Wil5r>n'F; Snipe ...._ • •■ - ■ -,' ■ • .; .; • 



Reports c.o.v,ari-ng the 19^U spring, mi-gration of •the..¥i,lso-n"*s Snipe again showed I 

 a slight impr6:9';emenf ?ln.d'it was hoped. t-h?.t^ '^^^^i^? Point in' the status of this j 

 species might '"be at hand. The gain recorded was- not impressive "but to have even a 

 small gain for two successive years was encouraging. Percentage comparisons are 

 shown in Table 2. 



TABLE 2. — Percentage analyses of the spring - migra^ -ion 

 reports on t_he status of Wilson' s Snipe for 

 -.- -. the - years -lQ^, 19^.^> . and iqUU ' 



Year 



Status 



Fo change 



i 19^2 ' . . - » 



i'lqu-^ . V". 



56 

 61 



Increase 



! l^UU . . . 



18 

 21 



2U 



Decrease 



26 

 IS 

 12 



■ -' .In his extensive operations in the Maritime Provinces of Canada., the "biologist 

 of th" Atlantic 71yv/ay found little signs of improvement in the status of this hird, 

 To ouote his report: "I can easily notice a decrease in the numher of Snipe in 

 Nev.' Brunswick as compared v/ith six' or eoven years a.go . I cannot account for this 

 decrease since there hsve "been no harmful factors noted in this "breeding area." In 

 southern Manito"ba, Al'bert Hochbaum of th^ Am^^rican V^ildlife Institute, reported 

 -that 'Wilson's Snipe showed no numerical improvement,'--'rather , ' he "sained the im- 

 • pres-si-on that th»re were fewer than ever this year.'" He "adc'.ed 'that this may have 

 "been due to higher ivater levels as mnny of th^ir favorite hatfnts were flooded. ' The 

 Chief •Migrator;';" "Bird Officer, for 'the Prairie Provinces;' 'ih' commenting' on Mr, Hoch- 

 "baura' s report", s'tated thfit It.wa's in agreement v/ithhis own rindihgs , as he' had 

 found snipe to "be universally .^scarce over a v;ide expv-^nse of territory." '- 



During the fall migration and wp,terfov/l 'nunting re.ason ^ few v;idely scattered 

 reports v/ere received to the eff^'ct that Wils'on's Snipe had been ■o'bseVve"d in fair 

 nura"bers. There is .usually a good 'concentra-tion Ih L"ouisi?na and .Fl'drlda., v;hile a 

 report from central Illinois indicated a "hpavier than usual" flight in that area. 

 Al-so, there. Was apparently a good flight in the Pacific Nor fnwest. Analysis of all 

 fall reports, however, shoVed a contin\iation of the unsatisfactory status of this 

 .species. ' , ' ■■ ■ . ' 



P.ails and Coots 



■' As game "birds the rails are of littre- ihtere'st except to' a small mun"ber of 

 sioortsmen southwa.rd from Marylend along the Atlpntic Co?st, The Sora or Carolina 

 Rail is the species chiefly hunted although, under the name "marsh hen", th^ larger 

 Elng- and Clapper Rails are locally ptirsiied.- All avpilp"hle inforra'ption indicated 

 tha.t they vrere in a satisfactory numfrical condition. 



The inventory of Janxiary iP^ii had shovm a heavy increase in "the 'hum'ber of 

 Coots-.' I'/hile' reports' on the spring migration" did not show ' such large gains, they 

 nevertheless indicate a.' continued increase.' All reports from th*' United States 

 and Canadian' "breeding" ^rotuids show' this "bird to "be o'he of the most common of all 



