This morning was cold (10F) and bright, as it has been all week, and I spent some time with the Wilson's Snipe. This is the same individual Jorge photographed a few days ago, and it has continued feeding in one little stream of running water along the side of Horsebarn Hill. I didn't even open the car window, but used the binoculars to watch it probing the mud, snoozing, watching me, watching the harrier cruise overhead.

field sketches of the snipe

Wilson's Snipe, Gallinago delicata
Horsebarn Hill, Storrs Connecticut

Jorge gave me three photos to choose from, all beautiful portraits of great birds, but the choice was easy for me - I just love Blue Jays. This one was hunting something in the leaf litter on the side of Horsebarn Hill.

Blue Jay, Cyanocitta cristata
Horsebarn Hill, Storrs, Connecticut

 On a roll with the browns and grays, and I wanted to go back to Arizona. What I chose was this pair of Gambel's Quails. Quails, like shorebirds, can have some complicated feather details, which I am not crazy about painting, but I stuck with it. They are gorgeous little birds, not sayin' they ain't, so fun to watch and not shy. We saw these at Cave Creek Ranch in Portal Arizona on April 5th, 2024.

Gambel's Quail, Calipepla gambelii
Cave Creek Ranch, Portal Arizona

Jorge, on the other hand, had a very successful session with his bird today. Driving a loop around Horsebarn Hill, as he has done every day this month, he had some real goodies - I mean more than one, more than two even... His Wilson's Snipe was probing in the mud of a runoff stream right beside the road - and also not shy. Enjoy this beauty - complicated feathers and all!

Wilson's Snipe, Gallinago delicata
Horsebarn Hill, UConn campus, Storrs Connecticut