BirdForum is the net's largest birding community dedicated to wild birds and birding, and is absolutely FREE!

Register for an account to take part in lively discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="ColinD" data-source="post: 1586802" data-attributes="member: 55409">As long as you can rule out House Martin, I'd tick it. The only other bird you need worry about is Storm Petrel. Did you notice any white on the underwing, did it have a pale bar on the upperwing? That would clinch it either way.Lot's of birders tick things which they are not 100% certain about and don't even admit it to themselves. Most birders who visit Merseyside in September looking for Leach's Petrel, get a poor view of a small black bird with a white rump and tick it as Leach's. Yet so far this month there have been Leach's, Storm and even Wilson's in the Mersey / Dee. Yes I know that structually Leach's is quite different to the other two, but most ordinary birders don't even notice that. They've gone looking for Leach's, and when they see a black bird with a white rump, they tick it as Leach's. So how is your sighting any different?The vast majority of ordinary birders tick birds on the balance of probability. They might be more certain of an identification than you are, but they're still not 100% certain.</blockquote>