Snipes disturbed by goshawk?

Today, again to the “Baillon’s crake reserve”. I had read about a hundred snipes there.

This video is called Common Snipe – Gallinago gallinago.

In the first canal near the entrance, a great cormorant diving. And a male and a female gadwall.

In the next canal, over a dozen gadwall ducks, and coots.

In the southern lake: black-headed gulls on an islet. Great crested grebes. Shovelers. A moorhen. Scores of teal swimming.

I see about a hundred snipes indeed, as promised. They are flying around in flocks, making their etch, etch sounds. They seem to be nervous. So seem some other birds. Why? I can’t see any predator.

Mallard ducks. A grey lag goose flies away.

On the northern lake island: teal, shovelers, northern lapwings.

On the northern meadow: over a dozen Canada geese. Two grey lag geese. Mallard ducks. At least three hares.

A score of starlings on grass near the railway.

Four common pochards swim in the northern lake.

As I walk back, a tufted duck in the railway canal.

A bit more south, a hare behind a fence runs away.

I reach the northern entrance. Like often, muscovy ducks in the pond before the house there. There are also birds on the roof. Four jackdaws and a magpie; they fly away. One bird is left, on the edge of the roof. A female goshawk!

This is a video about a goshawk feeding at a carcass.

So, this may be the cause of the unrest among the snipes and other birds. For about five minutes, the hawk keeps cleaning its feathers. A flock of lapwings passes. Then, calling, the goshawk flies slowly to a pole, the prop for a young tree. It sits there for a few minutes. Then, it flies on.

I am back at the southern entrance; now the southern exit for me. Gadwall and teal swimming.