Wilson’s Snipe: A Shorebird With A Sore Head

The following story about a Wilson’s snipe was submitted by Wildlife Rescue Association of British Columbia.

On October 7, a member of the public found a Wilson’s snipe trapped in a car park in North Vancouver. Unfortunately, when she checked on the bird, the snipe flew into the roof of the parking structure multiple times. After time to calm down, she was able to capture the little shorebird, and she brought it straight to us at Wildlife Rescue Association of BC.

Upon examination, the patient presented with signs of head trauma. The snipe had blood in its mouth, a head tick, torticollis, and whenever it tried to fly it went sideways. To treat the head trauma, we started the patient on some anti-inflammatory medication and fluid therapy.

Due to the head trauma, the snipe wasn’t able to self-feed, so we started to tube-feed EmerAid IC Carnivore along with tweezer feeding mealworms to make sure the snipe got all of the proper nutrients needed to heal. We did this for a few days until the patient’s head trauma had healed enough for it to start feeding on its own.

Eventually, the snipe’s mentation improved enough that it was moved to an outdoor enclosure. This helped us to see how it was able to maneuver in a larger space. While the snipe was still occasionally walking in circles while outside and presenting with other minor signs of head trauma, we knew that with time these issues would heal.

We monitored the patient closely over the next few weeks. After more than six weeks in care, the Wilson’s snipe was released back to nature!

Photo Credit: Wildlife Rescue Volunteer & Photographer, Paul Steeves