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skuas - Norfolk, UK today (1 Viewer)

postcardcv

postcardcv

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There were a few skuas kicking about off the coast today some at reasonable range. I was happy that most were arctic but another thought on one of them. Attached are a few very dodgy record shots of some of them. What IDs would people put to the skuas pictured below?
 

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Thank you - photos are all huge crops but it was great to spend some time watching them bully passing terns and gulls. There were at least five arctics kicking around. The dark phase one did throw me, it was noticeably smaller than the others and looked different in flight - when flying low (not chasing terns) it was rapid stiff wing beats. I guess smaller size and fairly strong winds may have effected how it appeared in flight.
 
I don't suppose you have any other photos of this dark bird with the Arctic on its case, do you?
 

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I believe that this is the same bird. Out of focus shots either side of that one plus a coupe of others.
 

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Yeah, agreed. Cracking days birding you had there though! Always a great day when you connect with Skuas.
 
The second photo of the four is really instructive, showing the difference in protruding tail feathers- ‘spiky‘ in Arctic, ‘stubby’ in Long-tailed(y)
 
Excellent neck of the woods, cley spy's useful if something breaks too. I'm up in brancaster for a week in october- cant wait!
 
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I'm now totally lost, in the 2nd pic of the four, is there 2 Arctic skuas and a tern or one of each Arctic and Long tailed. Can there be that much difference in size of Arctics
 
tonyfenn said:
I'm now totally lost, in the 2nd pic of the four, is there 2 Arctic skuas and a tern or one of each Arctic and Long tailed. Can there be that much difference in size of Arctics
Click to expand...
The two birds in the second photo are the same as the two in the forth, the photos are from a sequence and were taken within seconds of each other. While watching them these two did seem to be moving together and would harass the same tern.
smiths said:
One can certainly be closer to the camera than the other.
Click to expand...
They appeared to be a very similar distance out as there were both mobbing the same tern at times. I think the apparent size difference is probably down to the angle that they are presenting at.

In the field the second bird in the first set (dark, low over the water) was the one that looked good to me for LT skua. The flight pattern was different to the other skuas that passed through, it seemed stuffer winged with fast down beats. The flight was closer to that of the terns than the other skuas. At the time I though this was the same bird as the dark bird in the shots with two skua but I could not be sure. Overall the plumage was/is very similar but it was not continually on show as it kept dropping onto the sea so I cannot be certain.
 
postcardcv said:
The two birds in the second photo are the same as the two in the forth, the photos are from a sequence and were taken within seconds of each other. While watching them these two did seem to be moving together and would harass the same tern.

They appeared to be a very similar distance out as there were both mobbing the same tern at times. I think the apparent size difference is probably down to the angle that they are presenting at.

In the field the second bird in the first set (dark, low over the water) was the one that looked good to me for LT skua. The flight pattern was different to the other skuas that passed through, it seemed stuffer winged with fast down beats. The flight was closer to that of the terns than the other skuas. At the time I though this was the same bird as the dark bird in the shots with two skua but I could not be sure. Overall the plumage was/is very similar but it was not continually on show as it kept dropping onto the sea so I cannot be certain.
Click to expand...
Thanks
 
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