Eerie morning call

It's 7.30am, and I'm taking Cupar for his morning walkies. There I am, sleepily wandering along the local traffic-free road taking in the fabulous morning, the wild flowers, the waving grasses and the occasional bleating sheep, when I suddenly hear this...

(sorry... Blogger no longer seems to allow i-frame sound clips! You can find the clip on Wikipedia, click here )

I am immediately rather more awake! I have never heard anything like it before. Is it a bird? Some kind of animal? Or a 'visitation' from some ghostly spirit...??? The sound continues, seeming to come from various different places, but I can't see anything moving. The twittering pipets, warblers and stonechats continue to flit about unperturbed. I stand still and hold my breath to listen more carefully. The sound continues every 20 seconds or so for several minutes, gradually getting further away.

I get back home and get onto Google. It's amazing how quickly answers can be found these days - just a few well chosen search terms later, and I discover my eerie sound is none other than part of the courtship display flight of a Snipe. The sound is made by the male, vibrating special tail feathers as it flies. It is generally referred to as 'drumming'. Fantastic!! I'd love to see one, as well as hear it. They apparently display in the very early mornings, so I will be paying more attention when I take Cupar out tomorrow!

Drumming Snipe - picture from the RSPB