![]() Scientists use a spotlight and large net to capture birds at night. ![]() For example a 1959 report from the Illinois Natural History survey outlines the snipe-hunting method (they call it “night-lighting”) using a truck driven through a field with a generator-powered bank of spotlights, with a trapper riding on the hood carrying a long-handled net. The snipe hunting tradition has continued in wildlife research, with updated tools and techniques. When the bewildered bird is spotted, a net is thrown over it to catch it. ![]() One of the simpler techniques Ali demonstrated was the “torch and gong.” The bird trapper takes advantage of a moonless night to find water birds (such as snipe) carrying a flaming torch while beating a disorienting gong to obscure the sounds of the approaching trapper. I met Ali at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park while he was on a world tour of biological stations, traveling with a translator and a passel of trapping gear (made mostly from bamboo and other natural materials) to share his skills and knowledge with biologists. Ali HusseinĪs times changed, Ali developed a conservation ethic and began using his deep knowledge and experience to catch birds for science instead. He comes from a long line of bird trappers who once caught birds for profit. I first learned about snipe hunt techniques from famed Indian bird trapper Ali Hussein. These are the tools of the trade for a bird-catching tradition that goes back a very long way. The Wikipedia and Urban Dictionary pages cite moonless nights, spotlights, noisemakers, and gunny sacks. The truth of the mythical snipe hunt is that the “fake” tools and techniques a rube is supposed to use are actual tools and techniques for catching real snipe. The origin of the term is a practical joke where inexperienced campers are told about a bird or animal called the snipe as well as a usually preposterous method of catching it, such as running around the woods carrying a bag or making strange noises such as banging rocks together.” “A snipe hunt, a made up hunt that is also known as a fool’s errand, is a type of practical joke that involves experienced people making fun of credulous newcomers by giving them an impossible or imaginary task. There is a common belief that a “snipe hunt” is some sort of wild goose chase, a hazing ritual for naïve outdoors folk.Ĭonsider the Wikipedia entry on the topic:
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |