Docmartin
Thought Police
British Birds June 2015
The June issue of British Birds is now out.
BB eye
Birds, conservation and our planet – the bigger picture Patricia Zurita
Alder Flycatcher in Cornwall: new to Britain
The discovery of an Empidonax flycatcher at Nanjizal, Cornwall, on 8th October 2008 is described. This bird, and a subsequent ‘empid’, at Blakeney Point in Norfolk on 25th–27th September 2010, generated considerable discussion. In both cases, identification lay between Alder and Willow Flycatchers, considered to be two of the most challenging North American species to separate. The Nanjizal bird was trapped and all the biometric data fitted Alder while some characters were outside the published range of Willow Flycatcher. The bird in Cornwall was eventually accepted as the first Alder Flycatcher for Britain.
Alder Flycatcher in Norfolk: second for Britain
An Alder Flycatcher at Blakeney Point, in Norfolk, in September 2010, turned up two years after the first British record of this species, in Cornwall. The Norfolk bird was accepted as the second for Britain and this short paper describes the record.
Unfamiliar plumage types of Fulmars in the North Atlantic
Bob Flood and Hein van Grouw investigate records of three unfamiliar plumage types of the Fulmar in the North Atlantic: extra pale, extra dark and those with a dark distal tail-band. The possible explanations for each case include aberrant or variant ‘Atlantic Fulmar’, previously unrecorded morphs of Atlantic Fulmar and vagrant ‘Pacific Fulmar’.
Predation of Rose-ringed Parakeets by raptors and owls in Inner London
Regular observations in central London have revealed that Rose-ringed Parakeets are being taken by Tawny Owls and some raptors, notably Hobby, Peregrine Falcon and Eurasian Sparrowhawk.
Notes
Sibling Ospreys wintering at the same site; first-calendar-year Mediterranean Gulls with full black hoods and bright bare parts; Song Thrush eating Common Frog.
Book reviews, recent reports and news & comment complete the June issue.
For more details, and to see a recent issue of the magazine, visit our website at www.britishbirds.co.uk
The June issue of British Birds is now out.
BB eye
Birds, conservation and our planet – the bigger picture Patricia Zurita
Alder Flycatcher in Cornwall: new to Britain
The discovery of an Empidonax flycatcher at Nanjizal, Cornwall, on 8th October 2008 is described. This bird, and a subsequent ‘empid’, at Blakeney Point in Norfolk on 25th–27th September 2010, generated considerable discussion. In both cases, identification lay between Alder and Willow Flycatchers, considered to be two of the most challenging North American species to separate. The Nanjizal bird was trapped and all the biometric data fitted Alder while some characters were outside the published range of Willow Flycatcher. The bird in Cornwall was eventually accepted as the first Alder Flycatcher for Britain.
Alder Flycatcher in Norfolk: second for Britain
An Alder Flycatcher at Blakeney Point, in Norfolk, in September 2010, turned up two years after the first British record of this species, in Cornwall. The Norfolk bird was accepted as the second for Britain and this short paper describes the record.
Unfamiliar plumage types of Fulmars in the North Atlantic
Bob Flood and Hein van Grouw investigate records of three unfamiliar plumage types of the Fulmar in the North Atlantic: extra pale, extra dark and those with a dark distal tail-band. The possible explanations for each case include aberrant or variant ‘Atlantic Fulmar’, previously unrecorded morphs of Atlantic Fulmar and vagrant ‘Pacific Fulmar’.
Predation of Rose-ringed Parakeets by raptors and owls in Inner London
Regular observations in central London have revealed that Rose-ringed Parakeets are being taken by Tawny Owls and some raptors, notably Hobby, Peregrine Falcon and Eurasian Sparrowhawk.
Notes
Sibling Ospreys wintering at the same site; first-calendar-year Mediterranean Gulls with full black hoods and bright bare parts; Song Thrush eating Common Frog.
Book reviews, recent reports and news & comment complete the June issue.
For more details, and to see a recent issue of the magazine, visit our website at www.britishbirds.co.uk
