Blackthroat

Posted on May 11, 2013 by Terry Townshend

Black-throated Blue Robin (Luscinia obscura), Changqing National Nature Reserve, Shaanxi Province, China, 8 May 2013. Photo by Rob Holmes

By Terry

The Black-throated Blue Robin (Blackthroat) was, until very recently, an almost mythical bird. Known only from the odd scattered record in the Chinese Provinces of Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu, with presumed wintering records in southern China and Thailand, it has been “the Holy Grail” of China birding.

The chances of seeing one were as close to zero as one could get until June 2011 when Per Alström and a team of Chinese scientists discovered a total of 14 males at two sites – Foping and Changqing – in Shaanxi Province.

I had long been planning a trip to neighbouring Sichuan Province in May this year with friends Rob Holmes and Jonathan Price and, after consulting our local guide – Sid Francis – we decided to tag on a couple of extra days to visit Changqing and try to see Blackthroat. It was a gamble. We knew that, in 2012, the first birds were seen in Foping and Changqing on 4 and 18 May respectively. So it was by no means certain that they would have arrived and be on territory on 8 May, the day we had planned to visit. And even if they had arrived, would we be able to find one?

Per had kindly uploaded some sound recordings of the Blackthroat’s song, so we knew what to listen for. And on our arrival at Changqing we met with our guide for the day – Zhang Yongwen – who was part of the team that made the discovery in 2011. We were as prepared as we could be, and in good hands.

Yongwen told us that we had “a chance”. This Spring had been a little warmer than usual. His visit with us would be the first time he had looked for the birds this year. If successful, we would be the first people to see Blackthroat in 2013.

Our day began as a typical Spring day in Shaanxi – overcast with the threat of rain and a little chilly in a brisk breeze. Not ideal conditions to look for a skulking robin but not terrible either – it is not uncommon for rain to last days in this part of the world in Spring.

We drove from our hotel in the “ancient” town of Huayang (which looked about 5 years old!) into the core reserve area. The ‘road’ was an old logging track that took us into the heart of some superb habitat. The forest in the reserve is mostly mature secondary growth with generous areas of bamboo. In addition to Blackthroat, the reserve hosts around 100 Giant Pandas as well as Takin, Goral, Serow, Wild Boar and Tufted Deer. The chances of seeing Giant Panda in the wild at this time of year are slim, with the trees in full leaf, but we did see evidence – panda poo!

Giant Panda poo… our closest encounter with this special mammal.

After an hour’s drive, including seeing a couple of Golden Pheasants by the side of the road, we stopped at the edge of a small valley – “Wo Wo Dian” at an altitude of 2,200-2,400 metres. It was along this valley that Blackthroat was found in 2011 and seen subsequently in 2012. Fortunately the rain was holding off and we began the short walk to the prime area. The sense of excitement among the group was palpable.

Blackthroat habitat

The search was focused on areas of dense bamboo alongside a small stream. The constant sound of running water muffled any birdsong, making it difficult to hear and identify any birds along the way… At the first patch of bamboo, just a few hundred metres along the valley, we had a frustrating glimpse of a robin running along the ground.. but it was so deep in the bamboo that it just looked like a black shape and, after waiting patiently for 20 minutes or so, Yongwen said that the best area was further up, so we moved on…

The next stand of bamboo looked good – it was relatively open and, with a low vantage point gained by standing in the rocky stream, it was easier to see any movement. We soon heard a robin singing… and it sounded similar, if not identical, to the sound recordings we had of Blackthroat… our hearts jumped. It wasn’t long before we spotted a robin at the base of the bamboo, deep inside the thicket, and after a frustrating few minutes of half-glimpses and flight views, it finally sat up and sang from a rock – FIRETHROAT! A robin, and a fantastic bird at that, but not the bird we were looking for… Although disappointing that it wasn’t a Blackthroat, we were encouraged that this bird was on territory… would this sighting suggest that the related Blackthroat was also back?

Firethroat (Luscinia pectardens), Changqing National Nature Reserve, Shaanxi Province. We felt bad at being disappointed to see this stunning bird! We later learned that this could be the most northerly record of Firethroat ever recorded.

Onwards we walked to the next area… constantly alert to listen for any song. After no joy at the next couple of stands of bamboo, I began to feel a little deflated… had we arrived just a day or two too early?

The deflated feeling didn’t last long… as we turned a corner, Sid heard what he thought was a short burst of Blackthroat song and, standing absolutely still and turning our heads to one side, we all heard what sounded like the beginning of Blackthroat song… but it was distant and barely audible above the sound of the running water… could it be one? Or was it another mimicking Firethroat? We daren’t presume anything but one could sense the excitement among the group. We edged down a bank towards the location of the sound and, sure enough, we began to hear more of the song above the sound of the stream… it matched very closely the recording we had. The song was clearly coming from the opposite side of the stream, so we edged to the bank and sat quietly, hoping that the bird would reveal itself… First, there was a fleeting glimpse of a dark shape in the bamboo… it was a robin. Then a second glimpse.. but both times it was gone before we could get onto it with binoculars.. A few seconds later it flew to a moss-covered rock and sang, just for a second, before diving into cover again.. There was stunned silence.. we looked at each other and smiled… we had all seen a male BLACKTHROAT! Wow…(or maybe I should say “BOOM!”). For the next couple of minutes, we sat in awe as the Blackthroat moved to several different song posts, delivered a short burst of song and then dived back into cover…

The scene of our first sighting of Blackthroat.

Whilst my attempts at photographing Blackthroat resulted in blurred twigs and images of the space where the bird had been just a split-second before, Rob managed to secure the image at the beginning of this post. It’s an image that captures the essence of our experience – fleeting glimpses of an enigmatic and elusive bird in thick bamboo in poor light… Sharp, in-focus, full-frame photographs are over-rated!

After enjoying this bird for some time, we continued up the valley and encountered several more birds.. all were elusive and, although we heard at least 5 individuals, we only saw one more definite Blackthroat. Mr Zhang also pointed out an old nest from 2012 – possibly the only nest ever discovered.

A Blackthroat nest from 2012. Situated on a steep bank.

The elusiveness of this bird surprised me a little. I had expected newly arrived Blackthroat males to be more obvious… maybe it was the weather conditions (overcast and a little breezy) that suppressed their activity or maybe they are louder and more obvious when the females arrive.. I don’t know..

In any case, I am very grateful to Sid for picking up the faint song of the first Blackthroat we saw and to Mr Zhang for his expert company throughout the day. I am also grateful to Per Alström and Paul Holt who provided information about Blackthroat ahead of our visit. Finally, a big thank you to Jonathan and Rob for their company on what was an outstanding trip to Sichuan and Shaanxi that ended on this magnificent high.

If anyone is heading this way and wants to explore the option of visiting Changqing National Nature Reserve to see this bird, please feel free to contact me or Sid Francis for advice.

Posted in Beijing | Leave a comment

White-billed Diver discovery

Posted on May 6, 2013 by Martin Garner

White-billed Divers off Portsoy, North-east Scotland: discovering a new birding spectacle

Paul Baxter, Chris Gibbins and Hywel Maggs

In April 2011 Peter Osborn contacted HM to say that he has seen what he thought could have been a White-billed Diver off the harbour at Portsoy, North East Scotland. At this time White-billed Diver was a very rare bird in the region, with only a handful of records, so the sighting was well worth checking out. After work on Monday 25 April CG and HM drove up to Portsoy and arrived to find a flat-calm sea and perfect viewing conditions. Much to their amazement they counted 5 White-billed Divers in the bay, mostly in or approaching summer plumage. Wow! They were all rather distant, but unmistakable with their ivory ‘tusks’ shining out in the early evening sunshine. The distance meant that photographs were impossible, so HM and CG made some field notes and sketches (Plate 1) and alerted local birders to the spectacle unfolding on their doorstep.

Plate 1. Field sketches of Portsoy White-billed Divers on 25 April 2011. Chris Gibbins.

PAAB went up at the weekend, just four days later, but no birds were present. So, what was going on? Were the 5 birds a one-off event, or were White-billed Divers present off Portsoy each Spring? Or perhaps they were present all winter? The Spring passage of White-billed Divers on the Western Isles is of course rather well known, so the three of us agreed to start going up to Portsoy regularly to try to establish what the true situation was.

For the remainder of Spring 2011 and over the following two winters we made regular trips to Portsoy. We only had a single bird in the winter of 2011/12 (from 17^th March until 17^th April, a bird in active wing moult) and there was certainly no clear evidence of a Spring peak. In the 2012/13 winter the first bird was not seen until 18 March, when three winter-plumaged individuals were present.

From the time of the first sightings in 2011 we discussed the possibility of chartering a boat, so after the three birds on 18 March 2013 PAAB made contact with Gemini Charters at Buckie (a harbour just West of Portsoy) and made plans for some off-shore forays. Two trips were arranged initially (one on 14 April and another on 21 April), with a different group of birders on each one. All available places were taken on each trip, and each had an entirely different group of birders. The three of us were scheduled to be on the first trip but unfortunately this was cancelled due to bad weather. The second trip (i.e. on 21^st) therefore became the first, but as it was already full there was no room for us; there was nothing we could do but reschedule our trip and wait to see what the others saw on 21^st. They scored, with between 7 and 10 birds seen in the bay just off Portsoy harbour. It was gripping stuff – up to 10 White-billed Divers in one spot in North-East Scotland!

Our trip was rescheduled to 28^th so we waited nervously for news of the weather. The weather for 28^th was not looking good so the trip was changed to a narrow window in the early afternoon of 27^th. As it turned out, this window could not have been better – we had 13 birds over the course of the 3 ½ hour trip. The majority were close to full summer plumage so it was a spectacular day, although the rolling sea made viewing and photography difficult. The photos were little better than record shots, but we managed complete a looped survey route and secure GPS coordinates for the birds

Plate 2.One of the closer birds seen on 27^th April. Most birds were in a similar plumage to this, close to but no quite in full summer dress. Chris Gibbins

Plate3.The same bird as plate2. Chris Gibbins

Plate 4. Watching a White-billed Diver from the MV Gemini Explorer, April 2013. Paul Baxter

Plate 5. Watching a White-billed Diver from the MV Gemini Explorer, April 2013. Paul Baxter.

On both boat trips the birds were concentrated into a remarkably small area; all 13 on the trip of 27^th were in the area between Logie Head (just east of Cullen) and Portsoy. We have checked the coastline a few miles either side of Portsoy on several occasions and not seen any birds, so it does seem that all the action is concentrated around Portsoy. The relatively small number of birds seen on our mid-winter visits suggests that it is primarily a Spring passage phenomenon, but for the moment we do not know what is so attractive about Portsoy Bay to these birds, nor how long into the Spring and early Summer they remain. Whether this is a new phenomenon or whether birds have been overlooked in the past also remains unclear. Prior to our regular visits to look for divers the area of coast around Portsoy was very underwatched, at least relative to the areas further west (towards Spey Bay) and east (around Banff and Fraserburgh) so divers may always have been there in Spring. Alternatively, their presence may be a recent phenomenon caused by changing environmental conditions elsewhere. We simply don’t know. However, what we know for sure is that ‘discovering’ that White-billed Divers occur in such numbers off our coastline has been a great experience.

Paul Baxter, Chris Gibbins and Hywel Maggs, Aberdeenshire

Posted in Divers | 4 Comments

Iberian Chiffchaff at Flamborough

Posted on April 28, 2013 by Martin Garner

First non singing record in Britain

Martin Garner and Gaynor Chapman

The Story Leader? This call >> Listen HERE <<

Iberian Chiffchaff, Flamborough, April 2013. MG. It’s only ever called. Never sang. A female perhaps then? All records so far in Britain have been singing males.

GC found this beautiful male Firecrest (above- fiery-orange in crown obscured) on the last hedge before the lighthouse on 21st April. MG a little gripped managed to get views on 2 occasions. On the 23rd the Firecrest appeared in front of MG plus a Chiffchaff. Only seen once very briefly it was nevertheless a bright looking bird- rather olivey -green and yellowy about the face. Disappeared quickly though shortly after a short series of call notes from back of big bramble patch. the bird/calls combo made MG think of Iberian Chiffchaff. Calling stooped, bird didn’t show again. MG mentioned to Richard Baines about crazy Iberian thoughts and let it go; crazy suggestion…

Fast forward to 25th April

Early morning email correspondence included with Andrew Kinghorn and Mark Newsome about the singing Iberian Chiffchaff which Andrew had recently found. MG included in a reply his sense of envy at Andrew’s find (aren’t some co-incidences really weird?). Anyway…

Sharon (Garner) was meeting Flamborough doyen Phil Cunningham for music rehearsal at 1pm on 25th, so MG dropped her off. News of a Rock Thrush found by laser eyes Hutt at Spurn galvanised fight back mentality. SE winds in early hours and claggy/misty/drizzle conditions screamed loud ‘rare bird weather’! Walk around outer head yielded few new phylloscs, c 20 Yellow Wagtails and a couple of Swifts. Returning (late again) to collect Sharon and passing the coastguard cottage gardens, MG heard strange call from bush centre. What is it? Pishing only caused caller to stop. Hmm dunno- something- perhaps odd local Greenfinch? Gotta go. Arrived in Phil’s house to find music practice is till ongoing when, just then, radio crackles. It’s GC. She had seen wrestling with a funny phyllosc since earlier in the morning. It has reappeared and is calling.

GC takes up the story:

The Importance of Being Instinctive

“There’s something odd about that Willow Warbler,” I thought. Chiffchaffs and Willow Warblers move through our Flamborough garden, just yards from the sea, every spring and autumn. It wasn’t just that this bird, seen briefly early on the morning of 25^th April, was strangely pale, or that it was madly flycatching, or that it seemed unusually confiding – I couldn’t put my finger on what it was exactly. But the bird quickly moved on to a neighbour’s garden and I had stuff to do, so I dismissed it as a pale, too-hungry-to-be-shy Willow Warbler and forgot about it. I shouldn’t have.

Glancing out at the front garden the same afternoon, I noticed the same bird, much closer this time in our Golden Willow tree. It flew out of sight, but at the same time an insistent call began. “If that’s the same bird calling, and I’m pretty sure it is,” I thought, “it’s neither a Willow Warbler nor a Chiffchaff!” A passing birder happened to be looking over the fence. It was Martin Garner. “Wonder if he’s listening to it as well?” He walked on a bit so I called him back – he’d heard the bird call but not realised a warbler was making it (the call was quite Siskin-like). The bird reappeared and we got a good look at it, noting the features – fairly pale legs, greenish above, whitish belly, lemon-yellow supercilium, throat, flanks and vent. And that call. “It’s an Iberian Chiffchaff!” Martin said.

Not just a first for our garden, but a first for Flamborough as well!

Gaynor Chapman, Yorkshire Coast Nature.

What was that call like? Have a listen: >HERE<

Sonagram (from recording above) of calling Iberian Chiffchaff, Flamborough, April 2013

Iberian Chiffchaff, Flamborough, April 2013.

Focusing in: Iberian Chiffchaff

Few more photos off the bird, which could morph colours in different lighting conditions. For a Chiffchaff, essentially half way to a Willow Warbler, with prominent yellowish supercilium, lack of obvious Chiffy eyering, lovely bright yellow wash to face and upper breast, olivey- quite greenish or more greyish at times- upperparts, longer-than -usual primary projection for Chiffchaff, odd bare parts, especially dull reddish-brown legs.

Further down the wing formula kinda detail (all photos MG apart form Andy Deighton’s supper ‘wing shot’).

Iberian Chiffchaff, Flamborough, April 2013. Andy Deighton

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Posted in Flamborough, Warblers | 1 Comment

Camera tips for Digiscoping

Posted on April 26, 2013 by Martin Garner

Maximum Light, Maximum Speed, Minimum Touch

by Steve Blain

Improving…

So, what’s the easiest thing you can do to improve your digiscoping? Get to know your camera. I know it sounds obvious, but most people don’t really understand what their camera settings do and how it affects their images. Understanding your camera settings will definitely improve your images.

Assuming you know how to work your camera, do you know how to set it up for digiscoping? Usually, best results for digscoping rely on your camera being set to accept the maximum amount of light available. Your ‘scope defines the amount of light available so all you need to do is set your camera up so it accepts as much of it as possible and converts it to a fast shutter-speed.

“What if I want to change the depth-of-field in my image?” (the amount of the image in focus) I hear you cry. You can forget about trying to alter the depth-of-field when digiscoping. Again, this is totally dependent on the apature of your ‘scope (how big your objective lens is and the magnification of the eyepiece you’re using). So with this in mind, all you need to do is set up your camera so it shoots at the maximum shutter-speed.

……………………………………The view through my Nikon V1

Why at the maximum shutter-speed?

The biggest enemy of digiscoping is vibration. The higher the shutter-speed you can achieve, the better chance you have of getting a sharp image. You have to remember that you probably have something like a camera, attached to digiscoping adapter, attached to a telescope eyepiece, attached to a ‘scope, attached to a quick-release plate, attached to a tripod head, attached to a tripod. All of these things are weak points which could induce shake or wobble. Even if the shake is tiny this could make your images blurred. Do not forget that you are also working at extremely high magnifications, so a very small movement on your tripod head could translate in to your whole image shaking around by the time it reaches your camera. A tip is to make your tripod as solid as possible – even hang a weight from the bottom of it to dampen any vibrations, or even put a bean-bag on top of your scope to try to keep things steady, especially if it’s windy. The tripod is an important ingredient to top-class digiscoping images.

Camera settings

Finding the best settings on your camera could be a bit of trial and error. There are actually so many cameras these days which take a good digiscoped image that giving settings for all could take forever. When you look at your settings you are ideally looking at setting it up in ‘Aperture priority’ mode, and setting the lens aperture at its widest (its smallest number – eg f.2.0 or f.3.6, rather than f.10 or f.16 etc). If you don’t have an Aperture Priorty mode try using something like ‘Sports’ mode which aims to freeze action – this will set your camera up in a similar way in that it will maximise the amount of light and translate it to fast shutter-speeds.

Traditionally, your ISO number (your ISO setting controls how sensitive your camera is to light) had to be at its lowest to achieve good quality images. These days the handling of ISO in newer cameras is outstanding so there’s no need to go for the lowest possible any more. It still affects how good the image is, but if you’re faced with darkening skies and slow shutter speeds, bump it up!

This Redstart image was taken at dusk using ISO 1000 and at 1/15th of a second. Don’t be afraid to up your ISO. Imagine if you’d just found a Sibe Blue Robin!

Don’t touch it!

Tripping the shutter often introduces shake. There are several ways to minimise this. The first is to use the timer. Many cameras have the ability to set a timer which takes a shot after several seconds. If you have a co-operative bird this can be an excellent way of getting good, shake-free images. Some of the better cameras have the ability to set a custom timer, where you can set the length of time it takes to take the first shot, then set how many shots it takes. I usually have mine set to take three shots after one second. A second is just enough time for any vibrations mostly settle down, and three shots is a good burst. Often the first shot will be slightly blurred with the second or third sharper.

Another option for tripping the shutter with minumal vibration is to use a remote or mechanical shutter-release. New cameras often have the ability to use either a wired or infra-red remote to trip the shutter. These can be better than a timer as you have more control over when you capture an image. The down-side to some of this is their ability to break down unexpectedly, or the battery die just as the bird performs. A perhaps more reliable option is to use a mechanical (wired) shutter release which can be fitted over the shutter-release button and depressed when you need to. These of course aren’t completely free of problems, but for many a much more reliable option for capturing ‘the moment’ with minimal fuss and vibration.

Vibrations are digiscoping’s enemy. Try using a remote to reduce them as much as possible.

Visit Steve’s webpages with lots more photos here

Posted in Digiscoping | Leave a comment

Baikal Teal at Flamborough. Further thoughts.

Posted on April 25, 2013 by Martin Garner

Aging and gaps in the wing

by Martin G.

It stayed for one day only and left with the same 2 female Eurasian Wigeon that it arrived with. By way of follow-up here are some comments on:

why it’s most likely a 2nd calendar year (1st winter/summer) male
timing of the species migration
why those apparent gaps in the right wing

Drake Baikal Teal (probably 2cy), Flamborough, 15th April 2013. Brett Richards.

Some folk wrote in, others help with photos. THANK YOU for help with this post to Brett Richards for a most gripping find and much lively discussion as well as Nial Moores, Anthony McGeehan, Richard Millington, Adrian Kettle, Steve Race, Dave Mansell and Graham Catley.

On Migration and Aging

Nial Moores (Birds Korea):

Martin, as you know most of the world’s Baikal Teal winter in the ROK (Republic of Korea), with earliest returning birds arriving in September. Numbers increase rapidly through October into November; and the peak is probably reached in January. During northward migration the main northward movement through ROK (34D-38DN) is in early March. Most have exited the country by mid-March, with lingerers into early April (and a very few oversummering most years).

Migration phenology is perhaps less well-known for areas further north,
but believed to arrive on breeding grounds first from late April, with
egg-laying from end of May south of Arctic circle, later northward (latter
part from Baikal Teal account in series Bird Families of the World
published by OUP). Timing of Flamboro’ bird therefore seems consistent
enough with timing of northward movement towards breeding areas, where-ever the bird spent the winter.

Drake Baikal Teal (probably 2cy), Flamborough, 15th April 2013. Brett Richards.

Have had multiple discussions in the past about ageing. As caveat, believe
that people with access to and understanding of captive birds of known age
can develop and start to test criteria with much greater confidence than we
can here. Usual encounters here with Baikals are of flocks – which are
often quite mobile (birds peeling off the edge to get closer to the centre
again, as well as between sites) and these flocks can be huge (the largest
single flock I counted contained an estimated 671,000 birds!).

Drake Baikal Teal (probably 2cy), Flamborough, 15th April 2013. Graham Catley.

The few criteria that I use to (tentatively) age birds were therefore
developed through comparing birds in flocks. In Sep. most Baikal males are
very dull. In many, however, the head pattern and breeding plumage body
strengthens through October, and by early November many males are back in
br-type plumage and then start to display and pair up. Some males, however,
do not develop full br-plum until much later in the winter (January or
February). Based on this timing (and behaviour), I assume that adults tend
to develop full breeding plumage 2-3 months earlier than First-winters. In
direct comparison, these presumed adults tend to have darker bills and the
typical male BT head shape; longer, cleaner-patterned lanceolate
“super-scaps; cleaner head-markings (with cleaner iridescence on the head,
and cleaner white markings); and more extensive (broader, longer) white
breast stripe on the fore-flank. In direct comparison, birds presumed to be
First-winters often seem to show some paler grey tones in the bill towards
the base; a less full-looking nape and crown (i.e. a head shape not so
dissimilar to females); less well-developed and less distinctly-patterned
super-scaps; dirtier looking white areas and less clean iridescence on the
head; and a less obvious white breast stripe. Some of these differences can
be apparent as late as March (and presumably into April – when most have
already departed from the ROK). I was not aware of/have not been looking
at the iridescence of the speculum – but have wondered a little about the
colouring of the tips to the greater coverts.

Drake Baikal Teal (probably 2cy), Flamborough, 15th April 2013. Steve Race. All 10 secondaries are present on the right wing with one feather being displaced

Drake Baikal Teal (probably 2cy), Flamborough, 15th April 2013. Martin Garner.

Drake Baikal Teal (probably 2cy), Flamborough, 15th April 2013. Dave Mansell (East Ayton Birding). In all 3 photos above the pattern of green on the specula is restricted to the inner secondaries.

Wing of Adult male Baikal Teal (in captivity, Feb. 2010) Slimbridge WWT, Martin Garner, (thanks to James Lees) showing green extending of green on the specula is greatest in adult males and reduced in young males.

Juvenile male Baikal Teal, Chigborough Lakes, Essex, 2nd October 2010. Adrian Kettle. This bird also a one day stayer, also arrived with as small flock of Wigeon, also looks like the green in the speculum is restricted to the inner part (c outer 4 secondaries not visible), also had some pale grey at the bill base (present but little less obvious on Flamborough bird) and as the Flamborough bird seems to be, is also a young male. Indeed of the 4 previous accepted British records, all have been 1st winter males and all apart from the Oxford bird (which was unaged).

If these criteria are correct then based on the images on Surfbirds I
would age the Flamboro’ bird as a 2cy. There seems to be nothing odd about
the structure or the plumage of the Flamboro’ bird either (apart from it
looking a tad on the large size, and the shortness or absence of one of
those super-scaps on at least one side of the bird). The feel of this bird
is therefore to me, spot-on for a pure Baikal (unlike, I regret to say, the
super-chunky-looking Minsmere bird a few years ago – again, though, this
impression based only on images posted on Surfbirds).

Finally, FYI, the massive increase in this species appeared to peak in
winter of 2008/2009 (when >1 million counted in the ROK); since that time
there seems to have been another very rapid decline, at least in the ROK
(down to probably only c. 300,000 or so this past winter).

We don’t have so many easy-access images of Baikal Teal; a few images are
in our gallery (here) and others can be found through our websites’ search function.

Hope this is useful in some way,

Best wishes and birding,

Nial
Birds Korea

Gaps in the Wing

Lots of birds get gaps/damage in their wings. Lots. Deciding if these are the product of something caused by humans or a phenomenon of the bird’s activity is a curious art! Some further thoughts:

Drake Baikal Teal (probably 2cy), Flamborough, 15th April 2013. Martin Garner. Gaps in the wing. Some apparent damage? All 10 secondaries are present (see above) and 9 of the 10 primaries are visible here. That makes potentially a single missing feather. So what does that mean?

Anthony McGeehan:

Hi Martin,

I’m sure you are thrilled with the move to Flamborough. Sounds marvellous! I wouldn’t worry about the odd missing feather in the Baikal Teal’s wing. The young Pink-footed Goose that arrived on Inishbofin in November (single Pink-feet drop in there quite often in autumn, obviously stray migrants) was pristine when it first appeared. It ‘teamed up’ with two feral Greylags and when they turned territorial in late winter they started to hound the Pink. I assume that this was how it lost some wing feathers – its wings are like the Baikal’s. If the male Baikal ‘fancied’ a female duck of another species (and it obviously would, given that it is unlikely to find a female Baikal) I can imagine fisticuffs with males hanging around and probably in rival courtship mode. The Belfast Baikal, once it stuffed itself after a marathon feeding session, was aggressive among Teal and Wigeon. So, in my mind, I can imagine that the odd duck dust up would have been likely – but then the influx of waterfowl with which it arrived dispersed as the freezing weather abated.

Best wishes,

Anthony

First winter Pink-footed Goose, Inishbofin, november 2012, Anthony McGeehan.

Adult male Baikal Teal (in captivity, Feb. 2010) Slimbridge WWT, Martin Garner, (thanks to James Lees)

Drake Baikal Teal (probably 2cy), Flamborough, 15th April 2013. Brett Richards. Compare Flamborough bird with captive adult male above. The central long ‘super’ scapular has narrrow black strip- apparently normally much broader in adult birds. Several captive 1st winter drake Baikal Teal had a similarly narrower black stripe on the same feather (original obs MG 2006). Furthermore notes on museum specimens indicate that in adult males the long thin white stripe above the eye, runs right into the bill base whereas on 1st winter males the white long can ‘break down’ above the eye. On the Flamborough bird the white stops juts above the eye and the area is yellow as it runs towards the bill base. A photo of the first British record taken in Essex in January 1906 (British Birds Vol 102 page 693) appears to show the same speculum pattern and the same head pattern as the Flamborough bird.

BR Baikal Teal, male, Flamborough, 15 April 13 (3)

Drake Baikal Teal (probably 2cy), Flamborough, 15th April 2013. Brett Richards. And what colour was the eyelid on the Baikal Teal at Flamborough? YELLOW- same colour as the ‘face’ though surrounded by black. Twas a beautiful thing to see- and very obvious as it loafed on Northcliffe Marsh.

Baikal Teal, male, Flamborough, 15 April 13 BR1

Drake Baikal Teal (probably 2cy), Flamborough, 15th April 2013. Brett Richards.

.

and then it flew off…

Posted in Flamborough, Wildfowl | 4 Comments

British or Yellow-headed Yellow Wagtail?

Posted on April 24, 2013 by Jochen Dierschke

On Helgoland, the British Yellow Wagtail (Motacilla flava flavissima) used to breed in the 1920s and 1930s, but then disappeared due to rats. Since it is a scarce spring migrant with the occasional breeding record (the last in 1977).

On April 17^th I was happy to add this taxon (regarded as a species in Germany) to my garden list, when the local sheep broke into the neighbouring garden, followed by a flavissima. The following day, the same happened again and I could see 2 males and a female flavissima as well as a male flava from my kitchen table. Together with Martin Gottschling I went out for photographing these birds and we noticed a Citrine Wagtail like rasping call – THE signal to check any Yellow Wagtail more closely, as there are many vagrant taxa from the south and east using this call. However, the flava male had already disappeared and only the 3 flavissima (2 males and a female) were present. While one male and the female called normally, the other male always used the Citrine Wagtail call, as far as we could see/hear.

This is the bird in question – looks like flavissima to me!

Sorry, my sonagram skills are still juvenile …

You can listen to a recording of the call >HERE<

So, could it be a Yellow-headed Yellow Wagtail (Motacilla flava lutea)? This taxon is still on the German list due to 2 records on Helgoland, which were recently rejected by the Helgoland Rarities Committee, as lutea and flavissima are not safely identifiable in the field and no call was recorded. These birds looked like lutea, but such extremes are apparently regularly recorded in the British breeding population of flavissima. So this time, it is the other way around: We have a bird only obvious by the rasping call. By the plumage features, I wouldn’t hesitate to call this bird a flavissima, though perhaps on the brighter side of the majority. However, is the call a safe ID-feature of this taxon?

Checking the literature, I found some hints only:

Alström & Mild (2003): Pipits and Wagtails of Europe, Asia and North America.

p. 281: “… Accordingly, vagrants outside their normal ranges cannot be identified with certainty, except perhaps by voice (see Voice).

p. 300-301: The call of flava, flavissima, beema and thunbergi … given both in flight and from the ground … is a rather loud pseeu, pslie, psie or similar …Also gives a slightly sharper psriee or tsriee (in combination with the above-descibed notes), which is possibly a less harsh variant of the alarm call (but is used as a normal flight-call).

The subspecies lutea apparently uses both ‘feldegg-type’ and ‘flava-type’ calls … We have not heard any lutea that switched between the two call-types (more research on the calls of lutea is needed).

Van Duivendijk (2011); Advanced Bird ID Handbook.

For lutea and flavissima no voice-feature is given, although in other taxa, the rasping call is mentioned in opposite to north-western Yellow Wagtail taxa

So, what does this tell us? Although flava and thunbergi might utter occasionally a harsher call, birds calling constantly like this should be of another taxon. Nevertheless, I think it is very unlikely that lutea and flavissima meet on Helgoland in a flock rather early in the year. A southeastern Yellow Wagtail I would expect to appear rather later in spring, as e.g. feldegg does, although there are some rather early records (e.g. last week). Southwestern vagrant taxa however seem to appear rather early in the year (there were already quite a few observations this spring in southern Germany).

To me this is just a flavissima. But if flavissima can call like this, then Rarities Committees should reconsider, if the call should be really the clincher for the ID of vagrant Yellow Wagtail taxa.

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ARCTIC NORWAY – Land of the Eider

Posted on April 23, 2013 by tonydavisonsimplybirdsandmoths

Along with three other friends and fellow birders, from 12th – 17th April 2013 I visited Varanger in Arctic Norway. It was a great experience and a fantastic birding destination. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to make the trip in March and we arrived too late for the vast numbers of King Eiders. We knew it would be a risk going this late but nevertheless there were plenty of Steller’s and a few Kings left for us to see from the floating hide at Batsfjord and the surrounding harbour area. Martin’s enthusiasm for this place and Tormod Amundsen’s GullFest activities have really put the area well and truly on the birding map.

With a little effort and patience, most of the forest birds were seen along the Pasvik Valley and the bird cliffs at Hornoya Island were simply spectacular. I can’t wait to go back..

Here are few images from our trip.