Ring Ouzel in my Herts garden? at this time of year? (1 Viewer)

[wotcha]

Never seen one before and did not manage to capture it on cam but I got a clear view of it just ten metres away and given it's so distinctive it's hard not to recognise it.

I Live in St Albans, Herts which is supposedly way outside it's territory. So have I somehow or other got it all wrong?

Shortly afterwards it was followed by a gloriously colourful G S woodpecker which having reached for my camera by now I did manage to capture on film. Haven't seen one of them in my garden for three or four years.

So, what is going on?

Wondering whether it has anything to do with a tall evergreen in a nearby garden that was felled yesterday. Pure coincidence?

Here's a clip of the G S woodpecker I just added to YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BvJwppRnyw&feature=youtu.be

 

[coaltit]

Well the ring ousel would be migrateing south for the winter off these shores and on ward to africa.

 

[rockfowl]

Probably a Blackbird with some white, some can be rather convincing - http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=188199

 

[Nutcracker]

A late Ring Ouzel on migration is still perfectly possible in southern England (odd ones even overwinter), but the balance of probabilities is in favour of a leucistic / partial albino Blackbird.

Try to get some pics if it reappears!

 

[wotcha]

Probably a Blackbird with some white, some can be rather convincing - http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=188199

Interesting possibility. Haven't heard of that before. Even so, the white band was much more pronounced than in that thread.

Suppose I have to accept that because I did not capture it on camera unless it makes another appearance I will never know for sure.

 

[Nutcracker]

Did you get a good look at the wing? Was it uniform black/dark brown, or did it have pale edging to the feathers?

 

[Rotherbirder]

Check bill colour & length of wings in relation to tail too! This may be useful: http://www.bto.org/about-birds/bird-id/bto-bird-id-ring-ouzel-and-blackbird

 

[wotcha]

Did you get a good look at the wing? Was it uniform black/dark brown, or did it have pale edging to the feathers?

Cannot say i was able to study it that closely. Watched it fly off after maybe ten seconds and all I could see was jet black and bold white. Was convinced it could not have been a blackbird nor any conceivable variation of magpie.

Have watched lots of blackbirds in my garden over the past week or so, sometimes as many as five or six males, including juveniles, and a couple of females all at the same time. So I'm thinking it's unlikely it was just another local blackbird I haven't seen around.

Thanks everyone for your comments and suggestions.

 

[coaltit]

Ring ouzel

Cannot say i was able to study it that closely. Watched it fly off after maybe ten seconds and all I could see was jet black and bold white. Was convinced it could not have been a blackbird nor any conceivable variation of magpie.

Have watched lots of blackbirds in my garden over the past week or so, sometimes as many as five or six males, including juveniles, and a couple of females all at the same time. So I'm thinking it's unlikely it was just another local blackbird I haven't seen around.

Thanks everyone for your comments and suggestions.

You do see variations of white markings In blackbirds thou Its always been the cock Birds I,ve seen with these apart from one occasion well back In 1972 where a Female nested In our back garden In a very small forsythia bush and This female sported a small white collar around her neck to add to more local Interest we had a small news paper ad relateing to this In our local evening Newspaper I had that newspaper cutting for many years.

 

[skatebirder]

There was a Ring Ouzel at Portland today, so they haven't all gone yet. Having said that, a Blackbird would be more likely. I recently saw a black bird with a white collar as I was driving home from work. I found somewhere to park, went back to get a closer look, and found that the white collar went all the way round the back of the neck...just another funny-coloured Blackbird. A week later I saw a Ring Ouzel a couple of miles away (but the first bird was still a Blackbird!)
David

 

[wotcha]

Having spent many fruitless hours watching out for it since I can only assume it was, as suggested, an aberrantly-plumaged blackbird passing through.

But does anyone know how likely it is for non-resident blackbirds to make once-off stop-overs like that before moving on, never to be seen again?

 

[Nutcracker]

But does anyone know how likely it is for non-resident blackbirds to make once-off stop-overs like that before moving on, never to be seen again?

Very likely!

Around this time of year there's the odd morning when there's suddenly a dozen Blackbirds in the garden after the one or two the previous morning, and then back to just one or two again the morning after.

 

[wotcha]

Very likely!

Around this time of year there's the odd morning when there's suddenly a dozen Blackbirds in the garden after the one or two the previous morning, and then back to just one or two again the morning after.

Thanks for that Nutcracker. Before this I never even knew blackbirds migrated, just assumed they were all resident.

So much about birding is still new to me I can hardly express how much I appreciate these little nuggets.

 

[MJB]

I recently saw a black bird with a white collar as I was driving home from work. I found somewhere to park, went back to get a closer look, and found that the white collar went all the way round the back of the neck. David

A couple of years ago, I saw a Blackbird with a full white collar at the edge of Lake Bohinj in Slovenia (525m asl). Earlier that day, I had been up the ski-lift at Vogel, where Ring Ousels had been singing and foraging on the snow-free ski-runs (1550m asl). It would seem that the genes controlling feather coloration in Blackbirds produce the same marking oddities across a sizeable breeding distribution.

Perhaps Laurent Raty who informs the Taxonomy thread might be able to tell us if the white markings derive from a common ancestral population or are simply a case of imperfections within the feather-colour control mechanism in separate populations are examples of parallel evolution.
MJB

 

[Jon Turner]

But does anyone know how likely it is for non-resident blackbirds to make once-off stop-overs like that before moving on, never to be seen again?

A few years ago, when I was doing a lot of winter ringing in my garden (North Devon) I ringed over 100 Blackbirds - from Sept - March. One of them had a German ring on - from Helgoland. So at this time of year. there will be many migrants using our gardens, and I guess the residents just have to put up with it!

 

[coaltit]

Ring ouzel

A few years ago, when I was doing a lot of winter ringing in my garden (North Devon) I ringed over 100 Blackbirds - from Sept - March. One of them had a German ring on - from Helgoland. So at this time of year. there will be many migrants using our gardens, and I guess the residents just have to put up with it!

Yes I have seen as many as nearly 30 Blackbirds before In the past In one particular pasture all feeding together Probabily In november which was alongside foremark reservoir In south Derbyshire thou I have seen smaller numbers elsewhere too at this time of the Year.

 

[Nutcracker]

Thanks for that Nutcracker. Before this I never even knew blackbirds migrated, just assumed they were all resident.

So much about birding is still new to me I can hardly express how much I appreciate these little nuggets.

British Blackbirds are all (or almost all) resident; but Scandinavian Blackbirds migrate here for the winter to get away from the much colder winters there.