Little bunting - Forest Farm

The little bunting was showing very well on and off between 1605 and 1640. It was very quiet with no-one around and the bird was very active. Earlier there had been no sign for most of the afternoon. During this period the bird seemed to rest / preen in the trees immediately behind the feeders before flying in to feed at the base of the hide.

It looks fit and healthy which begs the question, when is it going to leave?

Request Kumlien's Gull record flight shots 2014

It's probably fair to say that separating a Kumlien's Gull from an Iceland Gull is anything but straightforward. A good deal of time has passed since last year's major influx of white-wingers, a fair proportion of which seem to have originated from North America. The numbers of Kumlien's Gulls being recorded last year seemed to be remarkable and it certainly stood out amongst previous years and this year. Not surprisingly then that this rarer race of the Iceland Gull requires good supportive evidence to be recorded as an official record, and here in Glamorgan WRP decide over which ones will make the grade. I have recently started trawling through photos that have been posted online on this blog or the Bird News Services to try and find useful record shots. The experts in this area have given a fairly simple requirement for Kumlien's Gulls to be separated from Iceland Gulls safely. This involves having a good quality shot which shows the bird in flight. In particular the flight shot should demonstrate that the outer primaries look darker than the inner primaries, and that the outer webs of the outer primaries look dark compared to the inner webs. My understanding is an Iceland Gull type that looks very dark and captured well on camera standing or sitting will not be enough to confirm it as a Kumlien's Gull. Photos showing an open wing are crucial.

No-one has sent to me any descriptions relating to Kumlien's Gulls from from 2014 so far. A few people have responded to my request for shots of flying birds. Thus far I am confident that two 2nd Cal year birds ranged widely between Blackpill, Crymlyn Burrows and Fendrod Lake. Although one of the birds seems right on the margin of being identified to race safely. Caution might prevail there. Both birds will be submitted as 2nd Cal year Kumlien's and I think I have enough photos to present a case for both.

The Burry Holms Kumlien's Gull from 2014 are very poorly represented with photos showing them in flight. Another way to write that is that no-one has provided me any flight shots of Kumlien's Gulls from Burry Holms in 2014, and sadly I never connected with one there. My request therefore is for anyone who has in their possession decent flight shots from this site please send them to me. Thank you.

Kumlien's Gull Fendrod Lake 23/3/14

Steve

Just an update. Cd you please refer to the Glamorgan Birds sighting page for full details. I have been in touch with Madeleine and she would be very happy for anyone connected with Steve to come along to the funeral, which is likely to be 7th or 8th April. She is hoping to hire KNNR centre for people to gather afterwards to celebrate his life and work there. She will let me know details as soon as they are settled and I will post them on the other page where I have created a sticky post that will always be at the top. Thanks
For info, the funeral will be on Weds 8th April at All Saints Church, Victoria Rd, Porthcawl at 1:45.

Cardiff Bay Bonaparte's Gulls

Managed to get shots of both birds in the same light and at the same (unfortunately extreme) range this afternoon. You can see how visible the P9 marks are on the one compared with the other and the variation in black smudge shape. Sadly the two in one shot never came off because as one drifted off up river the other one took its place.

Pete

Steve Moon

It is with very great sadness that I have just learned that Steve Moon passed away this morning. I have no other details.  He did a great deal for birding in our county and will be sorely missed. Our sincere condolences go out to Madeleine and his family.

Ogmore Bonaparte's Gull 2013 - revisited

© J. Slocombe

© J. Slocombe

Jeff Slocombe has kindly provided some shots taken January 2013 of the Ogmore Bonaparte's Gull. The interesting thing is that this bird seems to show only the left P9 is marked. My photos of this bird give support that the right wing showed no mark on P9.

Cardiff Bay Bonaparte's Gull

Attached some better resolution pictures to add to the montage from today.

Also attached is a photo I took of one of the birds last March, it appears to have a smudge of black on the right P9 very similar to that in Mark's photos from today. Would love to know if these marks are genetic and there like a fingerprint each year or whether they can vary from year to year.

There are a few photos of previous birds available on Iris http://www.birdguides.com/iris/pictures.asp?mode=advanced&tx=672&sn=cardiff&rty=0&r=1&st=1&gallery=0&v=0 unfortunately as the images are only 640 pixels it's a bit difficult to get much detail on them. To me the photos of the 2009 and 2012 birds look remarkably similar to the bird Andy and I photographed this year and those of the 2010 like the bird in Mark's photos and mine and Jim Almond's from last March.

Interesting stuff, going to have to spend a bit of time down there and see if I can get some more photos!

Peter

 

and the bird from last March:

 





Bonaparte's Gulls in Cardiff Bay - 2 bird theory

 Looks like 2 different Bonaparte's Gulls at Cardiff Bay today. 4 of mine from this afternoon above and 3 from Peter Howlett taken this morning below. The dark mark on the outer primaries showing very distinctly on Peter's photos but only a slight trace on the right wing on the bird I saw this afternoon. Both probably returning birds from last year, but certainly worth checking any photos from this year and previous years to see if a clearer picture will emerge.

© P.Howlett

© P. Howell

© P. Howlett

This bird does show a slightly extended hood & wing pattern which the top photos do not. There were two birds present last year on 30th March 2014, when at least 5 different observers saw two together. 

Cardiff Bay Iceland Gull

For the record a sitting and a flight shot of the Iceland Gull I came across at Cardiff Bay on 22nd.

Spring in Spain.

Mike Powell, Phil Bristow, Rich Andrews and I visited Extremadura, Spain, in March. Trip report on the Llynfi valley blog here - http://llynfivalleynature.blogspot.co.uk/p/extremadura-spain.html