September 11, 2009 - black-headed/icky

A bit of a frustrating day on-patch. Quiet enough on the first wander about, nailing 1 sanderling (117) for the year at Long Strand, with 2 turnstones, and 1 willow warbler , 1 whitethroat and yesterday's turtle dove knocking about. Heading up Marsh Lane, I flushed a largish looking passerine which flew up the lane & into the sycamores at Shite Lane - "shrike? wryneck?" -  but no, it was a big, plain looking bunting with a yellowy vent. "gammy greenfinch?" thinks I, stumbling closer. But then it slowly dawned on me that black headed/red headed bunting looks like that - could hardly hold me bins still for de shakes! Could see it had a lightly streaked mantle and a dirty lemony/green rump, but otherwise was pretty plain looking above, with a yellowy vent, a big, stout grey-looking bill, and a dark beady eye. It seemed settled, in a barley crop with sparrows, so I alerted a couple of other birders, and flaked home for the scope, back 10 mins later but it was never seen again! Feck! During the ensuing search, a hippo was called up, but it went to ground before we nailed it -  it looked long-winged to me, with very blue legs, and I'm having it as an icterine warbler (118), cos I'm short of year ticks, plus we had a spotted flycatcher shoot through too (119).  No sign of yesterday's coots on the lake this evening - didn't think they'd stay long.

Addendum: Using the Haig rule (see here) it is technically ok to patch year-tick today's bunting, as it was one or t'other (favouring black-headed personally - its range is nearly identical to yesterday's eastern olly on mizen!), provided I don't also year-tick a red-headed bunting, should one happen by! (120)

September 11, 2009 - Untitled Comment

September 13, 2009 - legality