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Bird ID help/confirmation northern Spain (1 Viewer)

thomasclark1985

Well-known member
Hi,

I could do with some help/confirmation on these. First of all, they are not the best quality pics. They were taken in Somiedo & Picos de Europa.

1) Juvenile Dunnock (Hoping for Alpine Acentor, but I think I might be pushing my luck a bit too far!)

2) Serin.

3) A very long distance shot of a what I think is a Sandwich Tern, it was a fair few miles out to sea off of Santander. I'm not expecting much from this terrible shot!

4 + 5) Are these both female Pied Flycatchers?

Many thanks,

Tom
 

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Unsure of the tern species, I just cannot get enough on the photo to confirm your thought.
Agree with the others, though Autumn Pied Flycatchers can be tricky. You need prolonged good views or a good set of images to distinguish age and sex.
 
Birds of prey

6) Hobby?

7 + 8) Sparrowhawk?

9 + 10) I have almost no experience with harriers, but I'll take a shot at a dark female Montagu's?

Many thanks,

Tom
 

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Unsure of the tern species, I just cannot get enough on the photo to confirm your thought.
Agree with the others, though Autumn Pied Flycatchers can be tricky. You need prolonged good views or a good set of images to distinguish age and sex.

Thanks Pyrtle, I didn't know that about Flycatchers I'll pay much more attention next time, and try to get better shots rather than just presuming they are all females! It did stump me when I was there, thinking "where are the males???".

Cheers
 
Thanks Tom. There had been a Kestrel about, so you might be right, I just didn’t get that impression when watching the bird. It was all a bit of a panic when I took the photo, I went from just having seen a single Griffon Vulture in a few hours of walking, to all of a sudden there being Short-toed, Golden Eagle, Kestrel, Montagu’s, Sparrowhawk and what I thought might be a hobby, all within 2 minutes!

Tom
 
Thanks Tom. There had been a Kestrel about, so you might be right, I just didn’t get that impression when watching the bird. It was all a bit of a panic when I took the photo, I went from just having seen a single Griffon Vulture in a few hours of walking, to all of a sudden there being Short-toed, Golden Eagle, Kestrel, Montagu’s, Sparrowhawk and what I thought might be a hobby, all within 2 minutes!

Tom

:eek!::eek!::eek!::eek!::eek!::eek!::eek!::eek!::eek!::eek!::eek!:


You saw ALL those raptors in a span of two minutes??! WOW!! I'd consider myself very lucky if I saw all of those in the same calendar year! Congrats :)
 
:eek!::eek!::eek!::eek!::eek!::eek!::eek!::eek!::eek!::eek!::eek!:


You saw ALL those raptors in a span of two minutes??! WOW!! I'd consider myself very lucky if I saw all of those in the same calendar year! Congrats :)

Thanks, yes it was a manic few minutes - compared to the previous few hours. Unfortunately we were in a rush as well, and there were birds of prey popping up all over the place, compared to my 1 buzzard a day I get in the UK! I was a bit gutted I had to leave!
 
The tern, IMO, is Gull-Billed.
The Montagu's looks like one (count the primary tips in 1st pic?) But i'd like to think about that more.
The 2nd pic, with full crop, reminds me of Marsh H. There's moult detail in the spread wing, and a pale leading edge to wing arm? Think there's enough for somebody here...
Pretty sure about the GBT id though! ;)
 
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Phil,
Can I recap please. Does your post suggest photo 9 is a Montague's and 10 is a Marsh Harrier?
Thanks.
 
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I’m not sure, is the honest answer. There were lots of birds of prey within a short period, and these 2 photos were next to each other in the camera timeline, so I assumed they were. But taking a closer look, I think they may not be. Sorry that’s not much help.

Tom
 
I’m not sure, is the honest answer. There were lots of birds of prey within a short period, and these 2 photos were next to each other in the camera timeline, so I assumed they were. But taking a closer look, I think they may not be. Sorry that’s not much help.

Tom

on both pics you can see 4-5 juvenile (brownish in second pic) and all dark moulted inner primaries, that surely must be the same bird
 
I do think images 9 and 10 are different birds and species. 9 has the outline and profile of a Montague's whereas 10 has a wider hand, inner wing and shorter tail together with a more uniform overall colouring. The latter also displays a broader upper wing panel, consistent with Marsh.
However, the original poster does not recall seeing Marsh Harrier nor much experience with harriers. Certainly possible that both species could have been encountered.
 
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on both pics you can see 4-5 juvenile (brownish in second pic) and all dark moulted inner primaries, that surely must be the same bird

I thought it was when I uploaded the photos from my camera, and from my memory of the day. But when being questioned, I’ll edge on the side of caution and say I can’t be 100% on it.

Thanks everyone.
 
Phil,
Can I recap please. Does your post suggest photo 9 is a Montague's and 10 is a Marsh Harrier?
Thanks.

They look very much that way to me IMHO. Although, if you squint in the right way? Pic 9 is spot-on for a Nightjar. :-O

PS I think the "Sun-Angle" has created those white bands on the wings and tail. And made the rest look dark at the same time...
 
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