Ageing GREAT NORTHERN DIVERS in early December

Ageing GREAT NORTHERN DIVERS in late November and early December

Last night, admittedly in poor weather conditions, a GREAT NORTHERN DIVER was observed at Brogborough Lake in Bedfordshire which proved far from straightforward to age (see Neil Wright's image at the top of this thread). The bird was very dark and contrasting on the upperparts and showed little 'chequering' on the mantle and back typically seen on juveniles. It was suggested that the bird may be a 'second-winter', described by Lars Svensson as being ''as adult winter, but upperparts darker, and has paler, not so blackish bill-tip and lacks any white-spotted lesser wing-coverts''.

I have put together a gallery of late autumn/early winter photographed GREAT NORTHERN DIVERS to illustrate the key differences.

From Top to Bottom

The Brogborough bird, possibly a second-winter, is followed by a typical ADULT in late autumn, retaining much of its gaudy breeding plumage - this individual photographed at Keyhaven in Hampshire by Alan Lewis on 7 October.

There then follows a number of typical juveniles, all clearly showing the pale fringing on the wing-coverts and upperparts, quite circular in shape, and easy to see - at Draycote Water (Warks) on 22 November (Steve Valentine), three images of the same juvenile in Hartlepool Harbour (Cleveland) on 26 November (Stephen D Keightley), in Newlyn Harbour (Cornwall) on 3 March (Kit Day), at Weybread GP (Suffolk) on 14 December (Rob Wilson), at Draycote Water on 22 November (Carl Baggott) and on Diddington Pit (Cambs) on 28 November (Stuart Elsom).

Towards the bottom of the gallery, I have included images of Great Northern Divers photographed this past week - a juvenile at Belvide Reservoir (Staffs) on 28 November (Steve Nuttall) and adults still largely in breeding plumage at Shustoke Reservoir (Warks) on 28 November (Dave Hutton) and at Carsington Water (Derbyshire) at the same time (Glyn Sellors)

An unprecedented early winter 'wash' of LEACH'S PETRELS

The South Coast was today battered by strong SSW winds and following a week of very unsettled weather, masses of LEACH'S PETRELS were displaced and 'wrecked'. A conservative estimate of at least 600 birds was involved in the displacement, from west Dorset east to Sussex, with the majority off Portland Bill, Abbotsbury Swannery and in Chesil Bay, but with unprecedented numbers in Hampshire, with up to 30 in the Solent and off Milford-on-Sea. Steve Copsey obtained these really dramatic and very evocative images today, many of the birds flighting just along the shoreline. A great proportion of birds are moulting adults, which is of major concern, as many are exhausted and being killed by gulls (Lee Evans)

CRESTED LARK at private site in Wiltshire in mid November

A CRESTED LARK was photographed at a private site in Wiltshire on 16-17 November, showing well at times, calling and allowing reasonably close approach (news courtesy of http://www.wiltshirebirds.co.uk/)

There are three record images taken of the bird, one in flight and two perched on a roof

BLACK-BELLIED STORM PETREL identification

The 'Punkbirder' boys have put together a superb photo-essay illustrating the identification and covert-bar variation of BLACK-BELLIED STORM PETREL at the following link

http://punkbirder.webs.com/severnpetrel.htm

GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULLS ??

The top three images are of a juvenile gull currently present in Lissadell Bay in County Sligo (Ireland) (Michael Casey) whilst the remainder are of a juvenile gull that ranged widely throughout the London area and Home Counties in February-March of this year (Mike McKee).

Both birds are fairly similar and perhaps represent dark clades of juvenile GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL plumage. On the other hand, perhaps there is North American Herring Gull influence and both birds may be unidentifiable hybrids. Whether or not such vagrants are identifiable to form is debateable, particularly when one realises the amount of convergence that is represented in northern California in winter.

A mega of megas - BLACK-BELLIED STORM PETREL in the Severn Estuary

Well my heart-felt condolescences go out to Keith Vinicombe, one of my closest life-long birding friends. Keith was on the phone to me kindly keeping me updated all yesterday morning but despite being on site, frustratingly just could not get himself on to this mega of megas whilst it was in view. Here are the details of this incredible occurrence which took place at Severn Beach on 25 November 2009 -:

Bristol birder John Martin was birding Severn Beach for the third day running due to the storm-like conditions of recent days in the Bristol Channel. He was also joined by four birders from the Wolverhampton area (including Richard Greer) who were keen to see a Leach's Petrel. At around 0820 hours in a fierce Force 6-7 SW gale, an odd petrel was picked up hugging closely the east shore of the Severn, 150 yards south of the southernmost Severn bridge crossing. It was Leach's Petrel-sized but significantly, had striking white underparts and axillaries and underwing-coverts. There was little forking in the tail and its flight was gliding, erratic and low to the sea. It was blackish above, with an obvious white rump, and generally all-white below but with some hint of a thin blackish stripe from the black upper breast to the blackish undertail-coverts. The upperparts were unusually dark and plain and quite unlike typical Leach's with its whitish fringes and tips appearing as a pale diagonal bar on the inner wing from the carpal joint to the trailing edge. Even at long range, the expected covert pattern was not visible and it appeared all dark on the upperparts, perhaps suggesting that the bird was heavily worn. When flying away, the white rump was very obvious. There was perhaps a slight projection of the feet beyond the tail but this feature was hard to see in the blustery conditions. It was either a BLACK-BELLIED STORM PETREL Fregatta tropica or a WHITE-BELLIED STORM PETREL Fregetta grallaria.

It remained on view at very close range for about 15 minutes, gradually getting further and further away mid-channel and being pushed with the incoming tide towards the bridge parapets. It was lost from view at about 0835 hours, just five people witnessing the unique event.

John quickly got the news out as widely as he could and with the knowledge that the tide still had three more hours to come in and this was generally the optimum period for petrel displacement in high winds, birders from the local area quickly descended on the site. The South Atlantic waif must have been sat on the sea for some time as at 0934 hours, it was glimpsed in line with bridge parapet 43 flying back out and battling its way with the wind south. It continued in a line just east of the two marker buoys mid-river being attended by four Herring Gulls which were taking an interest in it. By this time, a crowd had gathered and although very distant by now, a further 14 observers successfully managed to divert their scope lenses on the storm-tossed waif, keeping on it for just over four minutes before it dropped down on the sea at 0939 hours. The Herring Gulls were still surrounding it at this time and with the knowledge that at least 3 of the morning's Leach's Petrels were killed and eaten by gulls, it is not known if this is what happened to it. Despite a constant vigil at the exact area in which it was seen to drop down, it was not seen again, and whether or not the strong tidal surge swept it upriver is unknown. In addition to the original five observers, the later 14 included Mark Ponsford, Gary Thoburn, Chris Craig, Rupert Higgins, Paul Marshall, Dick Reader, Brian Lancastle, Richard Baatsen and David Gibbs.

Sadly, not one image or video was obtained during the two sequences of observation.

A total of 140 observers eventually arrived at the scene, from as far afield as Lancashire, Kent and Norfolk, but despite an all-day vigil until dusk, no more was to be seen of the bird. A total of 14 Leach's Petrels was seen, along with 93 displaced Kittiwakes, a sub-adult Pomarine Skua, a Little Auk and a Grey Phalarope.

Black-bellied Storm Petrel breeds in the South Shetlands, Elephant Island, South Orkneys, South Georgia, the Tristan de Cunha group and Gough Island, Prince Edwards, Crozets, Kerguelen, Antipodes and Auckland, with a total population of some 150,000 pairs. It is nowhere abundant but disperses in winter north to subtropical and tropical waters of all the three oceans and reaches the Northern Hemisphere in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. There are four records for example off Cape Hatteras in North Carolina.

There has been one previous record in Britain - a Black or White-bellied Storm Petrel seen off Sheringham (Norfolk) on 10 December 2007 (Kevin Shepherd).

Jon Chappell videos the Cornish PACIFIC DIVER

Click http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11azN9xHF2M to view

PACIFIC DIVER in WEST CORNWALL

For all things Cornwall, bookmark Steve Rogers superb site at http://www.swopticsphoto.com/

Steve's excellent array of images are published above and they portray the beautiful transitional plumaged adult PACIFIC DIVER which is currently visiting Carnsew Basin at the east end of the Hayle Estuary to feed. With patience, the bird can be very confiding, particularly if you hide out of view on the footpath leading up behind the houses in Carnsew Road. Although it flies off mid-afternoon presumably to roost on the safety of the open sea in Carbis Bay, it can be found on the Basin from around 0900 hours. It is presumably the regularly returning bird but has never before returned in such summer splendour. Although it is difficult to assess any difference in bill shape, structure or size from Black-throated Diver, it is flatter in the water and has the characteristic 'chin-strap' and 'vent-strap' and also lacks the diagnostic white rear flank patch of arctica. The fact that it is still in such 'summer finery' is also of real significance.

It was first seen on the Basin on Thursday 12 November but was initially seen by Frederic Jiguet in Mount's Bay, Penzance, at the turn of the month.

FRIGATEBIRD report

There is a report from early this morning of a Frigatebird species flying low SW over Lockwood Reservoir (SE 142 159) (Steve Pogson). It was apparently a juvenile but I have no further details.

The Identification of ASIAN HOUSE MARTIN

There has yet to be a confirmed record of ASIAN HOUSE MARTIN in the Western Palearctic but it is a strong contender to occur. On the back of yet another odd bird in Israel, the following information largely gleaned from Surfbirds forum contributors is most useful.

Some excellent images of Asian House Martin are published here http://www.hkbws.org.hk/BBS/viewthread.php?tid=9527&extra=page%3D1

Identification expert Paul Leader has also very kindly provided this very useful summary of defining characteristics based on his wealth of experience with the species.

The separation of Northern (Common) and Asian House Martins is relatively straightforward on good views. This posting is actually quite timely from my point of view: I found the first Northern (Common) House Martin for Hong Kong only yesterday, which has been well seen and photographed. It was present with about ten Asian House Martins, of two subspecies.

The following apply:

Structure: Asian is tiny compared to Northern, overall length being about 80% of Northern and clearly smaller body size. The tail is clearly shorter which results in Asian looking far more compact. The tail fork difference is obvious (except when dealing with moulting birds), with Asian having a very shallow tail fork which results in the tail appearing square when slightly spread. It is worth noting that the Northern in HK was of the taxon lagopoda, which has a more shallow tail fork than nominate, yet the fork depth difference was always obvious.

Rump: The rump patch on Asian is small and rather square looking (beacause more of the longer uppertail coverts are black than in Northern HM), and often sullied grey, especially in the southern taxon nigrimentalis. It seems that northern birds (i.e. nominate dasypus) have a cleaner, whiter rump than southern birds and are more similar in rump colour to Northern. The rump patch on the HK bird was massive compared to the Asians present, such that the bird could be picked out on naked eye views. However, as this bird was of the taxon lagopoda in which all the upper tail coverts are white, this difference would be less obvious in a western European context. However, I still think the rump size difference would be obvious.

Underparts: The underparts of Asian are very dusky grey, except for the throat which is contrastingly white. This is obvious in the field. Nominate dasypus is probably darker below than southern birds although the literature is contradictory on this issue and this needs more research. However, the gleaming white underparts of the HK Northern was strikingly different to the underparts of the Asians present.

Underwing coverts: These are always black(ish) on Asian, and are darker than the rest of the underwing. On Northern (on eastern birds at least) the underwing coverts are grayish or brownish and show little if any contrast with the rest on the underwing. However, in dull conditions, the underwing coverts of the Northern at times looked darker than the rest of the underwing, so this feature should be used carefully. However, in good light the uniform grey underwing and underwing coverts was obvious (especially on photos).

PACIFIC DIVER in West Cornwall

A well-marked adult PACIFIC DIVER still retaining some breeding plumage was present on Carnsew Basin, at the east end of the Hayle Estuary (Cornwall) throughout much of this afternoon. In near gale force winds, the bird was very mobile and diving continuously and flew on several occasions. At around 1500 hours, it took to the air again and flew off in the direction of Carbis Bay and the mouth of the estuary. There is every possibility it was the bird seen by a French visitor last week and this particular bird has also been seen briefly since Tuesday (Chris Barnard et al).

Yet another one of those puzzling Arctic gulls - this juvenile in County Sligo

It has all the hallmarks of another juvenile Glaucous-winged Gull but this individual photographed in Drumcliff Bay, Lissadell, in County Mayo (Ireland) by Michael Casey has typically a few anomalous features, such as stance, overall bulk and bill shape and size. Is it a hybrid nobody knows? Is it a pure Glaucous-winged Gull nobody knows? But what we do know is that juvenile Arctic gulls of this appearance are appearing on this side of the Atlantic in increasing frequency. In some ways, they conform to the appearance of birds from the more northern part of the range, particularly those that winter in Japan, but with so much argument about the purity of many individuals, one is on a hiding to nothing to make solid pronouncements.

My concerns over the British Countryside and its real lack of farmland birds

This is a response I wrote to a fellow birder concerned about the predicament this country finds itself in as regards to its ongoing agricultural and countryside policies.

''I am very sad to say that this is prevalent throughout much of Southern England - vast tracts of our countryside are a totally birdless, barren, foodless landscape. You can drive for miles when the only species you will encounter are Woodpigeon and Carrion Crow. In reality, few farmers are interested in the Stewardship Scheme and many feel particularly aggrieved by this government's approach to Foxhunting. I see little reverse in fortunes of our traditional farmland species here in rural Buckinghamshire such as Corn Bunting, Tree Sparrow, Spotted Flycatcher, Grey Partridge and European Turtle Dove and now, even species like Yellowhammer and Reed Bunting are becoming scarce. Eurasian Skylark is doing reasonably well because it is utilising land re-landscaped at landfill sites.

The hunting ban seriously troubles me because that is where we are seeing populations of both farmland and woodland birds still holding up. The large tracts of farmland devoted to such syndicate activities involves planting maize strips for the Common Pheasants and other gamebirds to shelter and feed and also protects substantial areas of coppiced woods and plantations; these in turn harbour a great many bird species and attract a lot of other wildlife. I have spoken with many estate landowners who will turn this land back to agriculture if this ban continues and their traditional way of life is continually undermined. I do not agree with bloodsports but in this case I certainly feel that wildlife has more to gain from this activity than lose and only the odd Red Fox is actually killed anyway on the average hunting day, primarily the lame and the sick (more are killed on the M25 and M40 every day).

I was trawling through my notebook of 1971 and my eyes watered at the entries. There were four pairs of Red-backed Shrike breeding within 25 miles of my house including a pair that raised all of its five young. Tree Sparrow was so abundant and breeding in every Ash tree that it barely warranted a mention; likewise the abundance of Yellowhammer. Hawfinches were common and I had big roosts to count. The sound of machine-gunning Lesser Redpoll were everywhere as was the habitat they required to breed - open rich countryside full of the beautiful scent of wild flowers. The jangling song of the Corn Bunting was a daily occurrence and the many roosts harboured 300 birds or more, with Yellow Wagtail equally numerous. I noted Spotted Flycatcher at over 35 sites - all breeding within five miles of my house - and the sound of singing Willow Warblers could be heard literally everywhere. I found Common Nightingale at 15 sites in early May (where now there are none and the thickets have largely fallen silent), Barn Swallows breeding at every farm, House Martins by the dozen under the eaves of many houses, especially those newly built and Common Stonechat, Whinchat and Northern Wheatear all bred in small numbers. The sound of Long-eared Owls could be heard from the conifer woods in March and April and numerous pairs of European Nightjar were on the heaths, particularly at Old Warden. The sound of the Common Cuckoo could be heard everywhere in late April/early May and the dearly-loved European Turtle Dove saw daily entries with flocks of up to 160 birds being commonplace (and westerly migration at Cley East Bank in North Norfolk staggering). In fact, relating to the latter and sitting with the late Richard Richardson, I logged an unbelievable 23,000 Linnets migrating west in late April.

One of my favourite local patches - Ashridge Forest - held 32 or more singing male Tree Pipits, 12 Wood Warblers, several Common Redstarts, breeding Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers and roding Woodcocks - whilst Willow Tits were easy to locate and their nasal calls could be heard in many local woods. Reedbed roosts of Common Starlings numbered into the 'millions' whereas my few today struggle to reach 2,000.

Yes Mike you can say that I am as depressed about the state of our Nation's wildlife as you are and cherish the memories that I have in golden days gone by. On my travels around the Western Palearctic, only Sardinia, Eastern Turkey, Spain, Eastern Poland and Armenia continue to harbour natural countryside in a way in which we remember and consequently are rich in biodiversity.

I really do not know the answers - it makes me too depressed to even think about it''

Love Lives Forever - Heal The World

Lee G R EvansBritish Birding AssociationUK400 Club, Rare Birds Magazine, Ornithological Consultant and Conservationist

ISABELLINE SHRIKE in IRELAND - belated 428

It has been very kindly pointed out to me that there has already been an ISABELLINE SHRIKE this year - a bird on Achill Island in County Mayo on 4 October. Initially identified as a Red-backed Shrike but re-identified from images. The total is therefore revised to 428 species.

Year Total at 427

As the year is now coming to a close, the total number of species now recorded in Britain and Ireland (combined) has petered out at 427, some 20 less than last year's record total of 447 species.

The additional species since my last update included the EASTERN CROWNED WARBLER in South Tyneside, the UPLAND SANDPIPER in Caithness and the AMERICAN MOURNING DOVE and SWAINSON'S THRUSH in Ireland.

We are still missing both ISABELLINE SHRIKE and DESERT WHEATEAR in 2009 (both still feasible) as well as BRUNNICH'S GUILLEMOT and ROSS'S GULL. There are also a few wildfowl possibilities (Lee G R Evans)

Confusing late EUROPEAN TURTLE DOVES

This past weekend saw a very late juvenile EUROPEAN TURTLE DOVE in Colliston Village leading local observers to suspect its identity as an Oriental Turtle Dove of the form 'meena'. It was a fairly dark individual with heavily fringed upperparts. However, in all honesty, the Collieston bird may well be a European Turtle Dove of the west central Asian form 'arenicola' on account of its extensive grey rump (pers comments).

Late European Turtle Doves are a major pitfall in Britain as this example shows (Andy Webb has very kindly supplied four images of it above). However, meena will always have the structure and 'feel' of a Stock Dove, particularly in flight - they are stockier birds.

On close inspection of the Collieston bird, several features are characteristic of 'turtur' -:

1) The fact that the bird is still very largely in juvenile plumage by mid November. Even meena shows a large selection of first-winter feathers by this time; It completely lacked any hint of the neck patch;

2) The patterning of the newly moulted adult-type coverts and scapulars - the pointed, spiky shapes of the black centred feathers and the broad rufous fringes;

3) The pale primary covert tips and fringes, being quite broad ginger or pale rufous; Oriental has a very narrow fringe which is often very difficult to see;

4) the extent and shape of the bare skin around the eye; more extensive and obvious

5) The uniformity of the dark primaries lacking any obvious pale tips;

6) the startingly white axillaries contrasting with the greyer underwing; Oriental is generally uniform grey on the underwing;

7) the relatively thin and all-dark bill

8) Not diagnostic and similar to meena but this bird had an extensive gleaming white tail band; orientalis is all dark grey;

9) Gleaming white undertail-coverts; Oriental Turtle Dove is much darker with less contrast;

10) Oriental Turtle Dove shows very slightly longer legs and larger feet when feeding on the ground.

I am also indebted to Graham Catley who has provided some outstanding images of a typical late autumn juvenile European Turtle Dove he photographed in Lincolnshire on 29 September 2004 (the 3 images below). However, note the well-defined neck patch on the Lincolnshire bird, suggesting it had fledged in Britain or perhaps close continental Europe in July

An excellent reference is 'The Macmillan Guide to European and Middle Eastern Birds' pages 140-143.

Lee G R Evans