Great Snipe at Oued Massa

A Great Snipe (Gallinago media, Bécassine double) seen yesterday (1 March 2013) at Oued Massa by Peter J. Dunn and Stuart Elsom. If submitted and accepted by the ‘Moroccan Rare Birds Committee’ (MRBC), this would be the second record of the species since 1999, and only the third since the creation of the MRBC in 1995.

Here is Peter's email:

I have been leading a birding group through Southern Morocco and yesterday afternoon we flushed a Great Snipe from the side of the bridge over the river on the south side of Massa. It flew up without calling, typical snipe coloration and flashed huge white outer tail feathers as it did. It then flew over some tamarisk and dropped back into the 'marsh' which appears to have been burnt recently. The map reference is 29.962N  9.658W.

We tried to locate it but without success. Both myself and the co-leader Stuart Elsom know Great Snipe well having seen them regularly on trips to Poland and seen on migration in the UK.

Best wishes,

Peter Dunn

Thanks Peter.