2nd bird as promised
I'd agree with the consensus of Mealy. A very pale bird; we saw one or two 'frosty' birds last winter during a good turnover on the farnes, but none so uniform as this. However, as Wolfbirder says, the shade of red seems to be a good pointer for ID (any links to info on this feature? I've never read about it, but a search of google images reveals no Arctic Redpolls with as deep a shade of red to the breast, but lots of Mealies) I'm pretty sure I can see one, and possibly two, decent sized UTC's on this bird also.
A classic adult male flammea Mealy here. Wine throat and breast, streaking on flanks and mantle and scapular tone are all as one would expect. The slight smudge on the wingbar is a strong indication of flammea, exiples show a uniform, snow white wingbar. Arctic exiples is a very pale bird, with litle or no flank steaking ans a light rosy pink flush on the breast...
Even sub adult males have little or no flank steaking, link here to such a bird...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/alandalton/3341612849/in/set-72157615034965854/
Hope this helps. Keep looking, as long as Mealies are around there is a good chance of an Arctic among them...
Hi Buzzard12, you are proably right it is mealy. But I don't think that Coues are as straightforward regards mantle colour/wingbar/flank streaking as you say mate, thats just my view. Certainly I think the Arctic you highlight is not Coues is it? The Coues we have been getting this year in the uk have flank streaking and some have darker mantles.
I originally posted this bird as it was so white. Can Mealy be as white as this??Consensus on here would say yes, and I would love it to be arctic, but didn't get rump view.
Redpoll 1 is being underestimated. In the field it had UTC ..very clean.My learning curve with these birds is trackable this winter...started trying to get mealy from lesser...but I have learnt a lot..thanks to all the comments on previous posts.
I think i'm now at Mealy vs arctic.
This bird was very pale, there were lots of mealys around(sorry,back to bird 2 now)...and it was strikingly white/grey and different to rest of mealys.Maybe just variation..but...??
I don't know is my best response...will keep trying...getting all the views necessary as a single observer is a 'mare.
Been on lots of blogs where arctic called by single observers, which seems different to the response in yorkshire.
I'm not questioning anyone..and i'm not claiming these as arctic....Wondering if any could be..and if not, why not.
Fab response..but each time I read pro vs against...i feel no further on.I'm back at the site tomorrow....heres hoping I nail a beauty!!
Paul
Hi Buzzard12, you are proably right it is mealy. But I don't think that Coues are as straightforward regards mantle colour/wingbar/flank streaking as you say mate, thats just my view. Certainly I think the Arctic you highlight is not Coues is it? The Coues we have been getting this year in the uk have flank streaking and some have darker mantles.
Coues's, or Exsillipes Arctic Redpoll are often far from straightforward, particularily in first winter, which I believe account for most of the birds seen in the uk this winter to date. The bird I highlighted is a first winter Coues's, the bird photographed here in Sweden. First winter birds of both sexes display flank streaking and darker upperparts. Adult birds of both sexes appear more pallid still, adult females with reduced and occasionally no flank streaking, particularily older birds. Adult males are palest and usually clean white on the flanks, with a clean rosy pink flushed breast...
Here is a link to a bird from my blog from a couple of winters ago in Stockholm, thought to have been a second winter male...in addition to my photos there is a link to some good video footage of the bird at the bottom of the post..
http://blogbirder.blogspot.com/2010/01/arctic-redpoll-barkarby-4th-january.html
Another bird from last month, perhaps adult female or a sub adult male, a pale bird..
http://blogbirder.blogspot.com/2011/01/coues-arctic-redpoll-barnangen-17th.html
For comparison, some older digiscoped images of Mealy Redpoll, first winters and adult males...
http://blogbirder.blogspot.com/2007/01/mealy-redpolls-landsort-8th-january.html
Recent shots of Meally Redpoll, 1st Winters, Better quality images..
http://blogbirder.blogspot.com/2010/10/common-redpolls-norra-jarvafaltet-26th.html
Excellent stuff and some great links and images, certainly I can see that the pink on the face of the subject bird would appear to indeed clarify i/d. I just wonder if the subject bird would look even paler/ fluffed up if photographed in cold snowy conditions? The bill is certainly no greater than that of the bird you photographed so well with Twite.
I might be teaching Granny to suck eggs here Wolfbirder so apologies if I am but Arctic Redpoll has to be id'd on a suite of features with more weight on some than others. All the features can be found on some Mealies but a Mealy wouldn't show more than one or two features.
So this current bird has a nice pale back and plain ear coverts which are pro Arctic. I think we might be into semantics with the underpart colouring. I describe it as pink with red coming through on the throat and upper breast, I believe you are just describing it as pink. The accurate description of this is important as Arctic would not show red. This is why I think the bird is a non starter as an Arctic.
The other bird Paul put up Redpoll 1 however is a very different proposition. This bird arguably has much more going for it as an Arctic it's just that the pics don't quite show enough to convince a records committee (my opinion as I can't speak for the other members of the YNU panel).
G