Birdlife Malta - Spring Watch 10-24 April 2011

Those visiting the Chipping Norton Oriental Turtle Dove (photographed above by local birder Pete Barker) are indirectly helping this birds close relative - the European Turtle Dove. Your donation of £5 will go a long way in helping financing over 30 'spotters' this spring

10-24 April 2011

Europe's birds will soon be returning from their wintering grounds. Many will fly over MALTA, facing a real threat of persecution from illegal hunting and trapping.

To counter these illegalities, Birdlife Malta will be this year again running its annual conservation camp ''Spring Watch'' between 10-24 April. The camp will monitor bird migration, maintain a strong presence in the countryside to deter the illegal killing and trapping of wild birds, and report illegalities to the local police.

The European Court of Justice in 2009 ruled that Malta breached the Birds Directive by opening a spring hunting season from 2004 to 2007. However, the Maltese government, succumbing to pressure from the hunting lobby, opened a 6-day hunting season in 2010 and adopted legislation making longer future seasons with larger bag counts possible.

The Commission last October renewed legal action against Malta over spring hunting, to which Malta's Prime Minister reacted by stating that Malta is 'prepared to go all the way' for an open spring hunting season - even if this means the country must pay fines.

Birdlife Malta intends to monitor and document the extent and impact of spring hunting through Spring Watch - an important part of the campaign against this unsustainable and illegal practise.

To find out how you can help - please visit http://www.birdlifemalta.org/ or contact springwatch@birdlifemalta.org

Chipping Norton ORIENTAL TURTLE DOVE - weekend directive

The ORIENTAL TURTLE DOVE put in a very good showing this morning, flying in on cue at 41 The Leys at 0740 hours and then showing on and off for the next two hours. Steve and Sharon Akers very kindly extended their hospitality and over a period of an hour or more, we managed to get 170 birders through - many of whom enjoyed excellent views of the bird on the grass and on the birdtable. It then became more mobile and was better viewed from the rear garden of number 31, often in the hedgerow, in the Apple trees and in the tall Ash trees. Once again, I am indebted to Emma and Jebs Cockburn for allowing me to arrange further access into their property. After this, the bird flew across the road and roosted in a favoured Ash tree to the west of the houses and sat there for at least two hours resting and preening - a further 80 or so late arrivals saw it here.

ARRANGEMENTS FOR TOMORROW

Steve and Sharon have very kindly agreed to open up their living room for one final day and from 0730 hours will be allowing access. Emma & Jebs have also agreed to allow access and we will try to accomodate everyone that intends to visit. Please note that this will be the LAST DAY OF ACCESS and the residents have requested that NOBODY turns up on Sunday.

PARKING MUST ONLY BE IN THE TOWN CENTRE OR ON THE DERELICT LAND OPPOSITE JEWSONS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE LEYS - THE RESIDENTS HAVE REQUESTED THAT BIRDERS REFRAIN FROM PARKING IN THE LEYS.

Access is granted on condition of donating £5 to charity - to Birdlife Malta in Steve's case and for young Daisy who is seriously ill for the Cockburn Family.

At ALL times, please be courteous and respectful to all of the residents and try not to block the road too much, particularly when the bird chooses to roost on the opposite side of the road

Many, many thanks

Lee Evans

The ORIENTAL TURTLE DOVE in Chipping Norton - GALLERIA

Ewan Urquhart obtained this fantastic selection of images of Chipping Norton's star turn as it fed on one of the small lawns of The Leys

SLATY-BACKED GULL reappears at Rainham Marsh RSPB and Landfill whilst Oxfordshire ORIENTAL TURTLE DOVE remains ever elusive

Andy Tweed relocated the near-adult SLATY-BACKED GULL at Rainham Landfill Site this afternoon (at 1320 hours) but almost immediately one of the local Peregrines moved in and scattered the large number of gulls present. Pete Merchant then found it again at around 1410 before it then moved over to Wennington Marsh and sat with the vast number of gulls gathering there to rest and preen. It finally moved over to the Target Pools on the RSPB reserve, where it remained on view until 1640 hours, at which time it flew east. With a total period of stay of 200 minutes, it was no surprise that just over 70 birders connected...

Meanwhile in Oxfordshire, the first-winter ORIENTAL TURTLE DOVE remained for its fifth day in The Leys, Chipping Norton, initially visiting the favoured garden of number 41 for a period of ten minutes to 0830 and then an array of different gardens up until mid-afternoon. It remained incredibly mobile and elusive throughout, tending to roost for long periods in Ash trees and thick hedgerows

Access to gardens is at the total discretion of residents

...And more condolescences from close friends Anna and Charles, Chris Abram and the Hamiltonss

Ray will be remembered for a long time as a truely inspirational birder. He did not keep his enthusiasm and enjoyment to himself, he shared it with all of us. He was optimistic, upbeat, knowledgable, kind and very very funny. Many a newcomer to the hobby will have gone home from a day at Dungeness inspired and encouraged because Ray had engaged them in conversation and explained things to them. As a friend he was warm, generous and interested, as a husband utterly devoted.

We will remember some classic often hilarious moments, a hot rum and coffee offered from his flask on a freezing wet Scilly sea watch, a day the three of us spent trapped on Bryher in torrential rain with just a snow bunting for company, and a moment others may remember when during one of the many sea watches shared at Dungeness a glorious close flock of poms had a particularly well endowed huge individual fourth in line. " Sabrina " Ray called out, and Sabrina flew on.

We were so privileged to be two of his many friends (Anna and Charles)

''I am still coming to terms with the tragic news that Ray is no longer with us. Annie and I will miss him more than words can express having been his friend since 1976. He was, as others have pointed out, a quite unique person, a caring and very loyal friend and a loving, dedicated husband. His sense of humour was fantastic. One story I’ll share with you. He used to travel frequently across to France to buy wine. Once he told me that when he entertained he started off by giving his guests the 50p stuff. It was only after the first bottle that he started on the cheaper stuff! Dungeness will truly never be the same again and we are devastated for Janet and can’t imagine what she must be going through as I write this. However, I’m sure that she will be comforted by the support and love of her many friends when she returns (Chris Abrams, Sharrington, Norfolk)

Hello Lee. We would like to add our sincere condolences to Janet for the terrible loss of Ray. We have many happy memories of Ray on Scilly and also at Dungeness. Whenever we went to Dunge we would always pop round for tea and cakes with Janet and Ray, or even a beer or two in the garden if the sun was shining! Ray and Janet always made us so welcome and we would admire Ray's paintings as well as his models (of which we have 4 or 5, as well as earrings). Our only sighting of a Camberwell Beauty butterfly in the UK was on the white buddleia in Ray's garden. Ray was always happy to share his knowledge of local birds and will be sorely missed by all who visit Dungeness. It was a sad day when he gave up visiting Scilly in October as he was always ready to impart information on his CB radio. We're sure many people have very fond memories of Ray and will also miss his presence seawatching and trying to point out the Purple Herons. (Chris and John Hamilton)

.......And more

I only met Ray Turley on a few occasions, mostly at Dunge of course and although he didn't know me from Adam he was instantly approachable, extremely helpful, contagiously enthusiastic and of course exceptionally knowledgeable.

I have two memories of him; once at Walland Marsh where he went out of his way (some 40 minutes!) to find me some Tree Sparrows simply because I commented I was interested in seeing some that day, and on the last occasion when we tried to relocate Glossy Ibis near the ARC pit. On this occasion Ray took me on a wondrously winding route across shingle and scrub, through brambles and even across the sleepers of the railway line, all the time commenting how overgrown it had become since his last visit! We never did find the birds but it didn't matter somehow, Ray was so at ease that day and made such pleasant and entertaining company I couldn't have asked for a better afternoon (Adam Whitehouse, Kent)

Sveta and I were in Goa leading a tour and Ray & Janet were in the same block as us at the Biera Mar. They were in Goa for 5 weeks and we regularly met and exchanged quite a bit of information before saying our goodbyes as we headed to Backwoods Camp. Just before we left, Ray had been unwell but seemed to be on the road to recovery so I was totally shocked to hear this devastating news. Having known Ray & Janet for nearly 30 years and enjoyed their company on Scilly in the 80's, this is a huge loss to the birding fraternity in the UK and my thoughts are with Janet at this difficult time (Vaughan & Svetlana Ashby, Birdfinders)

Lee, we were shocked to read your posting last night. Tony originally knew Ray from the 1960s Dungeness days. Over the years we had some lively chats with him when we were all on the Isles of Scilly. We last saw him at Dungeness when we went down for the Crested Lark.

Could you please pass on our sincerest condolences to Janet (Elizabeth & Tony Smith, Holt, Norfolk)

Tremendously sad and surprising news at such a young age. I will also remember his skill as an artist (I am fortunate to have a couple of his 'model' birds), his infectious sense of humour, his bottomless pitof enthusiasm and endless patience with novices, his tremendous effort to completely transform my garden (which as a result attracts many more birds than it used to) but above all his miraculous fieldcraft (on one occasion accurately identifying a rarity from the back seat of my car from a brief glimpse through the sun roof). He will be sadly missed.

Condolences to Janet who now has to deal with a difficult situation in a foreign land. I hope all that goes as smoothly as possible (Stan Kirk, Kent).

I first met Ray down at Dungeness over 10 years ago while on a visit with mine and Ray's good friend Bob Harris and was almost immediately in awe of Ray and his birding and seawatching talent when he picked out a couple of very distant white blobs and said Little Terns! Almost every visit down there i'd see his distictive light green VW Polo and even if I was on my own he would remember me and ask how my son was and if i'd seen Bob recently. I had the pleasure of spending a day with him on Tresco while on my first visit to Scilly in 2002 and again I was in awe when he heard a bird call and said Yellow-Browed Warbler (i'd only seen my first a couple of days before) and then showed me a Woodlark which other Scilly regulars had not seen on the islands before and were a tad jealous of! I last saw him on a windy day last year while watching the Purple Herons on Denge Marsh and he was telling us of his trip to Goa later in the year. I was shocked to hear of his passing and my heart goes out to his wonderful wife Janet who shared his wicked sense of humour. (Ian Bennell, Watford)

Dear Lee. I was saddened to read the news of Ray Turley’s passing – I was leaning on a gate with him on St. Agnes whilst debating over the final ID of the Yellow-browed Bunting – what a day that was!!! I will always remember my day on St. Agnes and the mayhem that followed when he put the news out over the CB !!!! His meticulous attention to detail with his models never ceased to amaze me..

With sympathy –
Tony Davison – simplybirdsandmoths.co.uk

Hi Lee, Just thought I had to share my condolences at the death of Ray via your site as you asked...

I was much saddened to hear of Ray’s sudden death… I couldn’t believe it at first. Although I haven’t seen him for a good few years since I stopped visiting the Isles of Scilly in October I remember with much fondness selling my artwork on tables next to him and his sculptures in the ‘cressa etc, with him enlivening proceedings with his excellent sense of humour. One thing I regret is never actually getting round to purchasing one of the sculptures! I regarded his talent for sculpting with awe and not a little envy. I remember very well those days on Scilly, and through his kindness, seeing several excellent birds through his ‘scope (including I seem to remember the St Agnes Whites Thrush……)!

I remember him as a warm, kind and enthusiastic man, he was a fabulous birder, character and gentleman and I extend my condolences to Janet at this difficult time (Stephanie Thorpe (Hicking). Derbyshire)

Please send all of your tributes to Ray to me at LGREUK400@aol.com - many, many thanks, Lee (I shall announce the funeral arrangements and details as soon as I have them

Another tribute to Ray Turley

http://northdownsandbeyond.blogspot.com/2011/02/thanks-for-memories-ray.html

The passing of a treasured friend and a first-rate birder

It is with great sadness that I have to announce the sudden death of RAY TURLEY whilst on holiday in his favoured destination of recent years Goa. After a short period of illness, he died from a heart seizure.

Ray had been on the UK birding scene since the mid 1960's and was part of the earliest, mad keen twitching brigade from the London Area, which comprised the likes of Dave Holman, Baz Harding, Paul Dukes, Pete and Dick Burness, John Clements, Cliff Davies and Chris Goodfellow. In those days, Dungeness was the main target for weekend visits, particularly at migration times, and of course a place that Ray quickly fell in love with and later moved to.

Ray and I hit it off with our like-minded obsession with seawatching and I would look forward to early May each year to join him and others sitting on Dungeness Beach waiting for the Pomarine Skuas to come through. We spent endless hours together seawatching and then much later in the 1980's, helped rejuvenate his passion for the Scilly Isles in October. Carmel and I spent ten fabulous years or more sharing a flat with Ray and Janet on the archipelago in what were undoubtedly some of my most enjoyable in my birding career, Ray relentlessly rising at dawn come rain or shine and remaining in the field until very last knockings; he found many, many rare birds and scarce migrants in his long career and was outstanding in the field and was passionately keen until the very end. He will be very sorely missed indeed and Dungeness Beach and its environs will never seem the same without him

Carmel and I extend our sincerest condolences to Janet in this difficult time

Lee Evans

Rare DOVE refuses to play ball

480 Birders forming an orderly queue in Chipping Norton today - http://www.flickr.com/photos/oldbilluk/5448748465/

Some 600 or so twitchers turned up today in Chipping Norton in the hope of connecting with the first-winter ORIENTAL TURTLE DOVE that has spent the entire winter in the village. It was not to be however as without warning or expectation, it disappeared swiftly after access was allowed to its favoured garden.

Just as Steven and Sharon had packed the children off to school, the Oriental Turtle Dove arrived on cue at the garden birdtable at 0830 hours. It started to feed on the seed and was showing well from the dining room window. A queue of some 50 or so would-be observers had already accumulated and the first 15 were kindly allowed in by Steve and quickly ushered in by Ewan. As it was only 5 degrees C outside and over 25 degrees C inside, optics quickly steamed up and hampered viewing. The dove flew from the table and landed in one of the garden Apple trees and sat there for a few minutes before darting off over the fence and into a neighbouring garden. Those 15 obtained brief and frustrating views and as they emerged from the house, the bird then darted across The Leys with two Collared Doves and disappeared behind the houses at 0845.

Everyone remained expectant that it would swiftly return but it just did not happen and despite the extreme generosity of many residents in the neighbourhood, it failed to reappear for the rest of the day.

The only differences from yesterday were the rise in observer numbers and the drastic change in temperature - and of course the change from dry, bright and clear weather to wet, dull, cold weather....

More great shots of the ORIENTAL TURTLE DOVE - Roger Wyatt

Local birder Roger Wyatt obtained these stunning images yesterday, as the bird fed just feet from Steve and Sharon's dining room window in The Leys, Chipping Norton. The bird was present from 0900 to 1415 hours throughout yesterday, allowing 43 observers to connect before dark

ORIENTAL TURTLE DOVE relocated in Chipping Norton, OXFORDSHIRE

The first-winter ORIENTAL TURTLE DOVE that first appeared in Chipping Norton (Oxfordshire) in mid December 2010 was relocated on Saturday morning in a different garden and was still visiting today. It has been feeding with Collared Doves and Woodpigeons on seed placed on the lawn and has been showing down to just 10 feet from the occupant's window.

The owner of the property has very kindly agreed to allow access tomorrow Tuesday 15 February from 1000 to 1600 hours at a charge of £5.00 per person.

ADDRESS DETAILS AND ACCESS INSTRUCTIONS

The bird is situated in Chipping Norton in the back garden of 41 The Leys. Please park in the town centre and walk to the site and then wait patiently in a queue for your turn inside the living room. If over 200 people queuing, you may be limited to just 5-10 minutes per viewing and there will be no special dispensation to photographers whilst the pressure is on to get as many people possible to see it.

Lee G R Evans

Large flock of SOCIABLE PLOVERS found in OMAN

See http://www.birdlife.org/community/2011/02/record-flock-of-sociable-lapwings-discovered-in-oman/

.....And further details of this year's tour itinerary

http://ultimateguidingbirdwise.blogspot.com/

Places available on March 2011 ISRAEL tour

I have a tour running to Israel this spring from 13-24 March 2011 which still has a few places left on it; it is a comprehensive tour covering both northern and southern Israel and includes all specialities

Please email me on LGREUK400@aol.com if you would like to join me or for further details

Many thanks

Lee Evans

SLATY-BACKED GULL reappears in Essex

Steve Arlow, an obsessive larophile, relocated the adult-type SLATY-BACKED GULL today that I and 33 others saw at Rainham Marsh RSPB two weeks ago. The bird was feeding on a private landfill site (with NO ACCESS) this afternoon and Steve did remarkably well in obtaining an excellent set of images

See his excellent website here and trawl the most recent images - http://www.birdersplayground.co.uk/Recent%20Images.html
These are some really educational images and I welcome further comments from those that know Slaty-backed Gull well

Lee Evans

The variation in KUMLIEN'S GULLS - a photo essay

The KUMLIEN'S GULL is highly variable with no two alike. Toronto on Lake Ontario is a great spot to study them. Here are photos of 21 different individuals photographed in late January 2011. They include adults, third and second winter birds, but only one first winter bird. Perhaps this is random due to a small sample size or was 2010 a poor breeding season because first winter birds are normally more frequent than second and third winter birds combined. See three pages of photos.

http://www.jeaniron.ca/Gulls/2011/kumbluffers.htm

Jean Iron and Ron Pittaway, Toronto and Minden, Ontario

Have Nyger - have redpolls - one of the biggest invasions for years

Redpolls just love Nyger seed and many gardens this winter are attracting Lesser, Mealy and even Scandinavian Arctic Redpolls. The Clyde area where these two evocative images were taken is currently attracting many thousands of garden-visiting redpolls as well as Siskins and Bramblings.

Revised Category C and Introductions Listings from BBA

In terms of the BBA/UK400 Club, the rules for inclusion of a Category C introduction are such

A) That the species must be completely self-supporting in a natural environment for a period of no less than 10 years;

B) That the population of self-supporting in Britain or Ireland exceeds a total of 100 individuals

Once the population dies out due to interference by man (eg Ruddy Duck, Lady Amherst's & Golden Pheasant), one may still count those birds that were admitted to Category C during a given period of time but those subsequent records revert to Category E

Category C Species currently accepted and fully countable by UK400 Club/BBA rulings -:

1) Egyptian Goose (population of over 2,000 individuals)
2) Atlantic Canada Goose (50,000+)
3) Barnacle Goose (1,000+)
4) Mandarin Duck (4500 birds)
5) Red-crested Pochard (325)
6) North American Ruddy Duck (225 and decreasing)
7) Golden Pheasant (42 and decreasing)
8) Lady Amherst's Pheasant (3 males)
9) Red-legged Partridge (50,000+)
10) Northern Goshawk (800+)
11) European Eagle Owl (100+)
12) Little Owl (1,000+)
13) Ring-necked Parakeet (7,500)

Category C Species not accepted or still under review; some records may relate to vagrants from Category C populations elsewhere in Europe; number in parentheses represents UK population at large -:

1) Sacred Ibis (self-supporting populations in France and Italy)
2) Chilean Flamingo (Germany)
3) Muscovy Duck (very few genuine Muscovy Ducks in Britain, mostly hybrids)
4) Australian Black Swan (66 currently at large in Britain and breeding; The Netherlands)
5) Bar-headed Goose (28; The Netherlands)
6) North American Wood Duck (39)
7) Red-tailed Hawk (5)
8) Monk Parakeet (UK population hovering around 75 individuals)
9) Reeve's Pheasant (5; France)
10) Chukar Partridge (35)
11) Alexandrine Parakeet (5; Turkey)
12) Black-headed Laughing Thrush (5)

INTRODUCTIONS

By current rulings, the following species from successful introduction schemes may be counted -:

1) Golden Eagle (Ireland)
2) White-tailed Sea Eagle (Ireland and Britain; 85 individuals)
3) Capercaillie (Scotland)
4) Grey Partridge
5) Common Crane
6) Cirl Bunting
7) Red-billed Chough

Great Bustard cannot be counted, whilst the status of Scandinavian Lesser White-fronted Geese remains under review

Lee G R Evans

ORIENTAL TURTLE DOVE in Oxfordshire garden in December 2010

Breaking News from http://oxonbirding.blogspot.com/

Last night I received the following photos of an unidentified pigeon taken in a Chipping Norton garden during the snowy period before Christmas.

They clearly show a 1st winter ORIENTAL TURTLE DOVE of the race orientalis. The bird was present on 15th, 16th and 18th December 2010 but has not been seen since. The tiny garden it visited is not viewable but the large trees it rested in can be seen from Foxfield and Fox Close. It was looked for today with no joy but I guess it could easily still be in the area. There is a free car park off Albion Street.

Obviously this is the first record of OTD for Oxfordshire. It's about the eighth record for Britain but the first ever of the nominate race. Oxon scores again!

It would be good to get the whole town checked out over the coming days but it may well remain the one that got away (Ian Lewington).

KILLDEER makes landfall on Islay, Argyll

A total of 246 species has now been recorded in Britain and Ireland in 2011, with today's KILLDEER the first recorded since 2009.

The finder of St Kilda's Blackburnian Warbler chanced upon this morning's KILLDEER on Islay (Argyll) - Mr Will Miles. The bird was watched at close range on the beach at Lossit Bay before it flew off calling but was not relocated.

A very confiding juvenile BLACK-THROATED DIVER was a popular attraction at Ryder's Mere, Clayhanger Marsh (West Midlands) in recent days but flew off west shortly before midday, whilst the regularly returning adult winter PACIFIC DIVER continues to feed fairly close inshore in Mount's Bay, generally between the Windsurfer's Car Park at Marazion Beach and 500 yards to the west. Few RED-NECKED GREBES appear inland these days so singles at Fairhaven Lake (Lancs) and Grafham Water (Cambs) are noteworthy.

It has been an exceptional winter for GREAT WHITE EGRETS with a record-breaking flock of 6 at the Ham Walls RSPB reserve at Shapwick Heath (Somerset), the two returning birds at Pitsford Reservoir (Northants) and the French colour-ringed adult at Mockbeggar Lake and Ibsley Water in Hampshire and a regular winterer at Hoveringham Sailing Lake (Notts).

A EURASIAN SPOONBILL remains present on the Sea Pool between Cley and Salthouse (North Norfolk) for its third day, with 8 in Poole Harbour (Dorset) and 5 in North Devon at Isley Marsh.

The first-winter RED-BREASTED GOOSE was seen today with Pink-footed Geese in the field south of the car park just west of Fluke Hall (North Lancashire), whilst the adult remains with Dark-bellied Brent Geese at Solent Breezes (Hants) in the large field west of Lower Brownwich Farm. A further 11 birds of unknown origin continue to be seen at further sites in southern Britain, including all 5 (pair and three first-winters) now back in coastal Suffolk. Meanwhile, the adult LESSER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE of unknown but perhaps introduced origin appears to have departed the Cantley Marshes RSPB and Yare Valley (Norfolk) with half of the wintering Taiga Bean Geese (reduced from 102 to 58 in past week).

An adult SNOW GOOSE is still present with Greylag Geese at Gremista (Shetland), with 1 of 3 ROSS'S SNOW GEESE in Norfolk still being seen in the east of the county with the Pink-footed Geese grazing the Haddiscoe Levels.

A drake AMERICAN WIGEON has been present for several days at Martnaham Loch (Ayrshire), with the long-staying drake still on the Serpentine by East Bank, Cley NWT (Norfolk) and another near Tingwall on Shetland, whilst a drake RING-NECKED DUCK continues to show well in West Cornwall at St Gothian Sands LNR (at SW 585 418). Another drake of the latter can also be found at Cowpen Bewley Woodland Park (Cleveland), with a further on the Thornton ICI Reservoir in Lancashire. Just two LESSER SCAUPS are being seen of late: the first-winter female on the Rushy Pen at Slimbridge WWT (Gloucs) and the adult drake (presumably a returning bird) at Colliford Lake, Bodmin Moor (Cornwall), in the Loveney NR arm. Dependable SURF SCOTERS include just one single adult drake in Largo Bay (Fife) and the adult female off Dawlish Warren (South Devon).

The juvenile WHITE-TAILED SEA EAGLE is still present at Hordle in South Hampshire, ranging between the woodland west of Hordle Lane just north of the Milford road and its favoured roost trees to the west of Angel Lane about a mile to the west, whilst in North Norfolk, the juvenile Hen Harrier showing characteristics of the Nearctic form hudsonicus remains faithful to the saltmarsh.east of Thornham Harbour.

At the extreme north end of the Shetland Islands, at least one ROUGH-LEGGED BUZZARD remains on Unst (at Vaila Field), with other wintering birds still being reliably seen at South Ferriby (North Lincs) and in the Holkham Freshmarsh/Scolt Head Island areas (up to 5).

Dorset's wintering LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER was relocated today in Poole Park, Bournemouth, where it was frequenting the large lake visble from the roadside by the old Swan Lake Cafeteria.

A twitchable LITTLE AUK survived a couple of days in Scarborough Harbour (North Yorks)

Wintering SHORE LARKS are still to be found at Titchwell Beach (Norfolk) (9), Cley Beach (11), Dingle Marshes, Walberswick (Suffolk) (11) and Reculver Marshes (Kent) (3). A single has also been seen frequently at Carnforth Beach (Lancs).

Up to 5 gorgeous WHITE-HEADED CONTINENTAL LONG-TAILED TITS (Caudatus) continue to roam with 10 of their British counterparts around the churchyard and adjacent well-stocked gardens at the north end of Dymchurch (East Kent)

A first-winter ROSE-COLOURED STARLING has been visiting a suburban garden in Penzance (West Cornwall) for over two weeks now (at Weethes Cottages), whilst SCANDINAVIAN ARCTIC REDPOLLS have included at least three different individuals at Rainton Meadows (Co. Durham), three in Bedfordshire and a single in Bell's Wood, Whiteadder Reservoir (Lothian).

LAPLAND BUNTINGS still remain plentiful following last autumn's record bounty, with 36 WNW of Port Eynon at Paviland (Glamorgan) (SS 453 853), 4 at Buckton (East Yorks), up to 14 at Cut Bridge, Sturt Pond (Hants), at least 40 at Chyvarloe, Gunwalloe (Cornwall), 25 at Weybourne (Norfolk) and up to 60 along the South Wall at Breydon Water (Norfolk).

In IRELAND, the SPOONBILL is still to be found at Courtmacsherry Quay (County Cork), the adult winter FORSTER'S TERN remains in Galway Bay just east of the Mutton Island causeway, the AMERICAN COOT at Termoncarragh Lake (Co. Mayo) and the adult female BLUE-WINGED TEAL on North Bull Island (Co. Dublin). The CENTRAL ASIATIC LESSER WHITETHROAT remains in Drogheda.

The first-winter drake SURF SCOTER in the Great island area near Cobh (Co. Cork) was most recently reported off Aghada Pier and Ballybrassil, with the INDIAN HOUSE CROW nearby at Cobh Town.

The Devon AMERICAN PURPLE GALLINULE - images

Here's a couple of pictures copyright of Julia Harris DBWPS Assistant County Recorder.

The bird was found 'dangling' one legged from a bush where it had presumably gone to roost the evening before - one awesome, but really 'odd' record!

Steve Waite
Devon Bird Recorder

AMERICAN PURPLE GALLINULE found dead in South Devon

A woman phoned the RSPB yesterday morning to inform them of a very odd dead Moorhen that was hanging in a Cotoneaster bush in her garden on the edge of Dartmoor in South Devon. A local birder (Julia Harris) popped around to the house and photographed the bird and found to her amazement that the bird was a dead first-winter AMERICAN PURPLE GALLINULE - ouch!

There is only one previous British record of this Nearctic species in Britain relating to a first-winter picked up in an emaciated condition in the High Street in Hugh Town, on St Mary's, on the Isles of Scilly, on 7th November 1958. It survived in care for two days but died on 9th, the corpse being sent to the British Museum and now retained at Tring. Its appearance on Scilly followed a particularly violent storm in the Gulf of Mexico which later tracked over the Atlantic.

There is a much more recent second record of which I have my doubts over its provenance - another sub-adult that was apparently found dead in Southill Park in Bedfordshire in April or May 2008 (A. Jeeves, per Barry Nightingale and Barry Squires) (published in British Birds 102: 550).

There are 14 other previous records from the Western Palearctic: Azores (6), Canary Islands (1), Cape Verde Islands (1), Iceland (2), Madeira (1), Norway (1), Switzerlamnd (1) and one at sea taken to the Faeroe Islands.

SLATY-BACKED GULLS and VEGA GULL photographed today in Japan

Stuart Price very kindly obtained these images of large white-headed gulls in Japan for me today. An adult VEGA GULL leads the gallery followed by a suite of paler variant SLATY-BACKED GULLS amongst the large flocks of this species currently scavenging.

A week passes but still no sign of the gull

A total of 237 species has so far been recorded in Britain and Ireland in 2011, including one never before recorded. A near adult SLATY-BACKED GULL was identified at Rainham Marsh RSPB Wennington Marsh and Landfill Site (London/Essex) on 13 January and seen again by just 34 observers the following day. At least 1,400 observers visited the site on Saturday 15 January but of this number, just 25 believed that they had seen it that day.

The adult winter PACIFIC DIVER remains in Mount's Bay, West Cornwall, fishing with up to 6 Great Northern and 5 Black-throated Divers in the Marazion area (difficult to see in inclement weather conditions).

An unusual number of BALEARIC SHEARWATERS has been seen this year, with a raft of 40 or more in Carbis Bay, St Ives (Cornwall) for a couple of weeks and almost daily sightings off Porthgwarra (Cornwall), including an impressive 29 birds on 16th. Porthgwarra also logged some very early Manx Shearwaters, along with two different SOOTY SHEARWATERS - another of the latter passing Portland Bill (Dorset) on 17th.

After leaving Freeman's Marsh just west of Hungerford (Berkshire) on 9 January, the long-staying GLOSSY IBIS pitched up at Dungeness RSPB (East Kent) before crossing the English Channel next day. It has remained ever since, showing mainly on the pools to the right of the entrance track. GREAT WHITE EGRETS remained at seven sites, including a new winter record of 5 together at Ham Walls RSPB (Somerset) on 17th; last winter's two were again at Pitsford Reservoir (Northants) with other regular wintering birds at Thorpeness Mere (Suffolk) and at Blashford Lakes HWT (Hampshire). Apart from one over Elmley Marshes RSPB (North Kent) on 16th, all EURASIAN SPOONBILLS this past week have been in the Southwest, with 9 on Brownsea Island, Poole Harbour (Dorset), 3 at Walmsley Sanctuary CBWPS (Cornwall) and another on Samson (Scilly).

In West Cornwall, the 7 BEWICK'S SWANS were still to be found most afternoons at the southern causeway of Stithians Reservoir, with further out-of-range herds being noted in Dorset, Hampshire and in Surrey, whilst on the goose front, Norfolk continued to host an adult LESSER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE of unknown origin with up to 107 TAIGA BEAN GEESE in the Yare Valley between Buckenham Carrs RSPB and Cantley Beet Factory and up to 3 different ROSS'S SNOW GEESE with the Pink-footed Geese including a fairly reliable bird at Holkham Freshmarshes.

A first-winter RED-BREASTED GOOSE continues to be seen in North Lancashire with the wintering Pink-footed Geese there, wandering each day and being seen at Cleveleys, Pilling Lane Ends and Eagland Hill. An adult of unknown origin appeared amongst the Dark-bellied Brent Geese on Titchfield Haven foreshore (Hants) on 19th and was still present today, feeding just inland of the shore in fields by the caravan and Holiday Park half a mile to the west of the reserve. The only SNOW GOOSE reported was the long-staying bird with Greylag Geese near Kirkwall in Orkney. Some 10 or more BLACK BRANTS continue to be seen.

A female FERRUGINOUS DUCK was seen at Cockshoot Broad (Norfolk) on 16th, with long-staying RING-NECKED DUCKS involving a drake at Cowpen Bewley (Cleveland) and at Loch Evelix (Sutherland) and females at Nosterfield Quarry (North Yorkshire) on 16th and at Talley Lakes (Carmarthen) on 18th. There was also a drake at Stithians Reservoir (Cornwall) on 16th. Four adult drake AMERICAN WIGEONS are on offer, with singles at Udale Bay, Cromarty (Highland), Rutland Water (Leics), Cley Marshes NWT East bank (North Norfolk) and Stoke Ferry Washes (Central Norfolk), whilst LESSER SCAUPS include drakes at Cosmeston Lakes CP (Glamorgan) and Dozmary Pool, Bodmin Moor (Cornwall) and a female at Slimbridge WWT (Gloucs).

The female SURF SCOTER remains offshore at Dawlish Warren (South Devon), with the usual drake off Ruddons Point in Largo Bay (Fife) and others in SW Wales and on Harris (Outer Hebrides) and the three continuing KING EIDERS in Northern Scotland - the adult drake off Burghead (Moray) and the first-winter drake and female in the West Voe of Sumburgh (Shetland). SMEW continued to be in good supply with at least 120 wintering, with a single bird in Wales, 5 in Scotland and two in Ireland.

Norfolk continued to harbour up to 6 different ROUGH-LEGGED BUZZARDS, mostly in the Scolt Head/Overy Dunes/Holkham and Lodge Marsh areas, with several elsewhere including the long-staying bird on the River Humber (at South Ferriby) and another at Hatfield Moors NNR (South Yorkshire), whilst the juvenile Hen Harrier showing some characteristics of the Nearctic form hudsonicus remained very faithful to Thornham Marsh and its environs (North Norfolk).

The juvenile WHITE-TAILED SEA EAGLE continued to eek out carrion in the woodlands to the west and SW of Hordle Lane near Milford-on-Sea (Hampshire) until at least 17th.

On the wader front, the first-winter LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER at Lodmoor (Dorset) was the main event, whilst in terms of rare gulls, the regular adult RING-BILLED GULLS could all be relied upon in Argyll (Oban Harbour), Hampshire (Gosport), Essex (Westcliff-on-Sea) and in West Yorkshire (Mirfield).

It has been a very good winter for SHORE LARKS with reliable flocks still to be found at John Muir Country Park (Lothian) (5 birds), Gibraltar Point (Lincs) (21), Theddlethorpe Dunes (North Lincs) (7), Titchwell RSPB (North Norfolk) (9), Holkham Bay (North Norfolk) (5), Cley Beach (North Norfolk) (11), Dingle Marshes (Suffolk) (13) and Reculver Marshes (North Kent) (3) whilst the most impressive gatherings of LAPLAND BUNTINGS remain the 15 or so at Weybourne Clifftop Fields (North Norfolk) and 14 or so at Cut Bridge stubble field, Hurst Beach (Hampshire).

BOHEMIAN WAXWING numbers still remain high in the south, with over 700 at one site in Hampshire and flocks of 200 or more still present in Buckinghamshire, Berkshire and Essex.

It has also been a very good winter for MEALY REDPOLLS, with many hundreds of birds present, with a few SCANDINAVIAN ARCTICS amongst them including two in Bedfordshire, 3 at Rainton Meadows (County Durham) and a singleton near Whiteadder Reservoir (Borders).

The male DUSKY THRUSH that appeared in gardens in Leigh (Gtr Manchester) in early December and may have been the same bird seen at two further suburban localities in Central England did not make it into January 2011 but may well be lurking with the large numbers of thrushes in SW England, whilst NORTHERN WHITE-HEADED LONG-TAILED TITS included a flock of 5 in Dymchurch (Kent) and at least 2 more at nearby Kingsdown.

IRELAND held on to at least seven species not recorded in Britain thus far in 2011 namely PIED-BILLED GREBE, BLUE-WINGED TEAL, AMERICAN COOT, BONAPARTE'S GULL, FORSTER'S TERN, INDIAN HOUSE CROW and CENTRAL ASIATIC LESSER WHITETHROAT. The PIED-BILLED GREBE, although elusive and wide-ranging, was seen at Great Island (Co. Cork) until at least 20th, with the AMERICAN COOT at Termoncarragh Lake (Co. Mayo) until at least 16th, the female BLUE-WINGED TEAL at North Bull Island (Co. Dublin), the adult winter BONAPARTE'S GULL at Great island on 15th, the adult winter FORSTER'S TERN at Glassagh Beach, Galway Harbour (Co. Galway), the INDIAN HOUSE CROW in Cobh (Co. Cork) and the apparent halimodendri LESSER WHITETHROAT on garden feeders at Drogheda (Co. Louth).

Also recorded were a SNOW GOOSE at Grey Abbey, Strangford Lough (Co. Down), the RICHARDSON'S CANADA GOOSE (SMALL CANADA) at Raghley (Co. Sligo), FERRUGINOUS DUCKS at Tacumshin (Co. Wexford) and Craigavon Balancing Lakes (Co. Armagh), SMEWS at Portmore Lough (Co. Antrim) and Inch Island Lake (Co. Donegal), the Hen Harrier showing characteristics of 'NORTHERN HARRIER' at Tacumshin Lakes (Co. Wexford) and good numbers of WAXWINGS still.

The Rainham SLATY-BACKED GULL

Check out Dominic Mitchell's latest update at http://www.birdingetc.com/

He has put together a nice summary of gathered information with appropraite images.

Saving the NORTHERN BALD IBIS from extinction

I appreciated Richard Porter's response to the personal email of Gianluca Serra that was posted shortly before Christmas. Also Gianluca's apology and clarification that he never intended the email to go more widely, but I still feel it may be useful to give some clarifications and background. So here's a brief summary of the activities and involvement of BirdLife, RSPB and other partners in the combined efforts to conserve the Syrian NBI population, and why open criticism can be very destructive to our shared goals to prevent this population from extinction in the wild.

It is clear that the eastern NORTHERN BALD IBIS population is in as precarious a state as is possible, and working to prevent its extinction is a priority, and relies on cooperation between the multiple governments, NGOs and all those concerned. Since the rediscovery in Syria back in 2002, the BirdLife Middle East office has taken a leading role within the region on this, in addition to the IUCN programme, the Syrian Desert Commission together with research and coordination support from RSPB (BirdLife UK), and key support in Turkey from Doga Dernegi (DD - BirdLife Turkey) and the Ethiopian Wildlife and Natural History Society (EWNHS - BirdLife Ethiopia). Longstanding and more recent involvement has come from Saudi Wildlife Commission (SWC), Waldrappteam (Austria), several committed individuals among a longer list of other supporting funders and technical experts. As BirdLife International endeavours to work more widely internationally, identifying a potential national NGO partner to work for bird conservation in each country, which is an ambitious overall goal of the Partnership and it is fair to say that in the MiddleEast, this Partnership is a long way from being comprehensive. Despite this, the Partnership in the region is growing, with very strong Partners in Iraq and Jordan and a long standing Partner in Ethiopia that has been the most relevant one to draw upon in the context of the ibis.

Newer to the scene, in Syria there has been good progress with the Syrian Society for the Conservation of Wildlife (SSCW) and in Turkey, DD has had a long standing involvement with the species. The International Advisory Group for NBI (IAGNBI) also adds what support it can, but is largely composed of elements of the above mentioned elements. One crucial feature in all this is, of course, respective Government support, involvement and activity. Further challenges have arisen due to (in some cases) frequent changes of personnel, and often squeezed environment budget lines, and a paucity of qualified biologists within Governments.

Meanwhile, the need to understand the threats to the remaining few birds has been paramount, as there is a real risk of putting resources into activities that are not actually linked to the major threats. The fact that breeding productivity in Syria was almost double that in the stable Moroccan population was suggestive of subsequent low survival rates, but the need to protect the birds at the breeding sites was also a major activity, requiring considerable coordination and engagement with the local authorities. It was unfortunate that Gianluca was excluded from these activities by the authorities, perhaps because of his public criticisms of their performance, which also made it more difficult to include him within the BirdLife programme, but he was certainly not excluded by BirdLife.

The progress there includes the establishment of protection scheme for the breeding and feeding areas in Syria (not perfect but definitely having some effect), permissions to tag in Syria and Turkey (this has been a major stumbling block for other Critically Endangered species in Asia even in recent times), establishing the migration route and stop-off areas, permissions to transfer birds from Turkey, practical aspects of achieving this carried out, engagement of senior public figures in both Turkey and Syria, surveys of Ethiopian, Saudi and Yemen sites (included direct collaboration between Syrian and Saudi biologists, Yemen Minister of Environment involved in the field, etc), ,

I do feel that the level of collaboration has generally been excellent, and Gianluca has been ready to collaborate throughout. But many of the actions need to be taken by people from within the region and the countries directly concerned, and despite the frustrations, it very rarely helps to criticise from outside, as so often inaction is caused by other players who from the outside may not seem to be part of the process. I may be accused of putting too positive a spin on things, but echoing Richard Porter's email, knowing how complex such things often are, I think we've helped achieve a huge amount in what has from the outset been a precarious situation, and the way the trial supplementation in 2010 went far exceeded expectations based on the prior documented research on how the species has coped with earlier release trials. I was unofficially privy to an exchange between two senior very long standing biologists from the region (I won't name them here and they didn't know I'd get to see this when they wrote it) who agreed that the progress and cooperation "was little short of a miracle,and we should all start believing more that miracles for conservation are possible!". But whether the progress has been small or large, we all know that there's a huge task ahead to keep the possibility alive that the NBI population can be maintained in the wild and its most important to focus on how we achieve that.

Chris Bowden, International Species Recovery Officer, RSPB

BRUCE'S GREEN PIGEON in EGYPT

This BRUCE'S GREEN PIGEON was photographed in Luxor, Egypt, by Steven R van der Veen recently - yet another mega to befall this bird-rich country in winter.

And another SLATY-BACKED GULL from Wisconsin, USA

Sometimes these gulls get TOO much analysis. Even birds that are phenotypically one species might have plenty of genes from species X, Y, or Z. Where does one draw the line?

Here's a SLATY-BACKED GULL I distantly photographed here in Wisconsin back in November. Didn't get to study it much as it was around for only 15 minutes or so.

Images at http://www.pbase.com/rbrady/sbgu2010

Ryan Brady, Washburn, Bayfield County, WI

SLATY-BACKED GULL in Alaska today

I have been reading your recent comments on Frontiers of ID, and thought you might be interested in photos of a similar-looking bird that I found today in Juneau, Alaska. I hope the photos may be useful to you, at the very least in showing the extent to which the mantle can vary in degree of gray/blackness. There is an array of different aged Glaucous-winged Gulls for comparison.

These superb photographs were taken by NICK HAJDUKOVICH, a very good friend of mine.

Best wishes,
Gus van Vliet
Juneau, Alaska

And more on that eye colour

I'd also urge some caution re identification of the London bird as a pure Slaty-backed Gull, although I agree SBGU genes appear to be involved. We had a similar bird in California a few years back which we concluded, after much investigation, was too pale on the back to be acceptable as a pure Slaty-backed. During the investigation I looked at the Ujihara sites and concluded that there may have been a bit of circular reasoning there; i.e., it was unclear how they were separating hybrids from pure birds at that time (a couple of years ago). They had some individuals that were clearly mis-aged and 1-2 that I thought were mis-identified, which essened my confidence about the hybrid question. Perhaps it has improved since then.

couple of additional comments:

The eye seems too dark for a pure Slaty-backed, even if a subadult. Perhaps this has been discussed. I see no proof that the bird is in its 4th cycle although it certainly could be. Head streaking in basic plumage gradually lessens with age, on average, but the amount here is within range for "definitive" birds I believe, and some very old birds can show heavier streaking if their molt or hormonal cycles are off. Timing of molt also cannot be used to age gulls, especially vagrants. The best indication that this might be a younger bird is the eye color, but this seems too dark, even for a first or second cycle Slaty-backed (Peter Pyle)

Eye colour of Rainham SBG

I agree that the eye color is an issue (in fact the only thing I see that is wrong). Although I have seen a small percentage of (apparently pure) SBGU with this kind of dark mottled eyes in Japan, I think it would just be 1-2% at most that would show something this dark. In my experience, SBGU already start to show a pale eye by Oct of their second year and it's the norm in 2W birds. The dark eye might be a sign of vegae genes, since these two apparently hybridize extensively. I only saw one bird that had a paler mantle and was a presumed hybrid.

On trips to Honshu, I have had a bit more trouble with large gulls because of the greater mix of species and likely hybrids. I may have seen one much darker-backed bird on a 1992 trip, but it's certainly an exception to see 'blackish-backed' SBGUs in my experience. I don't really see that there is a lot wrong with the mantle color myself.

My experience in Hokkaido in 1997 was that SBGUs were remarkably uniform on the mantle and that a graellsii-like gray is a reasonable match.

Nick Lethabynlethaby@ti.com

Comparable sub-adult 'SLATY-BACKED GULL' from California

Here's a 3rd-cycle (by brown greater coverts and bill) SBGU accepted in California that appears darker backed and certainly paler eyed than the London bird

http://fog.ccsf.cc.ca.us/~jmorlan/sbgu012105.htm

It strikes me that the head streaking of the London bird may also be a sign of hybridism for a 4th+ cycle bird, that of vegae being darker, age for age, than SBGU. I also agree with you (contra Lethaby) that the back color seems to vary a lot in these gulls, whatever they are, at least according to what the Japan sites identify as Slaty-backed. In the end I still think the biggest issue is that nobody seems to know how to define a pure Slaty-backed Gull (Peter Pyle)

The Rainham SLATY-BACKED GULL - further expert comment

Lee:

Some years ago I spent a fair bit of time researching a paper on SBGUs, along with Jon King, that we never got to finish and never will. Hybridization with GWGUs on the Kommander Islands is well-documented (can’t provide the reference unfortunately) and other birders (I think Angus Wilson) have seen odd mixed pairs along the coast of Kamchatka. I think that there are some specimens of hybrids in Russian collections too. Having said all this, I don’t think this hybrid combo is all that common because the two forms don’t meet on the mainland and I saw only one presumed hybrid in Hokkaido where there are thousands of wintering SBGUs and dozens/100s of GWGU. I suspect that there are hundreds of SGBU/GWGU hybrids but not thousands.

There is a paper by a Russian (again don’t have reference anymore) that reported that Vega and SBGU commonly hybridized where there ranges met around the N. end of Kamchatka. It’s likely that many of these hybrids would winter in Honshu where vega is common (it’s rare in winter in Hokkaido). At least on my first trip, I remember experiencing quite a bit of confusion as to where vega stoped and SBGU started when it came to mantle coloration. I don’t remember being so confused on my next winter visit to Honshu when I understood the large gulls a bit better. However, Vega and SBGU are similar enough in many respects (string of pearls, brighter pink legs, etc.) that hybrids might not be too obvious at times.

As to other hybridization of large gulls in the Pacific, GWGU interbreeds extensively with several species and American Herring and Glaucous also interbreed commonly.

Nick Lethaby
nlethaby@ti.com

SLATY-BACKED GULLS - Dick Newell Photography

A bunch of SLATY-BACKED GULLS

A mixed flock of SLATY-BACKED GULLS and GLAUCOUS GULLS photographed at Hokkaido, Japan (Pete Morris)

SLATY-BACKED GULL

A relatively typical adult SLATY-BACKED GULL photographed at Hokkaido (Japan) by Jim Lawrence. Note the flaring white tertials and the dark grey upperparts; weakly striated crown and neck and not such an obvious pale iride. There is a distinctive 'gap' between where the dark grey ends and where the line of the nape runs up - the feathering here is white.

As Chris Heard said to me - it's all in the name ''Slaty-backed'' - so why those of us who did see the Rainham bird are worrying about its slate-coloured upperparts is somewhat unwarranted.

BLACK-THROATED THRUSH in Surrey

A first-winter male BLACK-THROATED THRUSH was present in gardens and in adjacent playing fields of the two schools at Sheerwater Housing Estate in Woking on 9 January. The bird was seen well feeding with a bumper influx of Redwing and Fieldfare to the area but despite exhaustive searching since, has not been relocated (contributed in confidence)

The Connecticut, USA, SLATY-BACKED GULL

Lee, I saw the images of Britain's first probable SLATY-BACKED GULL on Surfbirds - congratulations on that.

Speaking from a bit of experience here, you may receive questions about the bird's mantle color (dark gray rather than blackish...which may cause folks to scream 'hybrid.'). This bird appears to have a similar mantle color/shade to a sub-adult bird I found here in Connecticut, USA. The idea of a hybrid was looked into, and we looked for any other features (eg, size, structure, and plumage) that might indicate a hybrid with Vega or Glaucous-winged Gull. We could not find any...the bird seemed spot on for SBGU. On top of that, we sent the images to the Ujihara's in Japan for analysis, and they felt the entire bird was just perfect for SBGU, with the mantle color falling within range for pure SBGU (as far as they know it to be).

Some of the problem with the CT bird were that a few of the first photos (some of mine) were a bit over-exposed/'bleached out'...but later photos by folks like Mark Szantyr and Julian Hough were higher-quality images (but the mantle was still not blackish to be sure).

Here is that CT bird, including those original photos: http://www.shorebirder.com/2008/11/slaty-backed-gull-nov-28th.html

Here is a very nice write-up by James P. Smith regarding SBGU mantle shades:
http://pioneerbirding.blogspot.com/2008/12/murky-shades-of-slaty.html

The Ujihara's website in Japan is a fine resource for images of NW Pacific gulls, with a huge selection of Slatys:

http://www23.tok2.com/home/jgull/gullidentifi_.htm

Nick Bonomo, Wallingford, CT - www.shorebirder.com

SLATY-BACKED GULL finder adds more detailed images to his blog

As I stated in an earlier email today, Dominic Mitchell was given permission to enter the Rainham Landfill Site and was able to get further images, showing critical detail of the wing formulae and patterning and other finite detail - the information and images can be viewed here - http://www.birdingetc.com/

Photographic evidence supports identification as SLATY BACKED GULL

I have now had the opportunity to study some nice flight images of the Rainham dark-backed gull and from what I can see the patterning is spot on for a near-adult SLATY-BACKED GULL. It also appears that this species can have leg length in the region of cachinnans (particularly males) and that the dark grey shading is very variable, ranging from the grey of this bird to almost fuscus black

Just to remind you all, park only at the RSPB car park at Rainham Marsh reserve (Lee G R Evans)

Putative hybrid gull resembling Slaty-backed Gull in Cheshire

Hi Lee, as a Larid fan , I'm obviously fascinated by the appearance of the apparent Slaty-backed Gull at Rainham Landfill and hope to see it over the weekend. I have only limited experience of this species from the US West coast but it does look good from the pix if a trifle pale from my recollections. It does however reminds me somewhat of an odd gull which we had in Cheshire a couple of years ago.

This was a large bird, as big or bigger than the big Argentatus stood on the same rooftop. It had a broad secondary trailing edge, much more so than any other Gull stood nearby. This extended in to a broad, flared out, white tertial crescent, again much larger and broader than any nearby Gull. Its mantle colour was really individual in tone: much darker than Argentatus, "bluer" than LBB but not as dark as GBB, all of which were on the same rooftop. Its legs were a bright raspberry-pink colour and it had a greenish-yellow basal area to it bill with a brighter tip. The golden brown head , nape and upper breast streaking was different in tone and patterning than any of the nearby Gulls. Although we didn`t see this bird fly we did see it wing stretch when it appeared to have some white spots along the subterminal rear edge of the primaries, sadly this feature wasn`t photographed nor seen for long.

We concluded that it was a hybrid of some kind, possibly involving Argentatus but we did remark at the time the birds resemblance to a Slaty-backed Gull

Regards, PETE KINSELLA

SLATY-BACKED GULL at Rainham

Simon Buckell was with me at Rainham Landfill this afternoon and obtained this image above and the following footage at his website here http://shorebirder-waderworld.blogspot.com/

Adrian Webb managed to get some all-important flight images and I hope to receive these later

SLATY-BACKED GULL is still my favoured option of identification at present

Confusing large white-headed, dark-backed gull at Rainham Landfill, London/Essex

See http://www.birdingetc.com/

Dominic Mitchell photographed this very odd, dark-backed gull at Rainham Marsh (Essex/London) yesterday afternoon and this very same bird was seen on a number of occasions today, as it commuted between Wennington Marsh Fields (on the RSPB reserve) and the Landfill.

I saw it very well this afternoon, initially in the field and then later as it wandered about the rubbish of the landfill from 1435-1515 hours. It certainly is a very intriguing gull and is either a 4th-year or older SLATY-BACKED GULL, a VEGA x SLATY-BACKED GULL intergrade or an exceptionally dark SCANDINAVIAN HERRING GULL.

Two features worry me about its appearance. It has unusually long legs, almost Caspian Gull-like, which are raspberry-red in colour (in dull light) and it has dark grey upperparts (not black). Other than these two anomalies, everything else suggests schistisagus. It could be that these features fall within the normal variation of Slaty-backed Gull but I don't know.

There is very limited parking near the landfill (perhaps for 20 cars maximum) so it will be preferable to park at the official Rainham Marsh RSPB reserve car park and then walk back west for 2 kilometres to view through the wire fence at the landfill. At the 1.3 km mark, the roosting gulls in the fields can be studied (this afternoon this field harbouring 5 different CASPIAN GULLS).

The landfill will be active until midday tomorrow but will then close until Monday morning. History has dictated that feeding gulls distribute far and wide on Sundays, so to be sure of a sighting, a visit tomorrow is essential. There are upwards of 5,000 feeding gulls at the tip.

ASIATIC LESSER WHITETHROAT-type in IRELAND

On Thursday, I made a trip up to Drogheda Co. Louth, in the company of Alyn Walsh and at the invitation of Chris Honan, to view a Lesser Whitethroat that showed up in Chris' and his neighbours' gardens just after Christmas.

First noticed by Chris' neighbour, Kevin McGuigan, who recognised it as being "like a Blackcap but without a cap" he notified Chris of an unfamiliar bird visiting his bird feeders. Chris subsequently obtained a couple of record shots, which confirmed that it was a Lesser Whitethroat, but its somewhat unusual appearance was immediately interesting. Suspecting that it might be one of the Asian forms of Lesser Whitethroat, Alyn and I accepted Chris' kind invitation to investigate this possibility further by in-the-field observation, sound-recording and if possible, trapping, in order to obtain detailed biometrics and feather samples for DNA analysis.

Within a minute of arriving at Chris's house we were watching the bird at close range, and it was present on and off throughout the afternoon, making frequent visits to the feeders in Chris's and Kevin's front gardens.

Field identification of out-of-range Lesser Whitethroats to a particular taxon is nigh on impossible, though there are several characters that may be used to separate Asian forms, in a broad sense, from the familiar nominate form that breeds throughout Western Europe.

Biometrics offer further clues but DNA may, ultimately, be required to assign birds to a definite taxon with a high degree of confidence. To our great delight, Chris and Alyn were successful in catching the bird in a well-placed mist net! A thorough but efficient examination was carried out, a couple of tiny feather samples were collected, the bird was ringed, photographed and released, upon which it immediately resumed feeding, just as it had been earlier in the day. The wing formula, very extensive clean white in the outer tail feathers and the distinctive call (heard a couple of times but unfortunately notrecorded) point strongly to the bird being referable to one of the Asian forms of Lesser Whitethroat, most probably halimodendri or minula.

It is hoped that DNA analysis will enable us to confirm the identification, one way or the other, but this might take some time.

Anyone interested in seeing this bird for themselves is welcome to do so, though of course they will be expected to conduct themselves with due regard for the fact that their observations will, inevitably, be directed into one or other of the front gardens of Chris' neighbours. All the people living here seem to be exceptionally friendly and tolerant, so let's make sure that none of us does anything to change this attitude!

Chris kindly provided the following directions, from Drogheda:On the Termonfeckin Road (just outside Drogheda town centre), go under arailway bridge. As you go up an incline there's a garage on your right and immediately after that, the entrance to Westcourt is on your right. After entering Westcourt, the entrance to The Priory is the first turn to the left. The first turn on the right in the Priory brings you to the cul-de-sac where the bird has been seen at feeders on trees in gardens on the right (No. 9) and left (No. 16). As you enter the cul-de-sac, there is space for at least three or four cars to be parked on the left, alongside a white wall, where they will not be in anyone's way. It is easy from here to spot the bird feeders on both sides of the road.

I have sent some photographs of the bird to the irishbirding.com website which hopefully will be uploaded in the morning. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Chris and Sue Honan for the greatwelcome and hospitality extended to Alyn, myself, and a couple of other local birders who dropped by. Likewise to Kevin, whose sharp observation ledto the discovery of this very interesting bird and whose well-filled (with Christmas cake!) feeder seems to be sustaining it. With a bit of luck it will stay around for another while (Killian Mullarney)

The Trips Itinerary and Planned Schedule for 2011

Ruff and Ready* Tours have a full itinerary of birding tours in 2011 designed and catering for the keen and active birder. There are currently vacancies on scheduled trips to Spain in February (for Spanish Lynx, Spanish Imperial Eagles, Bustards, Wallcreepers and the like) and May (White-rumped Swifts and breeding birds), the Western Sahara and Morocco in late February/early March (1-2 spaces), Israel (both North & South) in March, Scandinavia in April (for Owls and seaduck in breeding plumage), Georgia in early May, The Highlands & Islands of Scotland in May, Poland in May (woodpeckers, Hazlehens, warblers and more), Sicily in June, Egypt in June, Madeira and the Canary Islands in July, The Azores in November, Goa in November, The Gambia in December and Thailand in December.

Also, NEW FOR 2011 is the Round-Britain January week-long tour concentrating on all of the 190 resident and wintering birds to be found at that time of year.

More destinations will be added as and when interest demands

If any of these trips take your fancy, do not hesitate to email me (Lee G R Evans) on LGREUK400@aol.com or phone for more details on the Hotline at 07881 906629

*Ruff and Ready is a trademark of LGRE Tours and Wallcreeper Enterprises

Jonathan Eames gets New Year Honour Award

Jonathan Eames has been awarded an OBE in the British New Year Honours List. Jonathan was a great friend of mine when I first became obsessed with twitching in the mid 1970's but as we both grew up, Jonathan got more and more involved with Oriental Birding and took a different ornithological route. I am delighted that all of his hard work and energies have been reflected in this award - he is one great guy.

Jonathan Eames, programme manager for BirdLife International in Indochina, has been awarded an OBE by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in the British New Year's Honours List. The award has been given for services to biodiversity, conservation and civil society development in Vietnam.

"This is a great recognition of the work of Jonathan and the entire Indochina Programme, acknowledging the impact that BirdLife is having in the region", said Dr Marco Lambertini, BirdLife's Chief Executive.

ames first went to Vietnam in 1988 and then 1990 on expeditions when access to the country was very limited for foreigners. In 1993, he set up BirdLife's Vietnam Programme which has not only grown within Vietnam but has expanded to a region wide programme including work in Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar.

"In the early days a major conservation success was being able to play a leading role in the formulation of the biodiversity action plan. At that time we worked with the Ministry of Forestry with the focus on increasing the size of the protected areas system and eventually succeeded in getting first one then finally about 12 new protected areas gazetted. Despite resourcing and enforcement issues several of these sites have developed, thanks to the Vietnam government's commitment and with continued BirdLife support, into established protected areas. For example the size of Yok Don NP was doubled in part because of BirdLife lobbying", said Jonathan Eames.

Eames and the staff of the Indochina programme's work and knowledge of the avifauna of the region has also led to the discovery of four new bird species (Black-crowned Barwing Actinodura sodangorum, Golden-winged Laughingthrush Garrulax ngoclinhensis, Chestnut-eared Laughingthrush Garrulax konkakinhensis and Limestone Leaf Warbler Phylloscopus calciatilis
BirdLife in Indochina is also the Regional Implementor for the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund http://www.cepf.net/">http://www.cepf.net in Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand which has provided civil society in the region with US $ 8.5 million over the last two years.

"The conservation challenges in the region are still huge. Protected areas and wildlife management laws need better enforcement in order to avoid encroachment and eradicate poaching of wildlife and trees", said Eames.

OBEs are given for distinguished regional or county-wide roles in any field, through achievement or service to the community.The British honours system is one of the oldest in the world. It has evolved over 650 years as the country has found alternative means of recognising merit, gallantry and service.

WHITE-TAILED SEA EAGLE continues in Hampshire

This exceptional image was taken of the Hampshire juvenile WHITE-TAILED SEA EAGLE by Keith Maycock. The bird is a juvenile in uniform brown plumage - 2nd-winter birds should be much more mottled white and dark brown below and the inner 3-4 primaries would be fresh and newly moulted (Dick Forsman)

I watched the eagle this morning, saw it a couple of times (10:10 & 11:35) and it followed the same route each time - picked up over woodland south of A337 at Ashley Clinton (c. SZ263935) then heading north over A337 towards Hooper's Hill. Flight line viewable from either A337 (see the churned up grass verges) or from Hordle Lane.

Between these sightings, the bird was seen by others from Angel Lane - presumably when it looped back south of A337 (Bob Marchant)

Spaces available on MOROCCO and SPAIN tours

I have two places on a Morocco/Western Sahara tour 26 February to 9 March and several places on a Spanish tour in February concentrating on finding SPANISH LYNX, SPANISH IMPERIAL EAGLE, WALLCREEPER, both BUSTARDS and many other specialities

Please email me on LGREUK400@aol.com or phone 07881 906629 if you are interested in joining me on either