Bird Mastermind Round 8

[Jane Turner]

Here we go again.

the 4 main ones

[Jane Turner]

and the tie breaker...twice to prove the first wasn't a fluke

[Andrew Whitehouse]

I'll work on 1, 2 and the tiebreaker.

3) Egyptian Vulture
4) Slender-billed Gull

[Jane Turner]

You should see the photo I just unearthed.. It another Woollies window job!

[Brendan T]

Not the easiest first ever post, but here's my effort:
1. ??
2. Caspian Tern
3. Short-toed Eagle
4. Slender-billed Gull
5. ??????
6. Common Scoter?

[satrow]

1, Bluethroat
2, Lesser-crested Tern
3, Black Kite
4, Slender-billed Gull
5+6 Black-necked Grebe

Andy.

[Andrew Whitehouse]

In addition to earlier:

1) Tree Pipit
2) Sandwich Tern at the back, Med Gull in front

Still don't know about the tiebreaker. Is it a bird? Is that a pair of evil looking eyes staring out in the 2nd picture?

[Michael Frankis]

1 Meadow Pipit
2 Little Gull (2 x early first-summer)
3 Black Kite
4 Black-headed Gull (methinks too much black ear spot for Slender-billed Gull)
5/6 Portuguese Man'o'war Jellyfish . . . nah, let's make a wild guess at Tufted Duck, bathing.

Michael

[Jane Turner]

Of the mains... 2 is the best so far.

[Michael Frankis]

Is this all at least potentially West Palaearctic?

[Michael Frankis]

Another try . . .

1 Dunnock
2 Little Gulls
3 Red Kite
4 Black-headed Gull

[Andrew Whitehouse]

Okay:

1) Meadow Pipit
2) Both Med Gulls
3) Intriguingly, an immature Lammergeier
4) Black-headed Gull

[digi-birder]

Not the easiest first ever post, but here's my effort:
1. ??
2. Caspian Tern
3. Short-toed Eagle
4. Slender-billed Gull
5. ??????
6. Common Scoter?


Brendan,

On behalf of admin and all the moderators, a very warm welcome to Bird Forum.

I agree your first post is something of a baptism of fire, but I couldn't even begin to guess whether or not you're correct! Some of these quizzes are well beyond my expertise, but it's a learning curve for all of us and I do enjoy these teasers.

We look forward to hearing more about the area in which you live and the birds you see. Why not say hello formally, telling us a bit about yourself, in the 'Say Hello' forum.

[Adey Baker]

Bluethroat
Sandwich Tern
Red Kite
Slender-billed Gull
Slavonian Grebe

Jane, you're tempting to make me sort out some of my old slides which will make yours look much better in comparison!

Adey

[Joern Lehmhus]

I go for

1. Bluethroat in a poplar tree
2.Common tern
3.Black kite
4. Blackheaded gull
5/6 Tufted duck

[Jane Turner]

All bar one are WP breeders. The otehr is a vagrant.

Still no one better than 2

[tom mckinney]

1 Bluethroat
2 rear 1w Sandwich, front 1w Common Tern
3 Red Kite
4 BH Gull
5 Tufted Duck
6 GC Grebe

Thanks Jane for making my sunday at work pass so much quicker (if somewhat more frustratingly so at times!!!)

[tom mckinney]

Just read that one is a vagrant. So I'll say no 2. Royal Terns. Never seen one but I know they are biggish, white, have black heads and hang about on beaches in America. The water looks distinctly American to me so therefore they have to be Royal Terns...

[Jane Turner]

5 and 6 are the same bird.. and one of your answers is correct to genus!

Still no one better than 2

[Jane Turner]

The tree is correctly identified Joerr!

[Jane Turner]

Michael, your first try has more correct than your second!

[Jane Turner]

All birds have been named to genus... but only two to species.... by anyone

[Michael Frankis]

So either Meadow Pipit or Black Kite is correct.

[Michael Frankis]

One vagrant . . . how about Bonaparte's Gull for #2?

[tom mckinney]

1 Tree Pipit
2 Royal Terns
3 Black Kite
4 BH Gull
5+6 BN Grebe

[Jane Turner]

Still no one better than 2.

Clue time.. Number 2 was in a flock. every one of them was instantly identifiable apart from this one.

[Highway Man]

1. Bluethroat
2. Sandwich Tern
3. Marsh Harrier
4. Bonaparte's Gull

I'll have a better look at the tie breaker.

Mark

[Jane Turner]

All but one of the birds have now been named correctly

[Michael Frankis]

Clue time.. Number 2 was in a flock. every one of them was instantly identifiable apart from this one.
So is it the back centre bird, or the right-hand front bird, that the quiz applies to?

[Jane Turner]

Both birds in pic 2 are the same species.... one is a juv and the other an adult.

Primaries on the back bird are distinctive... the right bird is not all in the pic

[satrow]

1, Meadow Pipit,
2, Royal Tern,
3, Black Kite,
4, Slender-billed Gull,
5, Horned (Slavonian) Grebe?

Andy.

[Jane Turner]

Still two correct..and two to genus

[Michael Frankis]

Ad & juv . . . hmmm . . . Black Tern?

[Jane Turner]

What part of the back bird can't you see...and if you could you would ID it instantly?

[Andrew Whitehouse]

Gull-billed Tern for number 2

[Jane Turner]

Still no one has topped two correct, though I'm getting little confused on countback

[Jane Turner]

Round 9 is ready btw! Its a Woollies window (figuratively) job!

[Andrew Whitehouse]

1) Meadow Pipit
2) Gull-billed Tern
3) Marsh Harrier
4) Bonaparte's Gull

[Jane Turner]

Still two :) but by logic you must be closing in. Big clue... no one has named 2 yet, though the genus is pretty much agreed on

[jtibbetts]

1: Bluethroat
2: Roseate Tern?
3: Marsh Harrier
4: Slender billed Gull
5,6: Ring necked Duck?

[Jane Turner]

still no one has better than 2 right...

Close on 5/6 though

[Brendan T]

1. Bluethroat
2. Crested Tern?
3. Marsh Harrier
4. Slender-billed Gull
5/6. Scaup?

[Jane Turner]

Brendan... you have named a species that has previously not been named correctly!

[Harry Hussey]

1)Buff-bellied Pipit?
2)Caspian Tern
3)Black Kite
4)Black-headed Gull
5/6)Scaup
Harry H

[Jane Turner]

All species have been correctly named and I was wrong about no-one getting 2... sorry chaps!

[Jane Turner]

Three Harry!

[Brendan T]

Some tactical changes:
1. Meadow Pipit
2. Caspian Tern
3. Marsh Harrier
4. BH Gull
5/6 Scaup

[Jane Turner]

Also 3 correct Brendan

[Brendan T]

OK, final crack:
1. Meadow Pipit
2. Caspian Tern
3. Black Kite
4. Slender-billed Gull
5/6 Scaup

[Highway Man]

1 Bluethroat
2 Caspian Tern
3 Marsh Harrier
4 Black-headed Gull
5 Scaup

Mark

[Jane Turner]

Brendan has made it to 4/5

Mark..its 2/5

[Highway Man]

Brendan has made it to 4/5

Mark..its 2/5

I give up Jane. Come on put us out of our misery. I'm sure that everyone guessing now, I certainly am!

[Brendan T]

4 is baffling me now!
I'm deducing that it's neither BH nor Slender-billed.

[Brendan T]

Bonaparte's??????

[Jane Turner]

House!

1. A really bad shot of a Meadow Pipit in Poplars!

2. Caspian Tern. one of a substantial flock, but the only one to be hiding its honking great bill. The black underside to the primaries is the most useful feature visible

3. Black Kite. In tail moult, taken in a huge passage over Atlanterra, SW Spain.

4. Bonaparte's Gull, Salton Sea, US...barely airworthy in heavy moult

5. Scaup, the same bird as in an earlier quiz. I took 5 pics of this bird and 4 it either dived or flapped its wings.

[Highway Man]

DOH!!

Well done Brendan.

Thanks for the answers this evening Jane, I'll sleep now. I can't believe how much that pipit looks like a Bluethroat.

Mark

[Jane Turner]

Me neither,.. that's why I used it!

9 is up now.... I'll wait till there are at least 4 guesses before I say anything....

[Andrew Whitehouse]

Oh, looks like you've all finished whilst I was out - good quiz again Jane.

[Jane Turner]

I will run out of dodgy pics eventually...... though I am working out ways of obscuring pics to give partial views of better photos, not that I have many of the latter. When faced with a good bird my first reaction is to put the camera down and watch it!