After talking to me about trapping of passage peregrine in Arkansas (Episode 24), Heath Garner returns to the show to talk about snipe-hawking. To set the stage for the conversation,  Heath reminds us of his falconry background, the group of falconers that typically focus on snipe in Arkansas, and some similarities and differences of snipe hawking in Arkansas compared to the U.K. and Ireland.

We then turn our attention to the snipe themselves, and Heath tells us why the Mississippi Alluvial Valley is particularly good for overwintering snipe, plus he outlines a little natural history on the genus, provides a comparison with the American woodcock, and he give us some insight into shorebird conservation.

Turning to game-hawking of snipe, Heath describes how Arkansas long-wingers discovered that the local snipe population was huntable., including the way that they use their dogs. Heath describes where snipe are typically found, and compares snipe-hawking to dove-hawking. He then give us a sense of what he feels are among the best falcons for flying snipe, and details the way that a slip is typically orchestrated. We conclude this section of our conversation discussing opportunities for ringing flights.

We finish-up learning a little about the Arkansas Annual Snipe Hawking Invitational.