Northern Observations of Inland Birds 255 



do this — that is, carry away the broken shells, which 

 accordingly may often be found lying in the open at 

 some considerable distance from the nest. 



During recent years the reclaiming of waste swamp 

 grounds has considerably reduced the breeding areas 

 of the snipe in this country. I know of several moorland 

 swamps in the West Riding which in my schoolboy days 

 used invariably to afford nesting sites for snipe ; irrigation 

 has led to the abandonment of these places, and the 

 same thing is occurring all over our island. So far as 

 the sport of snipe shooting is concerned, however, we 

 are not in any way dependent upon the birds which breed 

 here, though naturally a reduction in suitable breeding 

 areas leads to a reduction in the number of snipe visitors. 

 Thus many moors, where at one time snipe bred regularly 

 and which could be depended upon in the winter for 

 producing sport, now no longer exist as snipe grounds. 



It may safely be said that there is no such thing in 

 this country as resident snipe. This has been debated 

 repeatedly, and many naturalists assert that we have 

 resident snipe and resident woodcock. By resident, 

 however, is meant a bird which breeds and spends its 

 life thereafter in the same locality, and so far as field 

 observation can prove, neither the snipe nor the woodcock 

 do this. They are here to-day, and gone to-morrow during 

 the shooting season. 



With regard to the snipe, my experience is that a certain 

 number of birds breed in a certain swamp. At the end 

 of the breeding season, a number of birds may be put 

 up in that swamp, consisting of the adults and their 

 respective families. Thus, by the end of July, the 

 swamp is exceptionally well stocked, but by the end of 

 August one may cover the whole of it and find not a single 

 snipe. The fact is they are gone. When October comes, 

 a few birds may be put up, and in November it may 



