Summary of rest of today's UK news 20/2/09

[tsteve]

Hants possible Siberian Chiffchaff Southampton near Ascupart Street at St.Mary's play area at 8.25am

Notts LESSER SCAUP ad.drk still 2.5mls SE of Nottingham at Holme Pierrepont on A52 Pit. Park in layby 1/2ml east of A52 Gamston roundabout +walk west to view from gate. No general access to pit +keep out of fields

Staffs Kumlien's Gull 2w Belvide Resr roost at 5pm (permit only)

Bucks Rough-legged Buzzard reported Great Hampden near church

Dorset 2.Siberian Chiffchaffs (1.singing male) Holes Bay in drain by PC World +Firecrest

Norfolk Black Brant ad Titchwell RSPB still with Dark-bellied Brent Geese

Glos GYR white morph near Coleford at Symonds Yat Rock RSPB late a'noon then flew off

Hants Black Brant ad Farlington Marshes HWT still by information centre with c1,000.Dark-bellied Brent Geese then flew onto estuary (+Long-eared Owl still)

E.YKS drk Green-winged Teal. N.Cave Wetlands, 3pm on Island Lake from Turret Hide.

[Ben Miller]

Glos GYR white morph near Coleford at Symonds Yat Rock RSPB late a'noon then flew off

Don't know where you are getting (copying?) your info from Steve, however the reported Gyr in Glos is a hybrid falcon (per RBA).

Good birding,

Ben

[AndyB]

record shot of the Belvide Kumlien's here (http://www.surfbirds.com/blog/Belvide84/10056)

[tsteve]

What is the story with the Gyr? I got that Gyr report from RBA and no mention of hybrid/escape. Pembsbirds (http://pembsbirds.blogspot.com/2009_02_01_archive.html) still reporting it as a Gyr as of Sat. Lovely sketches by Norman McCanch on 18th Feb at bloglink above and photos in Jan archive at same blog. Norman's notes show it a same size as Peregrine.

[Ben Miller]

What is the story with the Gyr? I got that Gyr report from RBA and no mention of hybrid/escape. Pembsbirds (http://pembsbirds.blogspot.com/2009_02_01_archive.html) still reporting it as a Gyr as of Sat. Lovely sketches by Norman McCanch on 18th Feb at bloglink above and photos in Jan archive at same blog. Norman's notes show it a same size as Peregrine.

Not sure what the connection is Steve? Pembs is far SW Wales, and Symonds Yat Rock RSPB is in Gloucestershire.

Shortly after the first message on RBA, they followed it up with a correction that the Gloucs report referred to a hybrid.

[Norman McCanch]

Hi folks,
sorry for the delay in responding, but my recent good fortune with the white raptor was mitigated by my being in Pems to scatter my Dads ashes....

I would like to clarify one (reasonable) comment made on my feeble sketches; I drew what I saw, when the gyr and peregrine were interacting they were some distance away and I don't think that they were very close together apart from the initial , quick talon grapple.
In a view like this ( mobile birds, against a pale sky, at some distance) there is clearly room for an optical effect to influence the impression ( size illusion the late Peter Grant called it). A dark bird against a pale sky looks bigger, compared to a pale bird against pale sky which then looks smaller.
In my written notes I commented that the same peregrine was bugging a buzzard over the same wood before and after the gyr incident; I 'guessed' that the gyr was between the peregrine and buzzard in size, but nearer to the peregrine, so perhaps a male??

From my observation I was happy it was a gyr based on wing/tail proportions compared to peregrine; to what extent it might have hybrid characters, my views would not allow me to comment, except that there was a medium colourhybrid gyr/saker at Grove ferry, Kent which I drew on the ground and that was a real puzzle for a while. I willl have to leave it to cleverer men than me to make the ultimate decision, but its going on my list!!:smile: