Wilson's Snipe

Photo of a Wilson's snipe, a pudgy, long-billed bird, wading in a marsh.
Wilson’s snipe is a migratory bird usually seen in spring and fall, foraging at marshes, swamps, wet pastures, crop stubble, and drainage ditches.
1/1
Photo of a Wilson's snipe, a pudgy, long-billed bird, wading in a marsh.

A well-camouflaged sandpiper-like bird with a very long bill, plump body, black- and white-streaked head, and relatively short legs (for a sandpiper). Upperparts are mottled brown and black with strong white streaks running down the back. The belly is white, and there is a rusty band near the tip of the tail. When surprised, snipe take off in a zigzag pattern and call a harsh “scraip, scraip.”

Topic Category
Hunting / Fishing Guide
Seasons
Regulations
Biological Information
Wilson's Snipe
Seasons
Wilson's Snipe

Photo of a Wilson's snipe, a pudgy, long-billed bird, wading in a marsh.

Season Not Open
Common Snipe: Hunting
  • September 1, 2024 - December 16, 2024
Hours

One-half hour before sunrise to sunset

Daily limit: 8
Possession limit: 24

+ see more - show less
  1. Small Game Hunting Permit
  2. Migratory Bird Hunting Permit
Migratory Bird Hunting Permit, Small Game Hunting Permit, Small Game Hunting and Fishing Permit, Nonresident Daily Small Game Permit, Lifetime Conservation Partner (Hunting and Fishing) Permit (residents only), Lifetime Small Game Hunting Permit (residents only), Military Reduced Cost Permit

Migratory Birds: Hunting: Allowed Methods

Shotguns, 10 gauge or smaller. Must not hold more than 3 shells in the magazine and chamber combined.

Hunting dogs

Motor boats or sailboats may be used, but only if the motor has been shut off and/or the sails furled, and the boat’s progress therefrom has stopped.

Additional Info

Special Provision for Firearms Deer Season: During the November portion and Antlerless portion in open counties, shot must be no larger than No. 4.

Migratory Birds: Hunting: Prohibited Methods

Rifles and pistols

Firearms that propel a single projectile at one discharge

Punt guns, battery guns, swivel guns, fully automatic firearms, traps, snares, nets, fish hooks, poisons, drugs, explosives, and stupefying substances

Lead shot is prohibited at some conservation areas.

Motor vehicles or aircraft. Paraplegics and people missing one or both legs may hunt from a stationary vehicle.

Sink boxes or any other type of low-floating device that conceals the hunter beneath the surface of the water

Electronic calls or electronically activated calls

Any sighting device that casts a beam of light on the game

Night vision or thermal imagery equipment

Live decoys

Bait