U.K birds that are common on the mainland but very uncommon/ rare on our islands. . (1 Viewer)

[Stephen Dunstan]

What escapes/ presumed escapes have the Isles had? Do they also get many dodgy wildfowl?

They certainly get some. There was a Red-breasted Goose on Fair Isle that was more or less being hand fed. A Bar-headed Goose kicked around Shetland a couple of years back. There are two Snow Geese from a German zoo that have toured the Northern Isles and were still on Foula a couple of weeks back.

 

[Mono]

Not to deflect the thread further. There is a good paper on the origins of the parakeets in London by ZSL.

https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jzo.12753

 

[William Lewis]

Magpies are an interesting one, I flew for ages to South Korea a few years back and landed expecting to see a few different birds but the first thing I saw were tons of magpies! Dippers aren't as far as I'm aware round here in Hertfordshire, wrong terrain I think.

Maybe it's migration, sedentary species probably aren't all that comfortable winging it over the sea, long distance migrants far more so so maybe there's a correlation in frequency on islands and migration/ range?

 

[Sangahyando]

Magpies are an interesting one, I flew for ages to South Korea a few years back and landed expecting to see a few different birds but the first thing I saw were tons of magpies! Dippers aren't as far as I'm aware round here in Hertfordshire, wrong terrain I think.

Maybe it's migration, sedentary species probably aren't all that comfortable winging it over the sea, long distance migrants far more so so maybe there's a correlation in frequency on islands and migration/ range?

The East Asian magpies found in Korea are counted as a separate species nowadays though (at least by some authorities), so it's still something.

 

[Monahawk]

I think Great Spotted Woodpeckers are now breeding in Ireland gaining a toehold, but very small numbers.

Have been breeding in Ireland since around 2007. Numbers are steadily increasing and there have been sightings in most counties. Co. Wicklow is where most breed as there is more sufficient tree cover there than any other county. In my county Monaghan there are small established populations and they have been breeding here since 2013. Prior to the G S Woodpeckers establishing themselves here, the treecreeper was often referred to as the Irish Woodpecker!
Nuthatch stands out as a common resident in England and Wales but has never been recorded here. May be one day?

Si.

 

[Jefrs]

Magpies are an interesting one, I flew for ages to South Korea a few years back and landed expecting to see a few different birds but the first thing I saw were tons of magpies! Dippers aren't as far as I'm aware round here in Hertfordshire, wrong terrain I think.

Maybe it's migration, sedentary species probably aren't all that comfortable winging it over the sea, long distance migrants far more so so maybe there's a correlation in frequency on islands and migration/ range?

Dippers are not particularly shy and are fairly easy to find in North Wales. Fast flowing rocky streams. Yeah, devoid from south of England.

 

[chowchilla]

Here on Scilly, the generally, or entirely, absent list of otherwise common mainland birds is a long one:

Others have mentioned Magpie; also Green woodpecker - I hesitate to include Great-spotted, because we've had several this year, including one that bounced along in front of me at the Higher Moors. They're more of a scarce visitor I think.

We also have no Jays, Coal Tits, Yellowhammers, only the occasional Reed Bunting; Dabchick caused a mini-twitch earlier this year; no Great-crested Grebe; no regular owl species, though a Long-eared Owl or two typically overwinter; Jackdaw is an occasional visitor only (I've had just the one in 9 months); likewise Hooded Crow; Red Kite is also an occasional visitor - there have been a couple of birds this year, both of which I've missed, and the numbers sometimes found in Cornwall do make their absence something of an abiding mystery.

There are also some weird population dynamics: Mediterranean Gulls are more common here than Black-headed Gulls; Sandwich Terns are common in summer, but Common and other terns remain scarce, or entirely absent; Eurasian Shag comfortably outnumber Cormorants, though perhaps that one does at least make sense with the preponderance of rocky islets; and Great-Northern Divers remain common, whilst other divers remain very scarce.

 

[Farnboro John]

Here on Scilly, the generally, or entirely, absent list of otherwise common mainland birds is a long one:

Others have mentioned Magpie; also Green woodpecker - I hesitate to include Great-spotted, because we've had several this year, including one that bounced along in front of me at the Higher Moors. They're more of a scarce visitor I think.

We also have no Jays, Coal Tits, Yellowhammers, only the occasional Reed Bunting; Dabchick caused a mini-twitch earlier this year; no Great-crested Grebe; no regular owl species, though a Long-eared Owl or two typically overwinter; Jackdaw is an occasional visitor only (I've had just the one in 9 months); likewise Hooded Crow; Red Kite is also an occasional visitor - there have been a couple of birds this year, both of which I've missed, and the numbers sometimes found in Cornwall do make their absence something of an abiding mystery.

There are also some weird population dynamics: Mediterranean Gulls are more common here than Black-headed Gulls; Sandwich Terns are common in summer, but Common and other terns remain scarce, or entirely absent; Eurasian Shag comfortably outnumber Cormorants, though perhaps that one does at least make sense with the preponderance of rocky islets; and Great-Northern Divers remain common, whilst other divers remain very scarce.

What's the Long-tailed Tit situation like these days, I'm sure I remember running for them on Scilly?

John

 

[chowchilla]

What's the Long-tailed Tit situation like these days, I'm sure I remember running for them on Scilly?

John

Not seen any since I've been here, unless I hallucinated a few over on Tresco. Nope, pretty sure they're not on my list. Forgot to add them to the post!