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  1. D

    Canada/Snow/Domestic Swan Goose Hybrids(EastTN)

    Thanks for the heads up. I agree I can't see any reason to exclude pure Snow Goose for #2, though I think some might question your description of it being a "wild bird" - living in the wild perhaps but most likely originating either from captivity or at best from a small/temporary feral...
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    ID Please

    Interesting bird, and thanks for the heads-up. I guess the easy bit is to say that Ruddy Shelduck or South African (Cape) Shelduck must be involved, given the extensive orange colouration, and as this extends on to the head (and the breast and vent are quite dark) I think one parent must be...
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    Odd Little Egret and Pied Wagtail - South-east Ireland

    This heron is really interesting to me. I agree that the plumage resembles that of several presumed Little Egret x Western Reef-Heron hybrids observed in southern Europe, but I don't think the bill does. It seems to have a clearly two-toned bill. I don't recall seeing Little Egret, Western...
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    Willow Tit? UK (call)

    I agree - when Willow Tits were still common (in Kent in the 80s and Norfolk in the early 90s before they crashed) I used to regularly see Marsh and Willow Tits in the same places. Since their decline in Norfolk most of the last sites for them also held Marsh Tits. To be fair I have witnessed...
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    Willow Tit? UK (call)

    For me this sounds perfectly normal for Marsh Tit, the call that BWP describes as, "Harsh, nasal 'tchee-tchee…', 'tchãã-tchãã-tchãã-tchãã…', or 'ter-char-char-char…', very commonly preceded by 'pitchüü' call; like 'tchay' of [Willow Tit] but fuller in tone." You can hear examples on Xeno-Canto...
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    Hybrid duck (Shoveler x Garganey?), Hong Kong

    I agree - those scapulars, especially the way they hang down, are a strong pointer to Garganey influence. Very interesting bird - would you mind if we used the photos in the Bird Hybrids project?
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    Duck ID: Regent's Park, London, UK

    I think you can call the first one Tufted Duck x Pochard, and rule out Tufted Duck x Scaup. The eye colour looks a bit orangey, reflecting some influence from the red eye of Pochard, which would be very unexpected on a Tufted Duck x Scaup hybrid. The flanks look solid grey: I've not got much...
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    waterfowl with weird head

    Agreed - this is not what the OP wanted to know! And I think we are all agreed that it's a domestic variant of Swan Goose, however it should (or shouldn't) be described.
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    waterfowl with weird head

    For precisely the same reasons as I described above, you can at best describe this bird as resembling an African, unless you know its pedigree or breed it out. As fugl pointed out several posts back, both Chinese Goose and African Goose are just breeders' names, and they are useful only in the...
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    Waterfowl - Yucatan Mexico Dec 2015

    Yes, #2 is a moulting juvenile/first-winter male Lesser Scaup for me. As Lou says it's moulting or sick, and is missing a lot of feathers around the face. In fact sick or not it's definitely moulting with a mix of blackish and brown feathers and one or two adult-type grey feathers with coarse...
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    waterfowl with weird head

    I can go further... I should have looked at the picture first. We can in fact say categorically that the dark goose is NOT a Chinese Goose. This bird shows a bit of a dewlap and according to wildfowl breeders' standards any hint of a dewlap is considered a defect that disqualifies it from...
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    waterfowl with weird head

    Surely a domestic variant of a Swan Goose is a Swan Goose? Swan Gooose is the vernacular name for any representative of the species Anser cygnoides. If the context requires you to be specific you can always qualify with, for example, wild-type or domestic variant, but whether wild or domestic...
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    Marsh Tit / Willow Tit, UK (Greater Manchester)

    Really interesting new feature Ashley! Would be interested to know how robust you think this should be, and whether there's any overlap or variation (other than young Willows being black as you've already said). Last weekend I watched a few Marsh Tits - at least I believe they were all Marsh...
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    Norfolk birding

    Hi Jim - I've visited Whitwell and Alderford Commons a few times, especially Whitwell. Entrance to Whitwell Common is by layby with a phone box at TG 08412 20447. Both nice places to visit - though never seen anything especially exciting in the way of birds there. Best I've managed at...
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    Norfolk birding

    I agree with last winter being disastrous - 2014 was my worst year for Barn Owls since I started working in NW Norfolk in early 2002. This winter it is a little early to call - my records of Barn Owl normally peak in February/March, but I have seen a few, suggesting something of a recovery...
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    Norfolk birding

    I'd forgotten that piece but you're right - it's in bulletin no 27, by John Williamson (published in 1998 but apparently written in 1997). It refers to unsubstantiated rumours that visitors had allowed Night Herons to escape from the aviary in addition to the 1987 incident. The article...
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    Norfolk birding

    I had two adults (or near-adults) fly over Sparham Pools, flying in from the direction of the old wildlife park, in May 2007. According to the bird reports there were further reports at Lyng in 2009 and December 2010 and then two adults at Pensthorpe in May 2011. In around 70 visits to Sparham...
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    Norfolk birding

    I suspect that most Norfolk birders, even those who watch the sea a lot, will have never seen either Basking Shark or Sunfish in the county. Both are rarely recorded from land here so far as I know. My only encounter with Sunfish was one off Sheringham/Weybourne in 1995 - that was also a...
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    Norfolk birding

    The quail (or at least a male California Quail, I assume it must have been the same one) was by the boardwalk at Burnham Overy yesterday. It ventured out into the field, along the path and sat on a fence post for a bit but spent most of the time in the clump of bushes beside the apple tree. It...
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    Norfolk birding

    Good to hear that the well-respected, competent and highly experienced observers of last year's bird exhibited such honesty and caution in their assessment of what they were and weren't able to see. Entirely appropriate for a bird of such magnitude. I hope the observers of this years' birds...
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    Norfolk birding

    Perhaps they should*, and they should certainly ensure that if and when they do record rare species like Willow Tit and Goshawk they obtain sufficient documentation to allow the record to be accepted by the county records committee and published in the annual county bird reports. If this is...
  22. D

    Norfolk birding

    So much emphasis is placed on using the call to distinguish between these two species but not enough emphasis is placed on the variation in Marsh Tit vocalisation types. Sure the classic 'pi-choo' of Marsh Tit is a world apart from the typical nasal call of Willow Tit, but what some people...
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    Norfolk birding

    Also agree, though it differs from examples I've seen before. Let us know if it's still around - would be interested in seeing it.
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    Water Bird

    Yes - identifying birds is not a requirement for this site, so nor is identifying them accurately! Intersex Mallards are normally females that are developing male characteristics. Typically male plumage appears first and the female-like bill is retained. I have seen photos of presumed...
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    Dodgy Goose RSPB Buckenham today

    It's been there for several years now. Either a Snow Goose x Barnacle Goose hybrid or a Ross's Goose x Barnacle Goose hybrid. The latter seem to be much more frequent but this individual is larger than most which led to me identifying it as Snow x Barnacle originally. Structurally though it...
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