🪵6.1-6.8 A Week Tracking the Elusive Wood Snipe

I didn’t expect to travel so far right after joining this lab.

Dr. Que Pinjia’s project focuses on the population status and habitat selection of the Wood Snipe (Gallinago nemoricola) in Sichuan’s Min Mountains. This species is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List and was recently classified as a National Class II Protected Species in China.

The research team uses automatic recorders to collect and analyze 70,000 hours of audio data, tracking the species’ annual distribution, population size, daily calling rhythms, and seasonal changes. They have also banded and fitted satellite trackers on 20 individuals, uncovering migration routes and confirming seven wintering sites across Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangxi, Vietnam, Laos, and Myanmar. This study was the first to show that Wood Snipes migrate over 1,000 km. During winter, they prefer grasslands and farmland while avoiding forests, showing strong site fidelity. However, habitat loss—due to afforestation, tea plantation expansion, and large-scale photovoltaic projects—poses a threat to their wintering grounds.

One of the team members was injured and couldn’t travel to Pingwu with Dr. Que’s group, so they asked if I wanted to go instead of working on the Breeding Bird Survey. I didn’t think much and just went. So for now, I haven’t started the Breeding Bird Survey yet.

I spent a week in the mountains and just got back. Starting today, I’ll be recalling my research from the past seven days.