Wetland Word of the Week 28
Our wetland word today is...
... heather bleater which is the Scots for snipe, a regular visitor to Caerlaverock, known for the distinctive drumming sound the males make in flight. This sound isn't a call but come from their tail! This is where the Scots name comes from: heather for the moorlands they inhabit and bleater from their tail sound. In Finnish, they are similarly names: sky goat!
Snipe use their, probing bill to find insects, earthworms and crustaceans in the mud, mostly swallowing anything the find while. Their beak has a flexible tip which is filled with nerves allowing them to feel for creatures deep in the mud, grabbing them with the end of their beak.
Words by Marianne Nicholson
Feature image of a snipe by Alex Hillier
