Sounds like it could be quite possible to get a feather for isotope analysis from this bird if anyone happens to be in the area
From what I have read there has been isotope analysis of a Marbled Duck feather in the UK before, conclusion was captive origin for that particular bird
James Walsh said
Sun Aug 4 3:52 PM, 2013
Yesterday in Dumfries & Galloway, a potential mega
MARBLED DUCK of unknown origin on River Dee by Cumstoun Bridge just north of Kirkcudbright (D & G), showing well
Ian McKerchar said
Sun Aug 4 9:15 AM, 2013
James Walsh wrote:
Yesterday in Dumfries & Galloway, a potential mega
MARBLED DUCK of unknown origin on River Dee by Cumstoun Bridge just north of Kirkcudbright (D & G), showing well
Showing well as it's apparently 'very approachable'...
-- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Sunday 4th of August 2013 09:16:18 AM
John Doherty said
Sat Jul 6 8:33 AM, 2013
Just a snapshot of the current madness - Juvenile Ascension Frigatebird yesterday on Islay, Scotland - not seen after 9am unfortunately, but of course those rabid twitchers among you know that
I am fattening my twitch fund as best I can ing funds and just bought a scope but come October I am following lines on maps, I am definitely getting sucked into the the twitching game
-- Edited by John Doherty on Saturday 6th of July 2013 08:33:56 AM
Scott Reid said
Tue Jul 2 9:21 PM, 2013
All being well this evening, myself and Austin Morley are driving up to Northumbs early morning tomorrow for the bridled tern. If anyone would like to join us call or text me this afternoon/evening 07530304374 and I will book us on a boat - either a 6am or 9am sailing. Cheers.
Simon Warford said
Thu Jun 27 1:17 AM, 2013
News just in, the White-throated Needletail was killed after colliding with a wind turbine, what a terrible end for one of the best birds ever to be seen in Britain.
James Walsh said
Wed Jun 26 6:55 PM, 2013
More Mega Swift news
White-throated Needletail on Harris
James Walsh said
Sun Jun 16 3:00 PM, 2013
Pacific Swift at Trimley Marshes, Suffolk, found yesterday, still present this morning
Pete Hines said
Sat May 25 6:03 PM, 2013
Mike Passant wrote:
It was illuminating to have Henry Cook's views on the plumage tones of the Margate Dusky Thrush, especially based also on his first hand experience in the field. As Henry states in his post below, seen in life, the underparts did not show such a rusty suffusion as some of the published photos suggest, and I fully accept his reasoning on this point concerning saturation of colours. The latest photos by Simon Warford and by Rob Adderley (in the gallery here) do indeed back up Henry's assertion and indicate rather more reassuring greyer tones to virtually the whole of the underparts. - Perhaps another cautionary tale to illustrate how the camera can sometimes serve to deceive.
Regards, Mike P.
I made that film Mike and that's exactly how it looked, no photoshop, editing etc.
Mike Passant said
Sat May 25 2:09 AM, 2013
It was illuminating to have Henry Cook's views on the plumage tones of the Margate Dusky Thrush, especially based also on his first hand experience in the field. As Henry states in his post below, seen in life, the underparts did not show such a rusty suffusion as some of the published photos suggest, and I fully accept his reasoning on this point concerning saturation of colours. The latest photos by Simon Warford and by Rob Adderley (in the gallery here) do indeed back up Henry's assertion and indicate rather more reassuring greyer tones to virtually the whole of the underparts. - Perhaps another cautionary tale to illustrate how the camera can sometimes serve to deceive.
Regards, Mike P.
Pete Hines said
Tue May 21 4:40 PM, 2013
re Dusky Thrush. Just to refresh your memory...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ds-ESy_T5Xg
Henry Cook said
Mon May 20 11:42 PM, 2013
Mike Passant wrote:
Female Dusky Thrush (intergrade?)
I couldn't face the long tortuous trek to Margate alone on Saturday (my usual potential team members being away on the Isle of Lewis), so wistfully studied the available internet photos instead.
I then began scratching my chin somewhat at the underparts of this bird and was struck by the extent of rusty suffusion on the underparts, especially obvious on the rear flanks. I compared the images with the range of plumages depicted in the Helm guide "Thrushes" (Clement and Hathaway), and concluded that this bird most resembles an intergrade Dusky/Naumann's, based on the following characters:
1. Mantle a shade paler than true Dusky; - more like Naumann's. 2. Edgings to greater coverts and to secondaries forming unduly pale panels (though this could be age-related). 3. Underparts generally suffused with rusty tones, and more particularly with a concentration of this on rear flanks.
Image 121h on plate 41 is the closest fit, though the Margate individual has a paler mantle.
Coincidentally, I received a telephone call from a contact who had made the journey yesterday (Neil Osborne). During our conversation Neil independently voiced similar misgivings about its "racial purity".
None of this of course detracts from the quality of this particular mega rarity, though after the inevitable debate which will ensue, will observers dutifully "tick" this bird, and if so, in line with retaining a clear conscience, what as?
I'm glad I saw the original Naumann's Thrush, (but definately wish I'd seen the Leigh bird as well!)
-All part of the fun!
Hi Mike.
Saw this bird pretty well on Saturday, and although you are right about the (perhaps atypical) features including the mantle and wing feathers, the bird was almost completely greyscale on the underparts apart from a few mahogony diffuse chevrons on the side of the upper breast only. This mahogony was not the rusty colour I would have expected from Naumann's influence. In the field I could not see any rufous along the lower flanks, this area seemed appropriately dusky in appearance.
Perhaps what led you to the rusty underparts character was that many photos posted online show the colours over-cooked compared with what I experienced, presumably to tease out that popular clichéd, hyper-realized shot. Many of the photos in question have also brought out a much stronger than life orange tone to the secondary panel, just to back up my previous comment.
As this was an extremely washed-out and therefore quite pale individual, I find it hard to reference any particular feather plumage tone to expected colours. The mantle tone therefore being paler than expected is a factor of the overall paleness of the bird. The particularly striking wing panel, white fringed great coverts (not rufous) and greyish (not pure black) underpart chevrons were also a factor of this.
There are photos online of other female Dusky Thrushes which look nearly identical to this individual but they are few and far between which suggests this bird was a uncommon variant of an already very rare bird. This scenario is perhaps less likely than an intergrade granted but in the UK we do seem to receive pale vagrants on occasion, e.g. the Varied Thrush, and at a stretch, the House Finch. This may not be enough to infer a trend but it's possible birds with plumage abnormalities are more likely to fall foul of reverse migration or to being pushed off-course by winds. Plumage abnormalities are often a factor of poor diet which could leave the bird in a weakened state when it comes to staying on course. Just a theory.
It was great to see the bird feeding arboreally. I was initially worried with the numbers of twitchers there that it wouldn't be able to feed on the ground in peace (presuming incorrectly that's the only place it wanted to feed) but it didn't seem bothered and was catching the odd large caterpillar up in the treetops, a behaviour I guess our similar winter turdus, the Redwing, will be doing back in Scandanavia.
Cheers. Henry.
p.s. Good to see you Phil down there and hope you had a good weekend in the region.
-- Edited by Henry Cook on Monday 20th of May 2013 11:50:51 PM
-- Edited by Henry Cook on Monday 20th of May 2013 11:52:36 PM
Phil Owen said
Mon May 20 5:28 AM, 2013
Myself and Alex Jones successfully twitched the Dusky Thrush yesterday afternoon at Margate, Kent.
A very mobile bird, but in the end, the long trip was all made worthwhile, as it posed for the assembled crowd on a Pine Tree branch where we had really good and prolonged views.
Mike Passant said
Sun May 19 6:15 PM, 2013
Female Dusky Thrush (intergrade?)
I couldn't face the long tortuous trek to Margate alone on Saturday (my usual potential team members being away on the Isle of Lewis), so wistfully studied the available internet photos instead.
I then began scratching my chin somewhat at the underparts of this bird and was struck by the extent of rusty suffusion on the underparts, especially obvious on the rear flanks. I compared the images with the range of plumages depicted in the Helm guide "Thrushes" (Clement and Hathaway), and concluded that this bird most resembles an intergrade Dusky/Naumann's, based on the following characters:
1. Mantle a shade paler than true Dusky; - more like Naumann's. 2. Edgings to greater coverts and to secondaries forming unduly pale panels (though this could be age-related). 3. Underparts generally suffused with rusty tones, and more particularly with a concentration of this on rear flanks.
Image 121h on plate 41 is the closest fit, though the Margate individual has a paler mantle.
Coincidentally, I received a telephone call from a contact who had made the journey yesterday (Neil Osborne). During our conversation Neil independently voiced similar misgivings about its "racial purity".
None of this of course detracts from the quality of this particular mega rarity, though after the inevitable debate which will ensue, will observers dutifully "tick" this bird, and if so, in line with retaining a clear conscience, what as?
I'm glad I saw the original Naumann's Thrush, (but definately wish I'd seen the Leigh bird as well!)
-All part of the fun!
James Walsh said
Fri May 10 12:30 AM, 2013
Northumberland male Collared Flycatcher @ Low Newton
Andy Isherwood said
Fri Apr 26 5:49 AM, 2013
Amazing day at spurn again (unfortunately not for me) even more amazing is that the rock thrush and caspian tern were both found by Adam hutt!
Tanmay Dixit said
Fri Apr 26 3:12 AM, 2013
Rufous tailed rock thrush at Spurn
info thanks to Doc Brewster
Doc Brewster said
Thu Apr 25 10:41 PM, 2013
Chatted to Tanmay about this as we were en route to this mega bird
A brief hesitation turned into solid plans early afternoon and a short while later a car of four Cheshire listers was wending its way across the Pennines towards the hallowed East Riding of Yorkshire!! Myself, Dave Robinson, Mark Payne & Malc Curtin were a little slow off the mark but it was to prove very fortuitous later on in the twitch. After a nailbiting 3 hours we arrived at Spurn to find a good number of birders watching from the Bluebell car park. On getting out we were invited straight to the scopes of fellow NW birders and within a few seconds had ticked a superb female Rock Thrush. We then watched it for the next 20 minutes at mid range giving fantastic scope views as it fed along the fenceline, flaring its redstart-like tail every time that it flew. Three Wheatears and a Yellow Wagtail accompanied it in its feeding routine but soon we were having to turn straight round due to some members of our team having prior engagements.
I dragged it out as lons as I could persuading the guys to stay an extra 10 minutes and boy, were we glad that I did!! Just as we were about to get in the car we overheard a nearby walkie-talkie crackle into life with the message of " Caspian Tern flying north past seawatching hide now!". Racing back up to the edge of the beach we watched in disbelief as a summer adult Caspian Tern lazily flapped its way past us only 30m or so offshore giving stunning scope views of this huge rare tern species. Everything had fallen beautifully into place & all we could do was laugh in amazement at our good fortune, our timing had been absolutely perfect.
The final 'good' bird of the day was a Short-eared Owl by the road as we headed away from Spurn, all too soon we were back in Cheshire and it was day over, back to work tomorrow!!
What a day, a bit of a dash & tick but two great birds in about half an hour at Spurn, as they say, if Carlsberg did Birding Days................
-- Edited by Doc Brewster on Thursday 25th of April 2013 10:44:19 PM
James Walsh said
Tue Apr 16 2:33 PM, 2013
Birdguides report no sign of Baikal Teal at Flamborough Head North Marsh up to 7am
James Walsh said
Tue Apr 16 4:59 AM, 2013
Info for Baikal Teal, flew in off sea this morning, still present 7:30pm (according to birdforum), pics on surfbirds
Tanmay Dixit said
Tue Apr 16 3:12 AM, 2013
Baikal teal around Flamborough Head today. No more info but I believe it is a confirmed report!
dave broome said
Tue Apr 9 12:44 AM, 2013
The Alston Wetlands Killdeer was only present briefly this afternoon and hadn't reappeared up to just before 5 o'clock
Ollie Wright said
Mon Apr 8 10:18 PM, 2013
Can't believe it... Hopefully Phil can get down this evening!
Ian McKerchar said
Mon Apr 8 9:48 PM, 2013
Killdeer again on Alston Wetlands from central screens on Pinfold Lane at 14:25 today. Please drive through gateway on right past first viewing screen along Pinfold Lane and park in field then walk back to view from screens.
John Rayner said
Mon Apr 8 6:12 PM, 2013
Ian McKerchar wrote:
I think the Killdeer was confirmed at the time of the finding by the finder himself (and not via photos)
This story gets better. As I understand it the finder of the recent Killdeer in Donegal went and refound what was probably the same bird on his local patch. Remarkable if true.
Cheers, John
Phil Owen said
Mon Apr 8 4:34 AM, 2013
Myself and Ollie Wright were actually en-route for the Killdeer when unfortunately negative news came through.
A great bird and especially for the North West of England. Let's hope it gets re-found again.
A truly impressive bird and record but on a separate note, I couldn't quite understand why RBA decided to give it a "mega" status with 55 previous UK records for the species?
Take nothing away from it however, just a thought and nothing more!
Dennis atherton said
Mon Apr 8 4:13 AM, 2013
spent 2 hours there today hoping for it to return, 12.30 till 2.30 ish, no sign, what a cracking bird, would be good to see one in this country, lots of birders up there hoping for a sighting,
Ian McKerchar said
Mon Apr 8 4:01 AM, 2013
Tanmay Dixit wrote:
Killdeer at Alston Reservoirs (Lancs) on Birdguides; confirmed with photos.
If only I could get there, easter hols now over...
I should have added that the Killdeer was last seen at 11:50am flying off NE as I understand.
Ian McKerchar said
Mon Apr 8 3:37 AM, 2013
No worries Tanmay, I see what you were trying to say . As you say though, a set of photos doesn't necessarily confirm it either nowadays . Fortunately the finder was highly reliable either way
Tanmay Dixit said
Mon Apr 8 3:13 AM, 2013
Ian McKerchar wrote:
Tanmay Dixit wrote:
Killdeer at Alston Reservoirs (Lancs) on Birdguides; confirmed with photos.
Tanmay, sorry, I can't resist not commenting on this but I think the Killdeer was confirmed at the time of the finding by the finder himself (and not via photos) . Or are we now not believing anything until 'we' (birders in general) see a photo of it
Fair point, but what i meant was that I'd only seen it on birdguides (don't even know who found it, great find though!), and as we all know that's not always reliable (despite being a useful resource in my humble opinion), so i was just saying that it had been confirmed; was not just a 'probable birdguides report'!
Obviously no offence meant to the finder, all I wanted was to assure people on the forum that it had been confirmed (whether from photos or not, doesn't matter) and was not a questionable sighting at all.
Hope that's ironed out any misunderstanding or anything...I certainly believe people when they say they've seen something...but often that's a risk for people if they want to travel to see something (a comparatively inexperienced birder -such as myself!- may have made an honest mistake, or it could be a rare instance of someone not telling the truth...a sad occurrence and thankfully not common, but as you know it does happen) so, like i say, just to reassure people. All I knew was that there were photos which clearly showed a killdeer and that's why i posted what i did.
hope that's ok!
Ian McKerchar said
Mon Apr 8 2:57 AM, 2013
Tanmay Dixit wrote:
Killdeer at Alston Reservoirs (Lancs) on Birdguides; confirmed with photos.
Tanmay, sorry, I can't resist not commenting on this but I think the Killdeer was confirmed at the time of the finding by the finder himself (and not via photos) . Or are we now not believing anything until 'we' (birders in general) see a photo of it
Tanmay Dixit said
Mon Apr 8 2:45 AM, 2013
Killdeer at Alston Reservoirs (Lancs) on Birdguides; confirmed with photos.
If only I could get there, easter hols now over...
Doc Brewster said
Sat Feb 23 3:50 PM, 2013
Harlequin Duck up on North Uist, Western Isles. Went up midweek to see this cracking 1w drake, which has lingered off Balranald RSPB for the last week. A brilliant trip, albeit a long, long way, to watch this bird for 1.5hrs and then to have a guided tour around all the hotspots of the island with ex-Inner Marsh Farm RSPB Warden & now Balranald RSPB Warden Stuart Taylor. We caught up with White-tailed Eagle, Ring-necked Duck, Richardsons Canada Goose, 2 white Snow Geese & Glaucous Gull, as well as great views of numerous scarcities. Long drive to Uig on Skye, ferry over to N.Uist & then a night on Benbecula before retuning on the 1st ferry back the next day. All worth it for such a fantastic bird and not too expensive as we did it with a crew of five of us in one car
-- Edited by Doc Brewster on Saturday 23rd of February 2013 03:52:17 PM
-- Edited by Doc Brewster on Saturday 23rd of February 2013 03:53:15 PM
Doc Brewster said
Mon Feb 4 11:12 PM, 2013
Hugh's photos on Surfbirds are truly drool-makers!!!
Pete Hines said
Mon Feb 4 6:15 AM, 2013
Doc Brewster wrote:
News from the pagers - PINE GROSBEAK on Tuesday in Shetland at Collafirth, this bird's ID was clinched from photos.
Now presumed present for the last 3 months !!!, from a photo taken of a 'Crossbill' in a Shetland mainland garden on 2nd November 2012 (there for 2 days) identical to photos taken yesterday. It could be a second bird of course.
Doc Brewster said
Fri Feb 1 7:07 PM, 2013
News from the pagers - PINE GROSBEAK on Tuesday in Shetland at Collafirth, this bird's ID was clinched from photos.
James Walsh said
Thu Jan 24 5:39 PM, 2013
Yesterday in Berkshire 1 Buff-bellied Pipit still at Queen Mother Reservoir, showing very well
-- Edited by James Walsh on Thursday 24th of January 2013 05:40:22 PM
-- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Thursday 24th of January 2013 07:18:47 PM
James Walsh said
Thu Oct 25 8:06 AM, 2012
Mega News
Chestnut-eared Bunting Shetland still present Wednesday (24 October) Siberian Rubythroat Fair Isle on Tuesday (23 October) Pale-legged Leaf Warbler Portland on Monday (22 October)
Phil Owen said
Sun Oct 21 3:58 PM, 2012
Good views of the Eastern Olivaceous Warbler yesterday at Kilminning Castle, Fife for myself, Jason Atkinson and Alex Jones.
Doc Brewster said
Fri Oct 12 5:36 AM, 2012
Not one to rush for as there has been a relatively recent NW record - Blackpoll Warbler on Scilly today, on Bryher, which mega alerted on RBA Pager. The NW record, by the way, was at Seaforth NR in Liverpool on June 2nd 2000.
Phil Owen said
Sat Oct 6 5:17 PM, 2012
Great views on Tuesday 2nd October of the Short-billed Dowitcherat RSPB Lodmoor, Dorset, for myself and Henry Cook.
Details under "all other counties and regions"
-- Edited by Phil Owen on Saturday 6th of October 2012 07:01:44 PM
James Walsh said
Sat Oct 6 4:28 PM, 2012
From birdguides, Belted Kingfisher Galway but no sign of Eastern Kingbird !
Doc Brewster said
Fri Oct 5 10:33 PM, 2012
For those now making plans...........
still there at 2.50pm at Inishmore on wall at Kimurvey, it's a trip over to Ireland & then a charter boat to Inishmore, good luck
James Walsh said
Fri Oct 5 9:42 PM, 2012
Eastern Kingbird in County Galway, Ireland
Doc Brewster said
Tue Sep 25 4:48 PM, 2012
Even slower, Ian, but I waited a day in case it turned up in another Geo - but no sign at all yesterday of the Magnolia Warbler, despite extensive searches for it. Many very keen twitchers had planes booked & were waiting pacing around airfield departure lounges - ah well you win some, you lose some
Ian McKerchar said
Mon Sep 24 4:33 AM, 2012
News broke two hours ago and for those involved those two hours mean everything
John Doherty said
Sun Sep 23 9:05 PM, 2012
News just broken via Rarebirdalert - There's a Magnolia Warbler, on Fair Isle, Shetland. Most recent and first for UK record was Scilly, 1981. Now that's mega!
-- Edited by John Doherty on Sunday 23rd of September 2012 09:11:26 PM
Doc Brewster said
Fri Sep 14 12:56 AM, 2012
Popped down to rainham Marshes RSPB to try for the Baillon's Crake that is there at present. A bit of advice to anyone going: Get there early, best views seem to be first thing & the reserve seems to be letting folk in before opening time at present. The walk to the hide is over a kilometre, so those with walking difficulties beware. The hide is up several steps so wheelchair access would be difficult. The bird is usually very elusive & views are through reeds and for a couple of seconds at a time only, not everyone in the hide gets the bird each time it shows. The hide can hold lots of people but gets packed, over 50 birders were in there when I was there! This can make it up to 6 deep so viewing can be hard!
I luckily got one view of the crake, as I say through reeds and for about 2 seconds. This was in a total of 6 hours in the hide & just over 6 hours travelling time. But as they say - that's twitching!!
Doc Brewster said
Wed Sep 5 8:50 PM, 2012
There has been a dowitcher species at Lodmoor NR in Dorset for a bout a week now & it has been IDed finally as a Short-billed Dowitcher from photos. My last UK one was in Cleveland so I don't think I'll be rushing all the way to Dorset for this one, but it's a great bird It was present this morning but has been missing since late am, almost certainly turn up later today.
sid ashton said
Tue Jul 17 3:26 PM, 2012
JamieDunning wrote:
Anyone been for the Hudsonian Godwit? I know its been said that its possibly not actually this species but from photos I've seen (& its only photos, haven't heard any news) it looks good... doesn't it? & I have no experience with Hudwit so wondered if anyone - who dose, could elaborate on what we [were] looking for.
Jamie
Also check Ian Mck's informative comments on the Frodsham Marsh/Weaver bend thread under Cheshire and the Wirral for additional information.
-- Edited by sid ashton on Tuesday 17th of July 2012 03:44:03 PM
From what I have read there has been isotope analysis of a Marbled Duck feather in the UK before, conclusion was captive origin for that particular bird
MARBLED DUCK of unknown origin on River Dee by Cumstoun Bridge just north of Kirkcudbright (D & G), showing well
Showing well as it's apparently 'very approachable'...
-- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Sunday 4th of August 2013 09:16:18 AM
I am fattening my twitch fund as best I can ing funds and just bought a scope but come October I am following lines on maps, I am definitely getting sucked into the the twitching game
-- Edited by John Doherty on Saturday 6th of July 2013 08:33:56 AM
White-throated Needletail on Harris
I made that film Mike and that's exactly how it looked, no photoshop, editing etc.
It was illuminating to have Henry Cook's views on the plumage tones of the Margate Dusky Thrush, especially based also on his first hand experience in the field. As Henry states in his post below, seen in life, the underparts did not show such a rusty suffusion as some of the published photos suggest, and I fully accept his reasoning on this point concerning saturation of colours.
The latest photos by Simon Warford and by Rob Adderley (in the gallery here) do indeed back up Henry's assertion and indicate rather more reassuring greyer tones to virtually the whole of the underparts.
- Perhaps another cautionary tale to illustrate how the camera can sometimes serve to deceive.
Regards,
Mike P.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ds-ESy_T5Xg
Hi Mike.
Saw this bird pretty well on Saturday, and although you are right about the (perhaps atypical) features including the mantle and wing feathers, the bird was almost completely greyscale on the underparts apart from a few mahogony diffuse chevrons on the side of the upper breast only. This mahogony was not the rusty colour I would have expected from Naumann's influence. In the field I could not see any rufous along the lower flanks, this area seemed appropriately dusky in appearance.
Perhaps what led you to the rusty underparts character was that many photos posted online show the colours over-cooked compared with what I experienced, presumably to tease out that popular clichéd, hyper-realized shot. Many of the photos in question have also brought out a much stronger than life orange tone to the secondary panel, just to back up my previous comment.
As this was an extremely washed-out and therefore quite pale individual, I find it hard to reference any particular feather plumage tone to expected colours. The mantle tone therefore being paler than expected is a factor of the overall paleness of the bird. The particularly striking wing panel, white fringed great coverts (not rufous) and greyish (not pure black) underpart chevrons were also a factor of this.
There are photos online of other female Dusky Thrushes which look nearly identical to this individual but they are few and far between which suggests this bird was a uncommon variant of an already very rare bird. This scenario is perhaps less likely than an intergrade granted but in the UK we do seem to receive pale vagrants on occasion, e.g. the Varied Thrush, and at a stretch, the House Finch. This may not be enough to infer a trend but it's possible birds with plumage abnormalities are more likely to fall foul of reverse migration or to being pushed off-course by winds. Plumage abnormalities are often a factor of poor diet which could leave the bird in a weakened state when it comes to staying on course. Just a theory.
It was great to see the bird feeding arboreally. I was initially worried with the numbers of twitchers there that it wouldn't be able to feed on the ground in peace (presuming incorrectly that's the only place it wanted to feed) but it didn't seem bothered and was catching the odd large caterpillar up in the treetops, a behaviour I guess our similar winter turdus, the Redwing, will be doing back in Scandanavia.
Cheers.
Henry.
p.s. Good to see you Phil down there and hope you had a good weekend in the region.
-- Edited by Henry Cook on Monday 20th of May 2013 11:50:51 PM
-- Edited by Henry Cook on Monday 20th of May 2013 11:52:36 PM
A very mobile bird, but in the end, the long trip was all made worthwhile, as it posed for the assembled crowd on a Pine Tree branch where we had really good and prolonged views.
Female Dusky Thrush (intergrade?)
I couldn't face the long tortuous trek to Margate alone on Saturday (my usual potential team members being away on the Isle of Lewis), so wistfully studied the available internet photos instead.
I then began scratching my chin somewhat at the underparts of this bird and was struck by the extent of rusty suffusion on the underparts, especially obvious on the rear flanks.
I compared the images with the range of plumages depicted in the Helm guide "Thrushes" (Clement and Hathaway), and concluded that this bird most resembles an intergrade Dusky/Naumann's, based on the following characters:
1. Mantle a shade paler than true Dusky; - more like Naumann's.
2. Edgings to greater coverts and to secondaries forming unduly pale panels (though this could be age-related).
3. Underparts generally suffused with rusty tones, and more particularly with a concentration of this on rear flanks.
Image 121h on plate 41 is the closest fit, though the Margate individual has a paler mantle.
Coincidentally, I received a telephone call from a contact who had made the journey yesterday (Neil Osborne). During our conversation Neil independently voiced similar misgivings about its "racial purity".
None of this of course detracts from the quality of this particular mega rarity, though after the inevitable debate which will ensue, will observers dutifully "tick" this bird, and if so, in line with retaining a clear conscience, what as?
I'm glad I saw the original Naumann's Thrush, (but definately wish I'd seen the Leigh bird as well!)
-All part of the fun!
info thanks to Doc Brewster
A brief hesitation turned into solid plans early afternoon and a short while later a car of four Cheshire listers was wending its way across the Pennines towards the hallowed East Riding of Yorkshire!! Myself, Dave Robinson, Mark Payne & Malc Curtin were a little slow off the mark but it was to prove very fortuitous later on in the twitch. After a nailbiting 3 hours we arrived at Spurn to find a good number of birders watching from the Bluebell car park. On getting out we were invited straight to the scopes of fellow NW birders and within a few seconds had ticked a superb female Rock Thrush. We then watched it for the next 20 minutes at mid range giving fantastic scope views as it fed along the fenceline, flaring its redstart-like tail every time that it flew. Three Wheatears and a Yellow Wagtail accompanied it in its feeding routine but soon we were having to turn straight round due to some members of our team having prior engagements.
I dragged it out as lons as I could persuading the guys to stay an extra 10 minutes and boy, were we glad that I did!! Just as we were about to get in the car we overheard a nearby walkie-talkie crackle into life with the message of " Caspian Tern flying north past seawatching hide now!". Racing back up to the edge of the beach we watched in disbelief as a summer adult Caspian Tern lazily flapped its way past us only 30m or so offshore giving stunning scope views of this huge rare tern species. Everything had fallen beautifully into place & all we could do was laugh in amazement at our good fortune, our timing had been absolutely perfect.
The final 'good' bird of the day was a Short-eared Owl by the road as we headed away from Spurn, all too soon we were back in Cheshire and it was day over, back to work tomorrow!!
What a day, a bit of a dash & tick but two great birds in about half an hour at Spurn, as they say, if Carlsberg did Birding Days................
-- Edited by Doc Brewster on Thursday 25th of April 2013 10:44:19 PM
This story gets better. As I understand it the finder of the recent Killdeer in Donegal went and refound what was probably the same bird on his local patch. Remarkable if true.
Cheers, John
A great bird and especially for the North West of England. Let's hope it gets re-found again.
A truly impressive bird and record but on a separate note, I couldn't quite understand why RBA decided to give it a "mega" status with 55 previous UK records for the species?
Take nothing away from it however, just a thought and nothing more!
I should have added that the Killdeer was last seen at 11:50am flying off NE as I understand.
. Fortunately the finder was highly reliable either way
Fair point, but what i meant was that I'd only seen it on birdguides (don't even know who found it, great find though!), and as we all know that's not always reliable (despite being a useful resource in my humble opinion), so i was just saying that it had been confirmed; was not just a 'probable birdguides report'!
Obviously no offence meant to the finder, all I wanted was to assure people on the forum that it had been confirmed (whether from photos or not, doesn't matter) and was not a questionable sighting at all.
Hope that's ironed out any misunderstanding or anything...I certainly believe people when they say they've seen something...but often that's a risk for people if they want to travel to see something (a comparatively inexperienced birder -such as myself!- may have made an honest mistake, or it could be a rare instance of someone not telling the truth...a sad occurrence and thankfully not common, but as you know it does happen) so, like i say, just to reassure people. All I knew was that there were photos which clearly showed a killdeer and that's why i posted what i did.
hope that's ok!
Tanmay, sorry, I can't resist not commenting on this but I think the Killdeer was confirmed at the time of the finding by the finder himself (and not via photos) . Or are we now not believing anything until 'we' (birders in general) see a photo of it
If only I could get there, easter hols now over...
-- Edited by Doc Brewster on Saturday 23rd of February 2013 03:52:17 PM
-- Edited by Doc Brewster on Saturday 23rd of February 2013 03:53:15 PM
Now presumed present for the last 3 months !!!, from a photo taken of a 'Crossbill' in a Shetland mainland garden on 2nd November 2012 (there for 2 days) identical to photos taken yesterday. It could be a second bird of course.
-- Edited by James Walsh on Thursday 24th of January 2013 05:40:22 PM
-- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Thursday 24th of January 2013 07:18:47 PM
Chestnut-eared Bunting Shetland still present Wednesday (24 October)
Siberian Rubythroat Fair Isle on Tuesday (23 October)
Pale-legged Leaf Warbler Portland on Monday (22 October)
Details under "all other counties and regions"
-- Edited by Phil Owen on Saturday 6th of October 2012 07:01:44 PM
still there at 2.50pm at Inishmore on wall at Kimurvey, it's a trip over to Ireland & then a charter boat to Inishmore, good luck
-- Edited by John Doherty on Sunday 23rd of September 2012 09:11:26 PM
Get there early, best views seem to be first thing & the reserve seems to be letting folk in before opening time at present. The walk to the hide is over a kilometre, so those with walking difficulties beware. The hide is up several steps so wheelchair access would be difficult. The bird is usually very elusive & views are through reeds and for a couple of seconds at a time only, not everyone in the hide gets the bird each time it shows. The hide can hold lots of people but gets packed, over 50 birders were in there when I was there! This can make it up to 6 deep so viewing can be hard!
I luckily got one view of the crake, as I say through reeds and for about 2 seconds. This was in a total of 6 hours in the hide & just over 6 hours travelling time. But as they say - that's twitching!!
Also check Ian Mck's informative comments on the Frodsham Marsh/Weaver bend thread under Cheshire and the Wirral for additional information.
-- Edited by sid ashton on Tuesday 17th of July 2012 03:44:03 PM