Wryneck (1 Viewer)

[PaulCountyDurham]

Alright all,

'Just after a bit of knowledge.

I've advertised the location of a Wryneck and a lad responded to say "bad practice" given it's a schedule 1 bird and it's breeding season. It's not a bird I know a great deal about and didn't realise it's schedule 1. I saw this bird at two locations about half a mile apart, I advertised only one of those locations simply because the other is pretty much inaccessible. The bird was always high up in tree tops, add in the two locations half a mile apart and so the bird could be anywhere 'round that area, and I imagined this was a bird for bird watchers rather than bird photographers: viewable for those wanting to see the bird, but highly unlikely to be in range for a decent picture. I didn't consider disturbance to be a realistic possibility. The lad who posted to say "bad practice" is an ecologist and so clearly knows what he's talking about. I have no arguments with his post and next time I'll read prior to advertising birds that could be schedule 1.

My question for those with experience of Wrynecks, is there a realistic chance that I have caused a problem for the bird here?

 

[JWN Andrewes]

There's a difference between schedule 1 species on passage and those on territory. How well do you know the site? If it's a regular haunt of yours and there's never been any suggestion they're breeding there (which would be a pretty remarkable event) then I can't see the problem.

I had a similar thing happen earlier this year when I was admonished by someone for reporting a Ring Ouzel at a regular passage site. It was fair enough to raise the concern, but anyone who knew the site wouldn't have been bothered.

 

[Farnboro John]

Chances are the bloke's an instinctive suppressor. Ecologists and birders are not the same thing and their expert ecological knowledge does not make them relevant experts in this matter.

We get Wrynecks on passage inland round here occasionally and they are generally put out. If you had two behaving as a pair it would be different and I'm sure you would have acted differently. I also take James's point about those lacking experience of the site (and often of other aspects!) being sometimes inclined to be, shall we say, overcautious (and often disinclined to listen to those with the relevant experience.)

One of the things that raises my eyebrows whenever I read the Rare Breeding Birds Panel's reports is the number of species where a single bird in breeding plumage is taken to mean possible breeding when it's only isolated summering. Red-necked Grebe is one that seems to get multiple mentions for this. You might as well suppress Dalmatian Pelican because it bred in Britain 40,000 years ago.

John

 

[paddyluke]

Alright all,

'Just after a bit of knowledge.

I've advertised the location of a Wryneck and a lad responded to say "bad practice" given it's a schedule 1 bird and it's breeding season. It's not a bird I know a great deal about and didn't realise it's schedule 1. I saw this bird at two locations about half a mile apart, I advertised only one of those locations simply because the other is pretty much inaccessible. The bird was always high up in tree tops, add in the two locations half a mile apart and so the bird could be anywhere 'round that area, and I imagined this was a bird for bird watchers rather than bird photographers: viewable for those wanting to see the bird, but highly unlikely to be in range for a decent picture. I didn't consider disturbance to be a realistic possibility. The lad who posted to say "bad practice" is an ecologist and so clearly knows what he's talking about. I have no arguments with his post and next time I'll read prior to advertising birds that could be schedule 1.

My question for those with experience of Wrynecks, is there a realistic chance that I have caused a problem for the bird here?

don't worry about it, the lad is probably one of those "do as i say not as i do" type of person, you will meet plenty of them in the birding world

 

[PaulCountyDurham]

There's a difference between schedule 1 species on passage and those on territory. How well do you know the site? If it's a regular haunt of yours and there's never been any suggestion they're breeding there (which would be a pretty remarkable event) then I can't see the problem.

I had a similar thing happen earlier this year when I was admonished by someone for reporting a Ring Ouzel at a regular passage site. It was fair enough to raise the concern, but anyone who knew the site wouldn't have been bothered.

'Don't know the site at all. It's in North Yorkshire, I only went down there to photograph Whinchats and later in the day 'found an interesting spot where there was a nice selection of birds knocking around and so sat around for a while to see what happened. Went back the next two weekends. The thing is I was much more interested in getting a picture of one of the Tree Pipits knocking around than the Wryneck calling in the tree for a few hours or so. I've seen birds that I wouldn't have seen without people mentioning them and so I felt it was only fair to report something that other people would like to see.

 

[paddyluke]

i'm pretty sure there's a few put up here on the "RARE BIRD INFORMATION"

​

​

 

[PaulCountyDurham]

i'm pretty sure there's a few put up here on the "RARE BIRD INFORMATION"

​

​

Well, there's absolutely no way on earth that I'm the first person to see that bird in that location. I only went down three times and each time I heard him. The third time he was calling from 7.30am til around 10am, possibly later, when I moved on. The local bird watchers must know that bird is there.