17 Oct 2014

17 Oct 14 - It Is Still Packed On Brownsea Lagoon

In the last Post, I looked at the record 49 strong flock of Spoonbills on Brownsea that have been present in recent days. There were 5 colour ringed Spoonbills seen & I included their photos & details as far as we have been able to confirm so far. I did spend most of my time focusing on the Spoonbills. But there was still time to look at the other Birds seen on the Brownsea lagoon. After the hectic breeding season, nearly all the Common & Sandwich Terns have departed, although one Sandwich Tern briefly dropped in. That wasn't too surprising as we get a few Sandwich Terns that now seem to overwinter in Poole Harbour, due to the generally milder Winters we have had in recent years. Overall, there was still plenty of Bird activity as the Waders are back in numbers.
Brownsea lagoon: It is always worth a quick look at the lagoon from the NT centre area as there are parts of  the lagoon at this end which aren't easy to see from the DWT hides
Brownsea lagoon: This was a fairly quiet day as there were only a handful of Black-tailed Godwits today: sometimes there can be several hundred on the lagoon with even more Avocets. The Blackwits were probably over at Middlebere, as it wasn't a particularly high tide today
I quickly carried onto the DWT hides as they give much better views of the Birds.
Great White Egret: The second GWE from Studland has been feeding over here for the last few days, but it returns to Studland every evening. It looks even taller than the Spoonbills
Shoveler: Male
Moorhen: 1st Winter. Note, the dark bill which would be red with a yellow tip in an Adult
Avocet: Poole Harbour plays home to over 1000 Avocets which feed on Brownsea. Sometimes they prefer to roost in good numbers in the Arne/Middlebere area, but smaller numbers can be encountered in any of the good Birding sites within the Harbour
Avocet: They are really happy to get into deep water if there is good food to be found
Redshank: There were only about 15 Redshanks on the lagoon today. Again a sign that the high tide wasn't that high in the harbour & many of the Waders were roosting closer to feeding areas 
As a reminder, Brownsea will close for the Winter after the half term, so you only have a final few days to visit it. After that it will be occasional visits organised by the Dorset Wildlife Trust etc which are popular, but need booking up in advance with the hope that the weather will be good on the day. So it's worth trying to squeeze in the final visit in the next few days.

17 Oct 14 - The Collective Name For A Flock Of Spoonbills

In Poole Harbour, we have our own collective name for a flock of Spoonbills: it is a Record of Spoonbills. For two Autumns now, Poole Harbour has set a new UK record count for Spoonbills. Last year the total in Poole Harbour reached 34 Spoonbills around mid Oct 13. At the time, we didn't know the previous UK total, but assumed the Norfolk breeding colony was likely to have the record. This year we have now reached an incredible 49 Spoonbills in Poole Harbour. Recently, Paul Morton from the excellent Birds of Poole Harbour charity & website, got in touch with the guys keeping an eye on the Norfolk breeding colony & understands their highest total in recent years has been 33. Therefore, we exceeded that total by 1 last Autumn, but clearly have set a new UK record this Autumn.
Spoonbill: A panoramic view of just 32 of the 41 present on Brownsea while I was there
Accurately, counting the Spoonbills can be surprisingly tricky, despite being one of the largest species seen regularly in Poole Harbour. When they roost together, they can get quite close to each other and it can be easy to miss one in the group. But to get an accurate count, it is important to count Spoonbills seen together at the same time. A count at more than one location is possible, but it would need a coordinated count at their favourite feeding & roosting locations, whilst staying in contact over the phone, as it only takes them a few minutes to travel between Brownsea, Arne, Middlebere or the Wareham Channel. Despite being even closer, frustratingly they rarely seem to want to feed in Brands Bay. Currently, their favourite roosting/feeding location seems to be Brownsea. But sometimes, they like to roost at Arne's Shipstal Point.
Spoonbill: Note the black wing tips on the bird in flight & pinky-yellow tipped bill. I always thought that the yellow tip was meant to be a sign of an adult bird, but it looks like 2nd Winter Spoonbills also have a pinky-yellow tip
Spoonbill: There are certainly some black tips to some of these primaries of the bird on the right coming in to land, so presumably a 2nd Winter Spoonbill
I couldn't resist a visit to Brownsea to see if I could see the whole flock. Unfortunately, 8 had gone AWOL & there were only 41 Spoonbills present while I was there. But they put on a great display of communal roosting, flying around, and feeding in various groups. Even better, there were 5 Colour Ringed Spoonbills in the group (more details below).
Spoonbill: This looks like a 1st Winter Spoonbill with more black in the wing tip & a greyer bill with pale yellow restricted to the extreme tip
The colour rings are interesting as it helps us to confirm the origin of these Birds. In the past, CR Spoonbills have been tracked back to Dutch colonies where they were ringed as chicks. The movements have also shown that they tend to return there in the Summer. There is one exception: one first Summer Spoonbill (see below) which oversummered this year locally, moving between Middlebere & Brownsea. Naturally, there has been an alternative definitive statement been made on the origin of our Spoonbills, by a leading Home Counties Birder, who for the second year running has announced that the Norfolk breeding Spoonbills have all arrived safely in Poole Harbour. When asked for the evidence, we were told there are German & Dutch CR Spoonbills in the breeding colony & He has personally seen these Spoonbills in Poole Harbour. But not surprisingly when asked for CR details, this has not been forthcoming. These statements are not correlated with the CR Spoonbills the Poole Harbour Birders have observed in recent years which has confirmed the wintering Spoonbills have gone back to Europe for the Summer. So while it's not impossible that some of the Norfolk breeding Spoonbills are spending the Winter in Poole Harbour, there is currently nothing more than speculation to prove that at the moment. But I will happily publish any verified evidence of any Norfolk Spoonbills being seen in Poole Harbour if it materialises.
Spoonbill: At the front is the second Winter CR Spoonbill which oversummered in Poole Harbour this Summer
Spoonbill: Individual 1. A close up view of the front Spoonbill
The front CR Spoonbill is left leg (Yellow over Red over Metal) & right leg (Red over Yellow flag over Green). Paul Morton has managed to track the history of this Spoonbill. This Spoonbill was ringed as a chick on 23 July 13 at Den Oever, De Banaan, Holland.
7 Jan 14        Devon      Wrafton N E United Kingdom                              Maurice Clements
16 Mar 14     Devon      Velator-Sharpa Marshes N E United Kingdom      Rob Jutsum
20 Mar 14     Devon      Wrafton N E United Kingdom                               Maurice Clements
28 Mar 14     Devon      Wrafton N E United Kingdom                               Maurice Clements

28 May 14    Dorset      Middlebere United Kingdom                                Steve Smith
28 June 14   Dorset       Middlebere United Kingdom                                Steve Smith   Photos on this Post on my Blog
25 July 14    Dorset       Middlebere United Kingdom                                Steve Smith
5 Oct 14       Dorset       Brownsea island  United Kingdom                        Chris Thain 
This was the Spoonbill that we were seeing in Poole Harbour over the Summer. I tried reporting it to the CR Spoonbill coordinator, but despite several attempts never received more than an email to say the coordinator was away for some time. I have now send in my sightings to the new coordinator who responded to Paul. So this confirms that second Summer Spoonbills can have pinky-yellow in the extensive tip of the bill.
Spoonbill: Individual 2. This Spoonbill was obscured in the previous photo, but I can't see any black in the wing tips as it was landing
There is second CR Spoonbill has left leg (Pale Green over Green Flag over Green) & right leg (Pale Green over Yellow over Brown). There is a number on the Brown ring with part of the number being 689. I have send these details in to the CR Spoonbill coordinator & will update this Blog when I get a response.
Spoonbill: Individual 3. This Spoonbill called AE is an old friend of Poole Harbour & several of us have seen it before. Being an Adult, there is a clear yellow tip to the bill
The third CR is Spoonbill left leg (pink AE lettering on Blue over metal) & right leg (black AE lettering on White). This Spoonbill is an old friend & has returned to Poole Harbour for several Winters. This Spoonbill was ringed as a chick on 19 July 06 at Schiermonnikoog, Oosterkwelder, Holland. Since then it's movements have been:-
10 Sep 06     Vlieland, 2e Kroonspolder 53,25N 4,95E The Netherlands           Leon Kelder
12 Oct 06     Grevelingen, Kabbelaarsbank 51,75N 3,87E The Netherlands      Sander Lilipaly
1 Nov 06      Somme, Marquenterre 50,33N 1,68E France                                 F.Violet
5 Nov 06      Somme, Marquenterre 50,33N 1,68E France                                 F.Sueur & F.Violet
13 Nov 06    Somme, Marquenterre 50,33N 1,68E France                                 team Marcanterre
26 Nov 06    Somme, Marquenterre 50,33N 1,68E France                                 F.Sueur
26 Nov 06    Somme, Marquenterre 50,33N 1,68E France                                 team Marcanterre
10 July 07    Wolphaartsdijk, Kwistenburg 51,53N 3,80E The Netherlands        Mark Hoekstein
12 July 07    Wolphaartsdijk, Kwistenburg 51,53N 3,80E The Netherlands        Mark Hoekstein
17 July 07    Wolphaartsdijk, Kwistenburg 51,53N 3,80E The Netherlands        Sander Lilipaly
21 July 07    Wolphaartsdijk, Kwistenburg 51,53N 3,80E The Netherlands        Mark Hoekstein
21 July 07    Wolphaartsdijk, Kwistenburg 51,53N 3,80E The Netherlands        Kees Vliet Vlieland
30 July 07    Wolphaartsdijk, Kwistenburg 51,53N 3,80E The Netherlands        Mark Hoekstein
5 Aug 07      Wolphaartsdijk, Kwistenburg 51,53N 3,80E The Netherlands        Mark Hoekstein
6 Aug 07      Wolphaartsdijk, Kwistenburg 51,53N 3,80E The Netherlands        Sander Lilypaly
10 Aug 07    Wolphaartsdijk, Kwistenburg 51,53N 3,80E The Netherlands        Mark Hoekstein
11 Aug 07    Scherpenisse, Scherpenissepold 51,53N 4,10E The Netherlands  Roland-Jan Buijs
12 Sep 07    Ouwerkerk, Not specified 51,63N 4,00E The Netherlands              Rene van Loo
9 Nov 07      Dorset, Brownsea island 50,68N -1,95E United Kingdom              Kevin Lane
16 Nov 07    Dorset, Brownsea island 50,68N -1,95E United Kingdom              Kevin Lane
14 Mar 08    Dorset, Poole Harbour 50,68N -2,00E United Kingdom                 via Pete Potts
30 June 08   Lauwersmeer, Jaap Deensgat 53,38N 6,23E The Netherlands      Rob Voesten
25 Sep 08    Somme, Marquenterre 50,33N 1,68E France                                Marquenterre staff
11 Jan 09     Devon, Ernesettle 50,40N -4,18E United Kingdom                        Phil Stidwill
7 Feb 09      Cornwall, River Tamar 50,62N -4,37E United Kingdom                 Nigel Climpson
22 Apr 09    Schiermonnikoog, Oosterkwelde 53,48N 6,25E The Netherlands   Linde Veldhoen
17 Aug 09   Lauwersmeer, Jaap Deensgat 53,38N 6,23E The Netherlands       Otto Overdijk
17 Sep 09    Colijnsplaat, Wanteskuup 51,60N 3,72E The Netherlands             Kees Vliet Vlieland
20 Sep 09    Wolphaartsdijk, Kwistenburg 51,53N 3,80E The Netherlands         Peter Matthijssen
28 Sep 09    Somme, Marquenterre 50,33N 1,68E France                                 team Marcanterre
10 Oct 09    Somme, Marquenterre 50,33N 1,68E France                                  team Marcanterre
11 Jan 10    Devon, Puslinch, Yealm estuary 50,30N -4,03E United Kingdom    Vic Tucker
16 Jan 10    Devon, Puslinch, Yealm estuary 50,30N -4,03E United Kingdom   Alan Pomroy
17 Jan 10    Devon, Puslinch, Yealm estuary 50,30N -4,03E United Kingdom   via Mark Darlaston
30 Jan 10    Cornwall, River Tamar 50,62N -4,37E United Kingdom                  Bruce Taggert
26 Jul 10    Lauwersmeer, Jaap Deensgat 53,38N 6,23E The Netherlands       Henk van Huffelen
27 Sep 10    Somme, Marquenterre 50,33N 1,68E France                               Staff Marcanterre
3 Oct 10      Somme, Marquenterre 50,33N 1,68E France                                 Francois Sueur
10 Oct 10    Dorset, Brownsea island 50,68N -1,95E United Kingdom               Peter Moore
5 Dec 10     Cornwall, River Lynher,W.Quay 50,37N -4,27E United Kingdom    Bruce Taggert
11 Jan 11     Dorset, Poole Harbour 50,68N -2,00E United Kingdom                 Bob Mould
4 Jul 11       Schiermonnikoog, Oosterkwelde 53,48N 6,25E The Netherlands   Petra de Goeij
8 Oct 11      Dorset, Brownsea island 50,68N -1,95E United Kingdom                Andy Swash
12 Feb 12    Dorset, Poole Harbour 50,68N -2,00E United Kingdom                 Peter Moore
27 Apr 12    Schiermonnikoog, Oosterkwelde 53,48N 6,25E The Netherlands  Petra de Goeij
30 Apr 12    Schiermonnikoog, Oosterkwelde 53,48N 6,25E The Netherlands  Petra de Goeij
24 Sep 12    Dorset, Poole Harbour 50,68N -2,00E United Kingdom                Hutchins & Kelson
13 Oct 12    Dorset, Poole Harbour 50,68N -2,00E United Kingdom                 Steve Smith
30 Dec 12   Dorset, Poole Harbour 50,68N -2,00E United Kingdom                  Alex Rhodes
19 Jan 13    Dorset, Poole Harbour 50,68N -2,00E United Kingdom                  Peter Moore
19 Jan 13    Dorset, Poole Harbour 50,68N -2,00E United Kingdom                 Simon Johnson
23 Mar 13   Dorset, Poole Harbour 50,68N -2,00E United Kingdom                  Shaun Robson
30 Apr 13   Schiermonnikoog, Oosterkwelde 53,48N 6,25E The Netherlands   Petra & Otto
8 Jul 14      Schiermonnikoog, Westerplas 53,47N 6,15E The Netherlands       Petra de Goeij
5 Oct 14     Dorset, Brownsea island 50,68N -1,95E United Kingdom               Chris Thain

This Spoonbill clearly has a good list of Poole Harbour Birders (Kevin Lane, Peter Moore, myself, Shaun Robson & Chris Thain).
Spoonbill: Individual 4. This is V027
Spoonbill: Individual 4. A better view of V027 again. This must be a 1st Winter Spoonbill with this much pink on the bill
The fourth CR Spoonbill had left leg (nothing) & right leg (V027 on Pale Green).This Spoonbill was ringed as a pullus at Var Holm, Nibe, Denmark on 28th June 2013. There are currently no additional details of it's movements in the last 15 months, other than it was seen on Brownsea on 5 Oct 14. Thanks to news related by Chris Thain, the DWT Brownsea warden..
Spoonbill: Individual 5. I only saw the right leg
The fifth Spoonbill was more frustrating as I only saw one of the legs. It was left leg (not seen) & right leg (Green over Yellow over Pale Green). I will need better views before I can send in this individual.

Soon after, they all took off for no reason & flew around briefly before landing again.
Spoonbill: They really are elegant
Spoonbill: Several 1st Winter Spoonbills in this group with Adult AE in the middle
Spoonbill: 2nd Winter Individual 1 drops in. Note, the finer black tipping to the wings on this individual
Eventually, one Spoonbill started feeding a lot closer than where the others were roosting. A chance for pure indulgence without having to worry about Colour Rings or ageing.
Spoonbill
Spoonbill: I'm often surprised at how small the food is that the Little Egrets are eating & looks like the Spoonbills are also eating equally small morsels

14 Oct 2014

14 Oct 14 - Probable Moltoni's Subalpine Warbler At Porthgwarra

I've been a keen follower of the excellent Birding Frontiers website for several years now. There are plenty of interesting posts on the latest thoughts on Bird identification on it & the enthusiasm of the site is infectious. Sunday's post was really interesting, especially as it referred to a Subalpine Warbler at Porthgwarra, Cornwall, which hasn't been commented on until Birding Frontiers mentioned it as a good candidate for a Moltoni's Subalpine Warbler. Having followed the BF site over recent years, I've been impressed as how many times Martin Garner & his team seem to get these tricky identifications right.
Putative Moltoni's Subalpine Warbler: All my photos are cropped & sharpened, but no changes to the colour balance have been made
So having taken note, I rang my mate, Brian Field, who lives nearby to see if he had seen it. The answer was yes, but he wasn't aware of the BF post. He forwarded his photos to Martin & they were well received as helping the Moltoni case. Checking the forecast, it looked the following day, the Monday, would be a washout in Cornwall. However, Pete Aley, another old mate from Plymouth, rang that morning, to say the local forecast wasn't looking as bad as originally suggested & it looked like there was a break in the rain that afternoon. It's about 4 hours drive to Lands End, so I could get down for this break in the weather. With the news from Brian that the bird was still present & showing on & off and an offer of accommodation at Brian's, the decision was made. Even though the weather wasn't going to be great on the Monday, a fine day was predicted for the Tuesday and a day & a half in Cornwall looked tempting. Hoping I would see it on Monday, in case if left that evening, I quickly threw a few bits in the car & was off.
Putative Moltoni's Subalpine Warbler: First views on the second day as it moved through the Sallows
At this point I should explain why I was getting so excited about a Subalpine Warbler. There are 4 subspecies according to Clements: cantillans (coastal continental Europe from Iberia to Italy) known as Western; inornata (Morocco to Tunisia & NW Libya) part of the Western complex; moltonii (Balearics islands, Corsica & Sardinia) known as Moltoni's; albistriata (Balkans to Turkey) known as Eastern.
The favoured Sallows: The left hand end of the Sallows, which can be viewed in the field opposite the second house on the road up to the coastguards lookout
Putative Moltoni's Subalpine Warbler: Another typical view as it fed close to the edge of the Sallows
However, a recent paper by Lars Svensson in Bull. B.O.C. in 2013 has made some recent changes to the subspecies & split Subalpine Warbler into 3 species: Western Subalpine Warbler (Sylvia inornata inornata and S. i. iberiae ); Moltoni’s [Subalpine] Warbler (Sylvia subalpina) & Eastern Subalpine Warbler (Sylvia cantiallans cantillans and S. c. albistriata). All a bit confusing as the name cantillans, previously given to Western Subalpine Warblers is now given to Eastern birds, with Western birds taking inornata as the nominate form & the Spanish peninsula population now becoming iberiae. The rumours on the street at the moment is that the BOU is likely to accept this split of Subalpine Warbler at some point in the near future. Having seen both Eastern & Western subspecies in Dorset over the years, the one I've not seen is Moltoni's. This isn't surprising, as there are only a handful of previous records, with the first being on St Kilda in June 1894 according to the BOURC 42 Report. In more recent years, 2 individuals on Shetlands in June 2009 are currently being assessed and a Fair Isle individual in May 2014 has had a DNA confirmation as Moltoni's. So if this was a Moltoni's, it would be the first mainland record.
Putative Moltoni's Subalpine Warbler
I arrived at the site about 15:00 to hear it had been seen recently on the edge of some Sallows above the Doctor's house, which is the first house on the road from the car park which leads to the Coastguard's lookout. About 16:15, I finally had a flight view of the Subalp, but it dived into cover & that was it. Totally unsatisfactory and I was still wondering how I could eliminate a Lesser Whitethroat on these brief views (not that there was one around). About 17:00, there were still no further views. At this point, Brian Field arrived and about 15 minutes later, Brian collected the 4 other Birders present & said he was about to try playing a recording of the call & song of Moltoni's. Within a minute of so, the Subalp had flown out of the Sallows & perched up on the edge of the Sallows about 30 metres in front of us for 30 seconds, before dropping down out of sight. It was good to get a decent, but brief view and appeared to be a good reaction to the recording. I would put it as about an 80% reaction to the recording as while it had come out of the Sallows, there had been Cows moving into those Sallows over the previous 10 minutes. So had it appeared by chance as a result of being flushed by a Cow: I don't think so, but can't rule it out. Unfortunately, it wasn't heard to call in response to the recording. We gave it another 30 minutes, but there was no further sign & decided to give up & try again the next day. I had seen the Subalp at this point & the light was getting worse, so there was little chance of any photos.
Putative Moltoni's Subalpine Warbler
The following morning, was a total change to still, mild & sunny: a big improvement on breezy, cold & overcast with occasional short showers. I arrived to join a handful of Birders and as the morning progressed, about 30 or 40 Birders came & went. The Subalp was showing in the Sallows for a few minutes every 45 minutes or so, but then gave a 30 minute performance around 13:00.
Putative Moltoni's Subalpine Warbler
Before I arrived on the Monday, some of the locals had decided to played a recording of Moltoni's Subalpine Warbler, while it was on view in the Sallows. Pete Aley who was there said this provoked a quick response on this first occasion of playing Moltoni's & it flew out of the Sallows & into the hedge about 40 - 50 metres away, near to where the recording was being played. Although I'm not aware that it was heard to make any calls in response to this recording, it was a still a strong reaction to the recording. It didn't react to a recording on the Tuesday, but then Birds are generally quick to learn they have been conned & they don't react to the same recording on later occasions. The chances are that the same commercial recording was used on each occasion and so I'm not particularly surprised about the lack of a reaction on the Tuesday. While I don't use playback in the UK, I have used it a lot in SE Asia & on a few African trips. Not calling in response to playback is a fairly common occurrence, so I'm not surprised it didn't call. On the Sunday, a recording was played of Eastern Subalpine Warbler which didn't get any response. I don't think Western Subalpine Warbler had been played up to Tuesday lunchtime, but haven't heard further updates since I left the site. While the general feeling is it is not a Western, then it would be interesting to test it's reaction to call & songs of a Western Subalpine Warbler.
Putative Moltoni's Subalpine Warbler
There is some excellent up to date identification details for the 3 Subalpine Warblers in the Birding Frontiers Challenge Autumn book. If you don't own a copy then check out the book on the Birding Frontiers website: it is my book of the year. There is also some excellent information on the Surfbirds website by Brian Small. As to why this is a probable Moltoni's Subalpine Warbler, then there is some explanations on the Birding Frontiers website which I won't repeat here.
Putative Moltoni's Subalpine Warbler
It feeds slowly in the Sallows, often moving a few inches into the bushes and at that point it can be quickly lost. But it is often close to where it was last seen and careful watching will often pick it up moving around in the same area.
Putative Moltoni's Subalpine Warbler
Putative Moltoni's Subalpine Warbler
Putative Moltoni's Subalpine Warbler
Putative Moltoni's Subalpine Warbler
Putative Moltoni's Subalpine Warbler
Putative Moltoni's Subalpine Warbler: A picture of the undertail. Maybe that will be important as more information comes to light in the future
Putative Moltoni's Subalpine Warbler: Another undertail view
Putative Moltoni's Subalpine Warbler: The closed tail & tertial edgings
Putative Moltoni's Subalpine Warbler: Another shot of the edgings to the closed tail
Putative Moltoni's Subalpine Warbler: The exposed primaries in the closed wing 
Putative Moltoni's Subalpine Warbler
Putative Moltoni's Subalpine Warbler
Putative Moltoni's Subalpine Warbler
So is it a Moltoni's Subalpine Warbler? In today's modern world, Birders expect instant decisions so they know if they can Tick it & they expect to have this information before deciding to travel to see something. I think it is most likely to be one. There is some good commentary on the Birding Frontiers website on it. I have heard part of the description from the finder Trevor Charlton & it makes a strong case for it being one. Rather than a pure description, it contains comments on the features noted & the importance of each feature in regards to the members of the Subalpine Warbler complex: that description was very compelling to listen to. Thirdly, whilst it hasn't been heard to call to my knowledge, the behaviour exhibited when Moltoni's Subalpine Warbler was played is convincing to me, especially when it crossed the field on the first time the recording was played. Is that enough evidence to convince a records committee if recordings aren't obtained or it's not trapped & DNA evidence gathered: well that's another question.
Perhaps the best evidence: Under this rainbow lies a pot of gold. Well in this case, its got a pale pink body, grey upperparts & white moustachial. The Subalp came to Brian's tape where the rainbow met the end of the fenceline at the right hand end of the Sallows (13 Oct 14)
One thing that is surprising is the general lack of interest nationally about this putative Moltoni's Subalpine Warbler. Is everybody waiting for it to call & ignoring it, until this happens. Is it a case that there just hasn't been anything written or heard publically about its the behaviour when recordings were played? Or perhaps with all the Birds on the East coast, it's just being lost in the numbers of good birds on the East coast. But for anybody interested in Sylvia Warblers or passing on or off Scillies, then I think it is well worth visiting to see this Subalp as it is a great learning opportunity & one which I think should get you an armchair Tick in the future. On this Subalp, I've chosen to show a good selection of photos in case any of these help to support its identification.

12 Oct 2014

12 Oct 14 - Launch Of The New IQ30 Bird Club

Following the recent voting success in Clacton for UKIQP, the political wing of the IQ40 club, the IQ40 Club is pleased to announce today the launch of the new IQ30 Club. This will be a Bird Club for  supporters of UKIQP. So if you are fed up of all those Foreign Birds coming over here & getting all the attention, then this is the Bird Club for you. The rules are simple. You will be only be allowed to tick British Birds. Some are obvious such as Blackbirds & Robins. 
Blackbird: Juvenile. Clearly no problem ticking this resident Blackbird. This Studland Blackbird is 100% pukka as it was clearly born here (31 May 14)
Robin: Nearly all Robins are fine, but beware the greyish backed European Robins on the East coast in the Autumn, as they won't be tickable. Old Harry (4 Sep 14)
But other British Birds you can Tick are those which have long winters abroad like the Swallows & House Martins before coming home again to breed.
House Martin: These bred here, but like to have long holidays abroad in the winter & they are still tickable. Studland (6 Sep 14)
Also the British breeding Warblers such as Chiffchaffs & Whitethroats are obviously tickable. After all who doesn't enjoy their Winter holidays in the sun. 
Chiffchaff: IQ30 Birders will obviously have to ensure they aren't wrongly ticking a Siberian Chiffchaff as these will not be tickable. Studland (7 Oct 14)
Whitethroat: Clearly tickable, especially as this was born here. Old Harry (4 Sep 14)
But you will not be able to tick those European Birds that come here without permission and should be sent back to Europe. So out go the Redwings, Fieldfares & Waxwings which come over here in the Winter & eat our British Bird's berries.
Waxwing: Waxwings wouldn't be tickable as they are a European species that only come here to exploit our berries and not contribute anything. Poole (12 Dec 10)
But don't worry about not being able to Tick these common Winter visitors the spokesman for the IQ30 Club said. You can sign up now for one of our exclusive IQ30 Summer Tours, where in addition to the Scottish Specialities, we will take you to our special & secret sites, where you will be able to Tick breeding Snow Buntings, Redwings and Fieldfares. These trips will be timed to see the British chicks, as well as their British parents. You will all be expected to buy & wear our special IQ30 blindfolds so you cannot reveal our secret sites. He finished by saying they double up as exclusive bandanas, in a desperate attempt to woo back former members of the IQ40 club.
Fieldfare: Winter Fieldfares won't be tickable, but our special Tours go to our secret & exclusive sites where they breed & all Tour participants will get a certificate to prove they have a tickable Fieldfare on their IQ30 Club lists. This Fieldfare photographed at Dungeness wouldn't be tickable (8 March 14)
The IQ30 spokesman also said you won't be allowed to Tick the gaudy European Birds that arrive here every year without permission. He said we will made clear statements of what can & can't be ticked. For example, Bee-eaters are clear European & can't be ticked. But the Isle of Wight 8, referring to the 8 babies that were born in the UK are fully tickable. He confirmed their parents are not countable. The beaming smile on his face indicated he clearly has this major IQ30 Club Blocker on his list.
Bee-eater: Gaudy adults like this would not be tickable, although the spokesman said the Isle of Wight 8 would be fully tickable. Beit She'an, Israel (12 April 14)
For years UKIQP have argued that these European Birds should be caught by Ringers. Once caught they should be quickly bagged and put on the next Eurostar before being released. Their leader, Mr Farfetched, says they will hold the balance of power after next year's Bird Elections and the old parties such as BUFO (British Union For Ornithology) and BOT (British Ornithology Trust) have had their day. After all he argued, how can you trust organisations that are named after the Common Toad or rude parts of the body, to represented today's Birders. We are the organisation of the future and we will send these Foreign Birds back, suitably marked with a special ring to show they have been deported. That way if they return, it will be obvious they won't be tickable.
Subalpine Warbler: This is a classic species that would be deported if caught by a ringer according to the UKIQP manifesto. Velji Do, Croatia (5 May 14)
The IQ30 spokesman announced they were pleased to hear the news that following the successful campaign to keep Scotland part of the UK, by the Bigger Together team, that Scottish Birders realised the threats to their lists and voted to keep those English & Welsh Birds on their lists.
Corn Crake: Scottish Corn Crakes are still fully tickable now Scottish Birders voted for the Bigger Together campaign in the recent Scottish Birders referendum organised by SNIP, the Scottish Nationalist Independence Party. They wanted to drastically snip the Lists of Scottish Birders & stop them ticking English & Welsh Birds. Balranald (4 June 12)
Critics have been quick to respond how will we know what we can Tick. This has already been full thought out by the President of the IQ40 Club, and new IQ30 Club, said their spokesman. He went on to say short term visas will be introduced to allow the American Birds to be ticked. The President will also judge which of these birds will get visas allowing them to be ticked & which will be extended to give them automatic rights to be ticked on future Year Lists.
Mourning Dove: This American visitor would be is likely to get a visa allowing it to be ticked. But it's possible that being on a distant island, a visa might be ruled out: depending on whether members of the IQ30 Club committee travelled to add it to their IQ30 Year List. Rum (30 Oct 13)
He said some of the British Wildfowl will become fully tickable: Black Swans and Bar-headed Geese which were clearly born here will be eligible for ticking. He said BUFO need to allow these species. But he said with a smile, clearly enjoying his own joke, the organisation was old & warty and he is looking forward to the day it croaks for the last time.
Bar-headed Goose: British born Bar-headed Geese would be added to the IQ30 List. Bharatpur, India (27 Jan 14)
So join the IQ30 Club now as we have a special offer at the moment, with a 50% discount on the membership fees for members of UKIQP or for subscribers to the Daily Birding Mail.