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Egret sp ? , Wales (1 Viewer)

changer400

changer400

I asked for a car, I got a computer. How's that fo
Hi All

I have no idea how to move threads - but do you want to take a look at a thread in rare Birds and comment - see below.

http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=93204

Having off forum discussion with a mate and we cant pin it down as it 'Appears' to show different Pro's and Cons depending on the photo !

Cheers

Simon.
 
Bare part coloration (such as it's possible to see) and especially the pronounced neck bulge suggest GWE.
 
MSA said:
Bare part coloration (such as it's possible to see) and especially the pronounced neck bulge suggest GWE.
Click to expand...

Pale feet though ??? or Staining - and is the Bill colour too light for this time of year ??? I fear that the neck bulge is not quite enough to rule out Little ??? But I do like the shape of the bill (!) If it is Little its showing both ad and Juv features though ;-) !

Si.
 
I've attached one of the pics below.

I'm not sure that bare part colouration is right - dark bill with contrasting pale lores, dark legs with pale feet? It's hard to see, but can't see how this fits GWE colouration.

Maybe I'm going mad, but just don't get Great White jizz being shouted at me? And shouldn't the neck-bulge be bigger??

Great White is an easy ID - I'm just uncomfortable that I'm having doubts about this bird!!!

Ben
 

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Ben Miller said:
I've attached one of the pics below.

I'm not sure that bare part colouration is right - dark bill with contrasting pale lores, dark legs with pale feet? It's hard to see, but can't see how this fits GWE colouration.

Maybe I'm going mad, but just don't get Great White jizz being shouted at me? And shouldn't the neck-bulge be bigger??

Great White is an easy ID - I'm just uncomfortable that I'm having doubts about this bird!!!

Ben
Click to expand...

See attached

Great White Egret, Essex, Chigborough Lakes EWT 3 8 06 © Sean Nixon

Bulge Seems to be massive and Malar line extending under eye - seems to stop under eye of Wales bird, have no access to Litt at mo - but that seems to be key GWE feature - as Little stops under the eye ( according to all the pics I have looked at ! )
 

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Last edited:
Gape-line rules out Great White...?

Having blown up the photo I originally posted, to me it's clear that the gape-line finishes before, or at least level with, the egret's eye.

On a Great White, the gape-line should project beyond the eye.

After a number of 'subjective' and jizz-based features, this seems to rule out Great White in favour of Little to me.

Ben
 
Ben Miller said:
Having blown up the photo I originally posted, to me it's clear that the gape-line finishes before, or at least level with, the egret's eye.

On a Great White, the gape-line should project beyond the eye.

After a number of 'subjective' and jizz-based features, this seems to rule out Great White in favour of Little to me.

Ben
Click to expand...

Copy Cat ;-)
 
Thanks for starting this thread. B :)

The last time I watched a little egret was down at Ogmore back in January. The bird I watched today appeared to be much larger.
...I'm no expert on this species so I will leave it down to you'll to identify it.
.
Size: The bird appeared to be of similar size to that of a Heron. I immediatley discounted a little egret. 30 secs before the bird came into sight I was watching a buzzard in the same area, at the same height.
I watched the bird fly until it was more than a mile away, below is picture of it at this distance.
The wing beats made a whoosh sound when the bird flew overhead.

The legs/claws appeared black, the beak mostly yellow - sorry the pics are poor.

I don't mind it being a little egret, it did just seem to big to be one tbh.

Photo of it a mile away.
 

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Fountain said:
Thanks for starting this thread. B :)

The last time I watched a little egret was down at Ogmore back in January. The bird I watched today appeared to be much larger.
...I'm no expert on this species so I will leave it down to you'll to identify it.
.
Size: The bird appeared to be of similar size to that of a Heron. I immediatley discounted a little egret. 30 secs before the bird came into sight I was watching a buzzard in the same area, at the same height.
I watched the bird fly until it was more than a mile away, below is picture of it at this distance.
The wing beats made a whoosh sound when the bird flew overhead.

The legs/claws appeared black, the beak mostly yellow - sorry the pics are poor.

I don't mind it being a little egret, it did just seem to big to be one tbh.

Photo of it a mile away.
Click to expand...

Hi Fountain

Unfortunately all we have to go on is the Pictures , which only ever capture a moment of an observation , in other areas we are hotly contesting Swifts and Warblers that the observers are Adamant that the views represented certain species and then the photos are being analysed and people are 'proving' that they are not a given species, so dont assume that just becuase we make judgement calls sitting in our homes and offices that they are correct ! Your 'in field' description would seem to rule out Little, but the pics seem to show a different story ?? I must admit on first views of your Pics , I immediately thought that it was a GWE , its only with prolonged viewing of the pics comaparing them on the web , that I came to the conclusion , uneasily , that it looked for all the world like a Juv Little ???

Please dont assume we have all the answers, at best they are opinions ! ;-)

If you can get down there again , to get some more Pics , that might help !

Cheers

Simon
 
Fountain said:
The legs/claws appeared black, the beak mostly yellow - sorry the pics are poor.
Click to expand...

Hi again Fountain,

Your description sounds good for a Great White, however I'm struggling to reconcile this with your photos. Do you have any that show the yellow on the bill - would like to see them no matter the photo quality!!

Cheers,

Ben
 
Yes , Little egret and confirmed by an experienced birder seen on the shore line 20 mins ago.
I apologise........ thanks all .
 
Fountain said:
Yes , Little egret and confirmed by an experienced birder seen on the shore line 20 mins ago.
I apologise........ thanks all .
Click to expand...

Hi Again

No Apologies needed ! Just glad that we were able to get some discussion going around it. Excellent work on getting the news and pics out though , if it had been a GWE , I am sure that many local birders would be thanking you !

Never be afraid to report a sighting, best we have 300 false alarms, then a mega get away !

All the best

Simon
 
Thanks for those words Simon....... you must know how embarassed I feel atm!!

I didn't have the time this am to do a detailed id search so thought I'd put it out quickly .

I'm told the bird is in non breeding plumage.
 
Fountain said:
Thanks for those words Simon....... you must know how embarassed I feel atm!!

I didn't have the time this am to do a detailed id search so thought I'd put it out quickly .

I'm told the bird is in non breeding plumage.
Click to expand...

Hi Fountain

As I said above , no need to feel embarassed about it , always best to get news out quickly.

Thanks again for the opp. to get back into egret ID ,

Cheers

Si
 
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