Fifteen years of the Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago) study at the Jeziorsko reservoir with some notes about weight and moult

The Students's Section from University of Łódź organises ringing camp at the dam reservoir every year. The aim of the camp is wader and duck ringing. One of the most numerous species of bird ringed is the Common Snipe. During 15 years (1989-2003) of studies 4142 individuals of this species were ringed. Age ratio differed among years, but every year young birds represented more that 80% of all ringed individuals. Snipes caught in September caused problems with age identification and that impeded to obtain correct age ratio each year. Analysis of weight of caught birds revealed between-years variation in juvenile birds, adults were excluded from analysis due to small sample size. Throughout the autumn months the increase in mean body mass in young birds was observed. Data about moult suggest that adult birds show two main strategies of primary moult: traditional moult and suspended moult. Both of them are of the same frequency. Tail feathers are moulted by juveniles as well as by adults simultaneously.