shared by the woodcock, is thought to set up vibrations in the mud below the bird which bring small creatures closer to the surface.

Waxwing numbers in the region are on the increase with double-figure flocks in Hawes, Beverley, North Stainley, Hull and Bank Island, base for Natural England's Lower Derwent Valley reserve while smaller numbers have been seen in many other places. Flocks in Scotland are increasing rapidly and will be moving south in the coming weeks so it is worth keeping an eye on rowan and other berry-bearing shrubs andtrees in case they attract these colourful visitors.

Two juvenile rough-legged buzzards are back in Sleddale on the North York Moors, a regular wintering site, one or two others have beenarriving along the Yorkshire coast and one was seen

over Blacktoft Sands and Thorne Moors. Also seen on the moorswere a great

grey shrike, male hen harrier, merlin, two peregrine falcons and three marsh harriers.

Forty whooper swans are now back in the Lower Derwent Valley, there has been a Yorkshire record count of 3,100 greylag geeseand other birds seen there have included 33 bramblings, a hen harrier, osprey,

marsh harrier and long-eared owl.

Along the Yorkshire coast a bluethroat was seen at Holmpton, Pallas's warbler in Kilnsea churchyard and Siberian chiffchaff at Dane's Dyke, Flamborough.

A long-tailed duck was at the High Esk reserve, East Yorkshire and drake ferruginous duck at the Calder wetland, Wakefield.

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CW 30/10/10