UK- Wiltshire- Fovant- January- Eurasian or Short-toed Treecreeper (1 Viewer)

[SpectrumRanger]

Hello 👋🏻 This is my first post so any tips gladly received.

This little one is in my garden (January 2024). I’ve tried to work out which one it is but can’t be certain. I have more photos and video. Help please?

 

[Bewick]

Shorter bill, uneven steps (wing bar) and a bright white underside. So eurasian treecreeper in my opinion. + We do not get S.T.T in the UK (apart from vagrants).

 

[mummymonkey]

Great pictures btw. The little blighters are hard to photograph!

 

[SpectrumRanger]

Great pictures btw. The little blighters are hard to photograph!

Thanks a lot! I took so many and got lucky with a few 😆

 

[SpectrumRanger]

Shorter bill, uneven steps (wing bar) and a bright white underside. So eurasian treecreeper in my opinion. + We do not get S.T.T in the UK (apart from vagrants).

Thank you. We pick up both Eurasian and Short-toed here so I wasn’t sure. I appreciate your help.

 

[Swindon Addick]

Short-toed would be something of a mega in Wiltshire as we're so far from the east coast. It's also a bit early in the year for a species that basically only shows up when one gets lost on a spring migration.

 

[SpectrumRanger]

Short-toed would be something of a mega in Wiltshire as we're so far from the east coast. It's also a bit early in the year for a species that basically only shows up when one gets lost on a spring migration.

Ah ok, thank you. My Merlin app regularly picks them up. I take it that will be a blip then. I’ll have to listen to the recordings and compare. Thanks for the info.

 

[Butty]

My Merlin app...

Merlin can give you ideas and can encourage you to think again. It doesn't identify anything.

 

[dantheman]

If the location is set correctly, surely this kind of thing is a major glitch in Merlin coding/parameters which they could/should easily solve?

Having a very rare vagrant (unknown in the area) as a standard must be plain wrong.

ST Treecreeper - call in Collins is described as a clear, Coal Tit like 'Tuuit' ... perhaps that is what it has been picking up, or a Great Tit variant call.

 

[Owene]

Mine gives Iberian chiffchaff very regularly (with western palearctic pack on) But I often just leave it recording while it’s in my pocket so I’m still amazed it even gets that close.

 

[dantheman]

Mine gives Iberian chiffchaff very regularly (with western palearctic pack on) But I often just leave it recording while it’s in my pocket so I’m still amazed it even gets that close.

Ah, so it's not set to 'the UK'.

That must be confusing/bad all round ...

(Great Tit?)

 

[RichieTwitchy]

If the location is set correctly, surely this kind of thing is a major glitch in Merlin coding/parameters which they could/should easily solve?

Having a very rare vagrant (unknown in the area) as a standard must be plain wrong.

ST Treecreeper - call in Collins is described as a clear, Coal Tit like 'Tuuit' ... perhaps that is what it has been picking up, or a Great Tit variant call.

Yes that's true, but as Butty refers to (I think so, so correct me if I'm wrong) - the user should be 'aware' of what should and shouldn't be 'present' in a specific area.

Regardless of glitches, and rarities, if I was walking through Sefton Park in my home town of Liverpool and Merlin identified a Lyrebird then I would have to question the chances of that, surely?

I can imagine birders with AMAZING tick lists purely relying on an app and not on their wits.

 

[Simon G]

Merlin can give you ideas ...

Apparently it can

 

[dantheman]

Yes that's true, but as Butty refers to (I think so, so correct me if I'm wrong) - the user should be 'aware' of what should and shouldn't be 'present' in a specific area.

Regardless of glitches, and rarities, if I was walking through Sefton Park in my home town of Liverpool and Merlin identified a Lyrebird then I would have to question the chances of that, surely?

I can imagine birders with AMAZING tick lists purely relying on an app and not on their wits.

It just seems like a minefield for new birders (and people who are 'enthusiastic', yes ;-) ). Totally agree just a tool, but I think people will rely on it for birds they haven't seen.

When it gives you Lyrebird, would it have a note/disclaimer that it was a rarity for that location, or unlikely?


Seems simple enough that it should have some kind of filter for what is likely in an area, although that may be a route they haven't gone down (might require tying in with eg ebird or a separate kind of work).

 

[ClarkWGriswold]

I know I’ve mentioned it before but it’s picked up Northern Cardinal, American Robin and Laughing Gull for me in South Wales. In each occasion it’s been the dog who makes whistling noises through his nose if I’m stood still for too long 😂

 

[RichieTwitchy]

It just seems like a minefield for new birders (and people who are 'enthusiastic', yes ;-) ). Totally agree just a tool, but I think people will rely on it for birds they haven't seen.

When it gives you Lyrebird, would it have a note/disclaimer that it was a rarity for that location, or unlikely?


Seems simple enough that it should have some kind of filter for what is likely in an area, although that may be a route they haven't gone down (might require tying in with eg ebird or a separate kind of work).

I've more chance of seeing a Liver Bird than a Lyrebird

It seems is it down to the user to make a more likely id based on the information given by the app below.

(Yes, we cant rule out rarities and megas, but it's best we play the percentages first)

(Below is from the app website)

What do the red and orange dots next to some bird names mean?​

These icons tell you if a species is rare (red dot) or uncommon (orange semi-circle) for the bird to be seen at the location and on the date that you selected. The same species that is common in summer might be rare in winter. Merlin knows which species are common or rare based on observations submitted to eBird, a citizen-science project that gathers observations from birders around the world.

Merlin Bird ID FAQs

Long-billed Thrasher © Dorian Anderson / Macaulay Library Get help with Sound ID or Photo ID Quick Links I need help confirming my email. Does Merlin let me track birds I've already identified? I can't find a bird in Explore. Why? Why...

support.ebird.org

 

[dantheman]

I've more chance of seeing a Liver Bird than a Lyrebird

It seems is it down to the user to make a more likely id based on the information given by the app below.

(Yes, we cant rule out rarities and megas, but it's best we play the percentages first)

(Below is from the app website)

What do the red and orange dots next to some bird names mean?​

These icons tell you if a species is rare (red dot) or uncommon (orange semi-circle) for the bird to be seen at the location and on the date that you selected. The same species that is common in summer might be rare in winter. Merlin knows which species are common or rare based on observations submitted to eBird, a citizen-science project that gathers observations from birders around the world.

Merlin Bird ID FAQs

Long-billed Thrasher © Dorian Anderson / Macaulay Library Get help with Sound ID or Photo ID Quick Links I need help confirming my email. Does Merlin let me track birds I've already identified? I can't find a bird in Explore. Why? Why...

support.ebird.org

So I guess the next question for @SpectrumRanger and @ClarkWGriswold would be ... did you notice or get the orange/red dots, or any other indication that the record may have been rare/unusual???

... ;-)

 

[dantheman]

As a complete aside, and don't think anyone else has mentioned it, but you have good shots of the hindclaw here ... and it is long! Shorter than the hind toe being the criteria for ST Treecreeper.

(Collins doesn't mention this feature, interestingly).

 

[Owene]

So I guess the next question for @SpectrumRanger and @ClarkWGriswold would be ... did you notice or get the orange/red dots, or any other indication that the record may have been rare/unusual???

... ;-)

I’ve had that for a few things. Generally out of season birds.

I don’t think anyone is getting loads of extra ticks from this. Anyone who cares enough to have ticks also knows what’s out of range

 

[ClarkWGriswold]

So I guess the next question for @SpectrumRanger and @ClarkWGriswold would be ... did you notice or get the orange/red dots, or any other indication that the record may have been rare/unusual???

... ;-)

Must admit I didn’t Dan. For the record I didn’t tick them either. Despite being in a competition with Owene this year😇