Recent content by WelchS

Problem is finding the relevant info there amongst thousands of posts (including some from Nick at Portland) yahoogroup search is also slow and tedious at best of times, anyway I dug out one summary by Dave https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/vismig/conversations/messages/13893 Early on there...

Some quite detailed re-orderings there in plovers, sylvias, buntings, illustrated in attached - so Corn Bunting will no longer be the last entry on ordinary birders lists...

I need to clarify what I wrote in last - my concern is not to debate species orders per se, I am more than happy that the experts do that, what I'm talking about is their implementation in publications, like bird reports and the current raft of local atlases here - for example while the BTO's...

Personally I'd like to see what BTO will do - their stated position is they follow BOU so presumably they will again change to a new order? I appreciate the main interest of this forum is taxonomies per se, and resulting splits, but to me as bird recorder one of my prime concerns is species...

Thanks for that info Richard, useful to see. As a novice here I expect there is another significant practical ramification looming in that the taxonomic orders differ between each of these, thus we will likely have yet another re-ordering? Not sure how much these vary though without delving...

Very late response from me on this, but I needed to revisit data from 2013 census which was included in LBR (now in press I hope!). Anyway, that was the year of the BTO Woodcock Survey and despite having few squares done for that we made a big effort for the final summer of the local atlas - I...

Apparently now recaught at Burntisland in Fife, had also been seen Bathgate Hills, Sheriffhall roundabout and North Berwick (per BBC article) Odd though, as the photos used for the Fife report have no ring on left leg whereas there is no doubt the Lothian bird had one, I've done an image...

There are a few errors in BTO atlas (we're making a list) but this is genuine, see LBRC accepted records for details of this and similar, 29/4/09, seen by Bruce Kerr, and based on (national map) presumably a wanderer from Borders. The last before that was in Haddington in 1998, regular records...

Not a Brewer's Blackbird A relevant thread on rarebirds: http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=304530 Also here on facebook c/o the zoo: https://www.facebook.com/fivesisterszoo/photos/a.199309063433052.46195.199305660100059/934140056616612/?type=1&theater Interesting to note further...

Very few records of any sort. In atlas just two records in Edinburgh, one of which was Blackford Hill NT27K 21/5/10. Prior to that, just for Hermitage, all records since 1991 are: 26/05/2002 one 01/01/1998 ads seen, prob bred 28/05/1994 one 01/01/1993 none for 1st season 24/06/1992 pr...

Nearly, amongst BirdTrack records one Keith Marischal 9 May, may be others not submitted yet. Nevertheless a very good find in Edinburgh...

Actually, those gains all occurred between the first two atlases, i.e. 1968 to 1988, many were lost again since. So a significant decline in recent years. Worth noting that the 2007-13 Bird Atlas does also include some comments on possible reasons, citing paper by Langston et al (2006) -...

This is a notable record, made more interesting by the singing. After visits to all tetrads in SE Scotland over the 6 years of atlas we only had a single record in Lothian with a breeding code, Mark's pair on Carnethy Hill NT26A on 14/5/10. A couple more P codes in Borders NT43E (25/7/08)...

Good pic, a messy business! Do you mean the Quartermile site, old Royal Infirmary? By coincidence I was on a site visit to the Royal Edinburgh Hospital extension in Morningside a couple of weeks ago and just about the only bird on the site was a "well marked" Hoodie hybrid. Some are very site...

Very unlikely unfortunately! Agreed clearly marked but not very striking though the light is poor - there is some pale at least in undertail but that needs a better view/photo. NB - quite a number of the resident birds are indeed very Hoodie like but always given away by some dark in...