# General > Birdwatching >  Bird question

## veekay

I hope someone out there in orgbird land can answer my question.  During spring and early summer birds fly around making a weird whirring sound I think it is starlings but don't actually know.  am I right or is it something else.  Please let me know it has driven me mad for years

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## Tugmistress

you could be hearing a snipe, there are loads up here over the summer and i hear them every night, they'll be around here soon i expect. it took me 3 years to find out what it was making a strange noise, they make the noise with their wings. someone better qualified than i should be able to give you a good description of their 'whirring' sound.... to me it's almost like a child spinning a long piece of hosepipe  :Smile:

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## r.rackstraw

Yes it could be snipe.
They make the noise (known as drumming) with their tail feathers I think.

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## veekay

Thanks for the answer.  It is a great sound really eerie but somehow very fitting to the moor.

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## Ricco

> I hope someone out there in orgbird land can answer my question. During spring and early summer birds fly around making a weird whirring sound I think it is starlings but don't actually know. am I right or is it something else. Please let me know it has driven me mad for years


Where are you hearing this - by the sea or inland?  Is it at night?

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## veekay

Inland and mostly at night although I have heard it very early morning.

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## Ricco

Since it is inland I would agree with r.rackstraw - probably snipe.  Hope you find out for sure.

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## The_man_from_del_monte

> birds fly around making a weird whirring sound


Shoot em' , nothing worse than noisy birds.  :Wink:  (that goes for the winged variety too)

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## Jeemag_USA

> Yes it could be snipe.
> They make the noise (known as drumming) with their tail feathers I think.


You are correct its two pairs of tail feathers, they are slightly longer and stiffer than the others. and Drumming is the correct word for it. But it does sound kind of like a deep whirring. They will fly up and then dive down to make the sound with the feathers. Its a courtship display in spring.




> In spring, snipe perform          spectacular displays high in the sky. Each male, following a circular          route, makes a series of power dives during which the outermost tail-feathers          are held out almost at right-angles to the bird's body. Feather vibration          in the slipstream produces the remarkable throbbing known as 'drumming'.


I used to love listnening to it when I used to work as a gamekeeper, especially around dusk when we were out in the field, its kind of eerie, its great to watch them, some times it takes a while to train the eye in on them but if you keep looking you'll see them going up and down almost like tumbling pigeons without tumbling. Curlews do a similar ritual thing but make vocal noises instead.

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## Jeemag_USA

> Shoot em' , nothing worse than noisy birds.  (that goes for the winged variety too)


You'd have to be a pretty darn good shot, because of their jerky flight path Snipe are regarded as one of the hardest game birds to hunt. I took some people Snipe hunting at Sandside once, saw some great shots bag a couple, but most were missed. They are a game bird and they do taste good, but they have as much meat on them as my thumb does, people mainly hunt them for the difficulty of it.

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## The_man_from_del_monte

> You'd have to be a pretty darn good shot, because of their jerky flight path Snipe are regarded as one of the hardest game birds to hunt. I took some people Snipe hunting at Sandside once, saw some great shots bag a couple, but most were missed. They are a game bird and they do taste good, but they have as much meat on them as my thumb does, people mainly hunt them for the difficulty of it.


erm..... I won't comment on birds again (even in jest as my post was intended)

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## nirofo

> _Shoot em' , nothing worse than noisy birds.  (that goes for the winged variety too_)


 
I think The_man_from_del_monte should be 'plucked' ?  just the same as they do with other overripe fruit!!!

nirofo.

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## nirofo

> _You'd have to be a pretty darn good shot, because of their jerky flight path Snipe are regarded as one of the hardest game birds to hunt. I took some people Snipe hunting at Sandside once, saw some great shots bag a couple, but most were missed. They are a game bird and they do taste good, but they have as much meat on them as my thumb does, people mainly hunt them for the difficulty of it_.


 
Just to put people in the picture regarding the status of Snipe in the UK, it's conservation status is listed as Amber.  The breeding population is down to less than 50% of what it was 20 years ago and is still in decline, as are many more of our once common species.  Anyone who condones the shooting of birds, or any other wildlife for that matter that are in such severe decline, deserves no credence from me and should be scorned by society at large for the wilfull damage that they do now and for the future.

Interesting facts relating to the once Common Snipe at the following web link.  http://www.bto.org/birdtrends2005/wcrsnipe.htm

Here's a couple of Common Snipe photo's taken locally.





_nirofo._

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## Jeemag_USA

> Just to put people in the picture regarding the status of Snipe in the UK, it's conservation status is listed as Amber. The breeding population is down to less than 50% of what it was 20 years ago and is still in decline, as are many more of our once common species. Anyone who condones the shooting of birds, or any other wildlife for that matter that are in such severe decline, deserves no credence from me and should be scorned by society at large for the wilfull damage that they do now and for the future.
> 
> Interesting facts relating to the once Common Snipe at the following web link. http://www.bto.org/birdtrends2005/wcrsnipe.htm
> 
> Here's a couple of Common Snipe photo's taken locally.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I totally agree with you, despite I had to go shooting for them once as a dog handler, I did not shoot, I didn't much appreciate it, but didn't fancy getting fired. The whole thing seemed pointless, its as bad as those Italians who shoot finches. I don't see the point of hunting game birds unless you can get at least a coupld pound of meat off them. I don't like the hunting of Snipe, Woodcock, Grouse, Quail or anything like that. I do not have an aversion to people hunting pheasant that they have reared themselves, or for shotting Geese or Duck to eat. When I worked as a gamekeeper, I saw many people shoot at things they shouldn't have been, most keepers will tell you that doesn't happen, its rubbish. I seriouisly don't think the population of Snipe is down through hunting though, no way, not 50% in twenty years, there has to be other attributing factors to that like increased laws in protecting birds of prey or something, because snipe hunting is not very popular.

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## nirofo

_Quote:_ *Jeemag_USA.*



> _I seriouisly don't think the population of Snipe is down through hunting though, no way, not 50% in twenty years, there has to be other attributing factors to that like increased laws in protecting birds of prey or something, because snipe hunting is not very popular.
> _


 
I never said that the population of Snipe was down due to hunting , although it does contribute, I was making the point that people should not hunt species that are in serious decline and threatened. There are many reasons birds like the Snipe are seriously reduced in numbers, loss of habitat is one of the prime reasons. Massive ill thought out afforestation schemes on the flow bogs, (tax incentives), land drainage on a huge scale nationwide, (thank's to over generous grants) are just two of the major causes, there are others. I see you've raised the old chestnut, "blame the birds of prey", rubbish, the birds of prey can't survive if they hunt their prey to extinction. The birds of prey have always been plentiful in the north of Scotland, even when the hill was full of Snipe and other waders, most of the waders and other birds have gone from the hill in the last 20 years or so, there are serious declines in many other species throughout the country, I don't think you can blame the Raptors for that!

_nirofo._

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## Jeemag_USA

> _Quote:_ *Jeemag_USA.*
> 
> 
> 
> I never said that the population of Snipe was down due to hunting , although it does contribute, I was making the point that people should not hunt species that are in serious decline and threatened. There are many reasons birds like the Snipe are seriously reduced in numbers, loss of habitat is one of the prime reasons. Massive ill thought out afforestation schemes on the flow bogs, (tax incentives), land drainage on a huge scale nationwide, (thank's to over generous grants) are just two of the major causes, there are others. I see you've raised the old chestnut, "blame the birds of prey", rubbish, the birds of prey can't survive if they hunt their prey to extinction. The birds of prey have always been plentiful in the north of Scotland, even when the hill was full of Snipe and other waders, most of the waders and other birds have gone from the hill in the last 20 years or so, there are serious declines in many other species throughout the country, I don't think you can blame the Raptors for that!
> 
> _nirofo._


I didn't say you said the decline was due to hunting, was just making my own point which was more of a query, and I didn't say it was all down to birds of prey. You don't need to be so pushy and try using a little bit of tact in your writing, politeness is free and is more likely to get attention  ::

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## nirofo

> _I didn't say you said the decline was due to hunting, was just making my own point which was more of a query, and I didn't say it was all down to birds of prey. You don't need to be so pushy and try using a little bit of tact in your writing, politeness is free and is more likely to get attention_


 
Certainly not intending to be pushy or impolite if that's the way it comes across to you!  It's probably because the birds of prey usually get the blame for the loss of our birds and often detracts from the true cause, in fact the serious declines seen for the last 20 years or so has more to do with years of uncaring land mismanagement than anything else.  As I said, the loss of prime habitat and feeding areas is just one of the many fundamental causes and affects all species including Raptors.

nirofo.

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## Kenn

Going off on a bit of a tangent, was n't there recently an item about The Flow Country being desinated an SSI or similar?
It's quite an amazing habitat and unfortunately has been allowed to be usurped by The Forrestry Comission amongst others,although they now seem to  be taking a less heavy handed approach.
Now I'm not saying where, but we stopped the car so Snipe and chicks could cross the road, turned a special day into some thing we will not forget for a while.

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## WeeBurd

It's great to see pictures of the wee blighters - we often hear them on a still evening,  yet I've never known what they look like!

I recall hearing them as a WeeBurdie, when visiting my Grandparents in the country - I couldn't understand the strange noise I was hearing,  and thought it was the electricity racing down the pylons  ::  . Doh!

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## Rheghead

Snipe are supposed to be very shy but when I was on holiday on Coll, a snipe approached me about 3m away and wasn't spooked by my presence.  i don't think it will happen again.  Mind you, on Coll they probably don't have any fear because it is mostly owned by the RSPB.  It is a great destination for birdwatching.

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