WILSON'S SNIPE WINTERING GRCUND STUDIES, 1953-5) 
Chandler S. Robbins 
Ue Se Fish and Wildlife Service 
Investigations were continued on the wintering ground of the 
Wilson's Snipe for the purpose of obtaining information pertinent to 
the management of this migratory game bird. These investigations, 
which were similar to those of the preceding year,included: (1) 
Organizing mid-winter snipe counts for the third year in the southern 
states for the purpose of obtaining an index of aburdance; (2) 
Participation in and summarizing the results of these counts; (3) 
Trapping and banding wintering snipe in Alabama and Florida; and (k) 
Sumnarizing snipe abundance as recorded on the annual Christmas Bird 
Counts published in Audubon Field Notes and in other ornithological 
periodicals. 
_ Wilson's Snipe Abundance Index.--Through the cooperation of State 
Game Departments, professionali and amateur ornithologists and Fish and 
Wildlife Service personnel, 160 areas in the southern and central 
states were checked during the period January 20-2l;, 1954, for the 
purpose of obtaining an index to the wintering population. One hundred 
forty-four of the 160 reports included a specified amount of coverage 
on foot, and these have been selected for summarization in the present 
paper. There were also several excellent counts made from boats, but 
not enough from identical areas in 1953 and 195) to yield significant 
comparisons, Snipe observed while the enumerators were driving have 
likewise been omitted from the present comparison, 
Table 1 gives a summary by states of the number of snipe seen per 
hour of foot coverage in 1953 and 195h. The left half of the table 
contains data from the 67 areas which were covered in both years, The 
right half contains all foot-coverage data, including not only the 67 
identical areas, but also 11 additional areas which were visited in 
one year but not in both. Although the right half of the table is 
based on the larger amount of coverage (ll5 hours in 1953 and 97 hours 
in 195), the left half (with 29 and 256 hours, respectively), is con- 
sidered to be the more reliable comparison. 
No significant change in population between 1953 and 195) is in- 
dicated by the reports from the 67 comparable areas. The large apparent 
increase indicated by the comparison of "all areas" was due primarily to 
the coverage in 195) of three new areas with very high populations: 
1,759 snipe observed in one day in Mississippi by N. C. Hutchison, and 
two Louisiana counts of 1125 and 670 by Joseph Withers, 
Even when we consider only those areas which are covered both years, 
there is the danger that large increases or decreases in a few of the 
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