yeah but they are cat cish and would fit in with the other southern ducks which reach britain at this time of year ie ruddy shelduck. I prefer the until proven guilty approach. If they were rarities they would be accepted unless there was proof they were escapes like the East Park bird last year. Why be negative about them? Yes they may be escapes but they may also be wild. To decide without rings is conjecture. Having said that if they come to bread I might have a rethink.
Agree James. They are more likely to be wild birds than escapes. When I say wild I am of course referring to cat. C birds from one of the established and completely tickable areas. They've possibly moved up from Lound which has a healthy breeding population.
If you want to get a defo. cat C bird you'd need to go to Cotswold Water Park as this population was referred to by the BOURC. However, no need not to apply the same principle to other healthy populations such as Lound. Defo. likely to be post breeding mid-summer dispersal than escapes.
Go tick 'em. Hopefully they'll be around for a while. North Cave is ideal, as is Fairburn. Hopefully breeding soon.
On a similar note I'm going for the cat c Snow Geese on Mull next year. In many ways these are better than a single bird in a flock of Pink-feet in Norfolk. At least you know they are not escapes.
If you adhere strictly to the BOURC rules as I do, then use it to your advantage and make hay....things can always change again.
