Smiths ID...or how I messed up! (1 Viewer)

[HH75]

Hi all,
An advance warning:have to get this off my chest,so forgive any overly emotive comments!
Back in Feb,a friend and I spent a weekend birding in the Dingle area,where we had such good birds as 2 Red-necked Grebes,all 3 scoter species,Iceland Gull etc.We also had an odd 1st-w Herring-type at Dingle itself:I briefly considered smithsonianus,but decided that it lay outside of the 'safety zone' for that taxon.In the end,we never did ID it,but I felt that it may have had Glaucous or smiths genes in there somewhere to explain the structure and brown wash underneath(quite pale,though nice and 'smooth' like those of smiths or Glauc).
We left it at that,until I saw a pic of a similar bird at Killybegs taken by Richard Millington last month captioned as a smithsonianus.I then recalled that a smiths had been found at Dingle by Chris Batty earlier in the week,so I asked him via SMS whether or not the bird was pale:he replied that it was....
The final nail in the coffin was seeing the pic of the Dingle bird at
http://www.birdsireland.com/pages/rare_bird_news/2004/april_photos.html
...it's the EXACT same bird as we had back in Feb!!
It's a terrible feeling to know that we actually picked it out as looking distinct from the other Herrings,I had considered smiths,and we then went on to write it off!COULD feel quite bad about this,if I let myself,but I'll try to take the more optimistic view that this shows that smiths CAN look like this and still be identifiable as such over here(Pat Lonergan saw the pic yesterday and seems happy enough with it being one).
Anyone have any similar experiences...?
Harry

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

Must admit, I think I'd probably have overlooked this bird entirely - although it does look a bit 'different'. Out of interest, why are those who identified it as a Smiths so certain? I know they're probably all good, experienced birders - but then so are you Harry. What puts this bird unequivocally 'within the safety zone'?

 

[Michael Frankis]

Hi Harry,

Not bothered about the gull so much (is that a terrible crime to say that?!?), but VERY intrigued at two Red-necked Grebes across there . . . what's the I.D. characters for Podiceps grisegena holboellii? After all, they do migrate from the northern Great Plains to winter on the US Atlantic coast, much the same as, say, Great Northern Divers, Surf Scoter, Lesser Scaup and Ring-necked Ducks.

Michael

 

[HH75]

Hi Andrew,
Well,as I said,Pat Lonergan seemed happy enough with it based on pics(apologies to him if this is not so) and a)he's on the IRBC and (more importantly)b)he co-wrote a paper on smiths ID with Killian Mullarney in January's 'Dutch Birding'.
Chris Batty seems well up on his gulls as well,having written general gull articles for 'Birding World':he also has probably seen the aforementioned DB article(I haven't as yet)?
To be honest,were it not for the greater covert pattern,I may have called it as a smiths myself!
Harry

 

[HH75]

Hi Michael(or is it Martin Garner in disguise?),

Not bothered about the gull so much (is that a terrible crime to say that?!?), but VERY intrigued at two Red-necked Grebes across there . . . what's the I.D. characters for Podiceps grisegena holboellii? After all, they do migrate from the northern Great Plains to winter on the US Atlantic coast, much the same as, say, Great Northern Divers, Surf Scoter, Lesser Scaup and Ring-necked Ducks.

I'm afraid I don't know the ID criteria for holboellii,though I was aware of the fact that this subspecies is on the British list.It's hard to know with those grebes: Castlegregory is a regular site for up to 5 birds in a winter.
Harry

 

[Michael Frankis]

Been checking up . . . BWP records holboellii as "Vagrant to west Europe". Differs in being slightly larger, with a longer bill, and feeding more on fish (over 50% of food is fish, compared to over 80% invertebrates for European grisegena)

Michael

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

The greater coverts are certainly pretty different looking in the two Smiths. Is the big difference in bill pattern also significant?

 

[HH75]

Hi all,
Michael:not a lot to go on for ID'ing holboellii there!Size hard to judge in the field,as is length of bill without nominate birds being present for comparison.As for diet: we never actually saw what they were eating....
Andrew:the difference in greater covert pattern between the two smiths(Dingle and Belfast) is considerable,with the Belfast bird being a 'classic' individual in all respects otherwise as well.Actually,the difference in bill pattern is nothing significant in my opinion,with 'classic' birds showing either an all dark bill or a 1st-w Glaucous-like bicoloured one.
Harry

 

[Charles Harper]

Harry, a poignant tale, and it's comforting to hear that you are mortal. I had begun to take you for Finn MacCool. I wouldn't even have noticed the damn thing...

 

[Jane Turner]

Of course you were right.... you thought it was a Smiths...but lay outside the safe zone. I suspect the rarities committee will agree with you.

I have a friend who saw an eclipse Garganey in flight... even commented on how unusual it was for them to still the forewing.... imagine his chargrin when a Blue-winged Teal was fond at the same location a week later!

 

[HH75]

Hi Jane,
I wouldn't be so sure about the IRBC agreeing with me: as I said,Pat Lonergan seemed to give it his tacit approval,but this may not have been the case,and perhaps he will change his mind when he sees other pics?
Also,there are a few more voting members on the committee....
Still slightly annoyed with myself for not even highlighting the existence of the bird to others,even if I didn't put news out on the birdline or anything so drastic.Should really have phoned Pat or Killian while I was actually looking at the bird....
Garganey/BW Teal,eh?Understandable,but annoying!
Harry