29th February - Just fine bread

Since my twelfth I now Peter very well. As schoolboys, we always tried to skip boring hours in classrooms to escape for some birding. We cycled trough rainy Zeeland and into Groningen to get some new species on our lists. Currently, Peter is a busy guy, so we have to plan things.

Busy to import sightings live in the field. Where are the eyes in the field?

We planned a trip to tick some species in Zeeland and to do some birding around. The first species we absolutely wanted to see is the long-staying Gyr Falcon (1w) near Sluiskil. We had been looking for a pattern in the sightings and it seemed that te bird preffered the electricity masts west of Sluiskil. After almost an hour of searching, a car passed with some birders. They told us that the bird was just found in a mast nearby. In the previous hour, we also saw a Merlin (a split second of 'huh?!') and heard singing Mistle Thrushes. After some good lookings, we asked a French man to take a picture of the Falcon and us. The result....

Can you see the Falcon?

Some more pictures of the succesful day.

Corn Buntings, Biervliet. A rare wintering bird in Holland.

Rock Pipit - We spent some time to ID the pipits on a field in Biervliet. This Rock Pipits mantle appeared blueish, so we thought some secs that is was a Water Pipit. But the overall greyish plumage, black bill, buffy and heavily streaked flanks, creamy underparts pointed towards a Rock Pipit. I don't see many of them, since it is a species of the coast.

2cy GBBG, ringed in Norway

Another 2cy GBBG, ringed in Norway

The result of feeding some fine bread in the harbour of Vlissingen

The result of feeding some fine bread in the harbour of Vlissingen

The result of feeding some fine bread in the harbour of Vlissingen

The long-staying Glaucous of Neeltje Jans also wanted some fine bread.

Iceland, Glaucous and Caspian Gulls - interesting feathers

Gulls have never been in the Dutch spotlights as they are right now. Since the influx of Iceland Gulls in Western Europe and the appereance of a possible American Herring (smithsonianus) in our country, Gullfeathers are hot!

Yesterday, Theo and I went to Den Oever, Noord-Holland to visit the candidate third-winter smithsonianus that is present for more than a week now. In this topic the bird is still in debate, but the opinions are a bit turned to the side of: close, but no sigar. Peter Adriaens has been studying a while on this taxon, and made clear that there are some  points against a good smithsonianus:

a. It does have 'straight, horizontal upper borders to the black pattern on both P6 and P7' (citation).
b. It doesn't have solid, black or darkbrown markings in the secondaries or adult-type secondaries.

Only the left wing is adult-type and could be used to interpret the pattern. (Albert de Jong)

In the field, the bird looked rather small. Is it still in the range of third winter smithsonianus or just an argentatus with a pattern we rarely see? If you like to read more about this interesting topic, note these pages on the ORG-site. Or have a look at these pictures.

Also, this giant white one was present in the same harbour.  The ID of this bird is without any doubt a second-winter hyperboreus. I think the Latin name tells something about the bird?

Larus hyperboreus - Glaucous Gull, 2w male (Albert de Jong)

After Den Oever, we visited the harbor Urk to look for the reported adult Glaucous Gull and the second winter Iceland Gull. Only the latter we found, and also four Caspian Gulls (two 1w, one 2w, one ad) and a Yellow-legged Gull. 

Cachinnans and argentatus

Larus cachinnans - Caspian Gull - adult

Larus cachinnans - Caspian Gull -2cy

The Iceland Gull shows brown shadings in the outer primaries. More birds with shadings (but without a dark hockeystick pattern towards the tips and a ghostmirror in p10) in the primaries have been reported and are presumed dark glaucoides rather than pale kumlieni. More about this interesting topic could be found here and on the blog of Chris Gibbins.

Glauco's at the coast

The stormy start of December has bring a lot of Glaucous Larus hyperboreus and Iceland Larus glaucoides Gulls to the Dutch coast. On several places first calendar year birds have been reported. Today I visited two of the staying birds in Zeeland with my friends Ruben and Jorrit Vlot. The twins that are always in for some relaxed birding. we also had a Red-breasted Goose, some Long-tailed Ducks (becoming a more rare species here) a Shag and a Crane on this greyish day.

Iceland Gull Larus glaucoides - Stellendam - 28/12/2011  1cy

Iceland Gull Larus glaucoides - Stellendam - 28/12/2011  1cy