Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2022 i Birdwatch

BIRD NEWS THE BIG STORIES REPORT Remarkable vulture reappearance in Roscommon In a stunning turn of events, the summer’s Egyptian Vulture – seen on Scilly and in Ireland – re-emerged on New Year’s Eve. CONOR HENRY Egyptian Vulture: Lough Funshinagh, Co Roscommon, 31 December 2021 DECEMBER’S biggest surprise was the reappearance of the Egyptian Vulture in Ireland (Birdwatch 350: 9). It was seen briefly on a couple of occasions at The Pound, east of Lough Funshinagh in Co Roscommon, on New Year’s Eve. Many assumed the bird to be long gone, with the last sighting as far back as 13 August at Eskeragh in Co Mayo, some 115 km to the north-west. However, despite the worst that a wet and windy Irish winter can throw at it, the vulture lives on,…

BIRD NEWS WESTERN PALEARCTIC Dutch desire A lingering Caspian Plover across the North Sea was the envy of British birders, while Italy scored a monster Larid. Sam Viles reports on the December highlights across the region. BRAM ROOBOL Western Palearctic: December 2021 While it was a largely quiet end to 2021, the region nevertheless accommodated a few eye-opening records. Italy scored a barnstorming national first when an adult Vega Gull was photographed among Yellow-legged Gulls at Porto San Giorgio on 14th. There have been just two previous Western Palearctic records of this mega East Siberian Larus – in Ireland and France in 2016. Meanwhile, the country’s first Eastern Yellow Wagtail was at Siracusa, Sicily, from 9th. FILIP DE RUWE It was a month of doubles in the Low Countries. Belgium’s…

EXPERT REVIEWS OPTICS • FOOTWEAR EXPERT REVIEWS Your trusted guide to what’s new in birding: www.birdguides.com/reviews Remake, remodel Assessing Vortex’s updates, Mike Alibone takes a look through the company’s recently upgraded, entry-level telescope. REVIEW Vortex Diamondback 16-48x65 HD telescope WITH price, performance and ergonomics in mind, American-based optics manufacturer Vortex has completely redesigned its entry-level Diamondback telescopes to match the look of its Viper HD and Razor HD ranges. Aside from the obvious aesthetic differences, the two models, 16-48x65 and 20-60x85, have been optically upgraded to include HD glass and larger objective lenses to improve image clarity and brightness. Out of the impressively sumptuous box, the 65-mm model bears all the hallmarks of a perfectly crafted, robust and well-protected piece of kit. A new aluminium chassis is wrapped in dark spruce…

EXPERT REVIEWS BOOKS A useful primer for Hong Kong’s birds HONG KONG has been poorly served by bird guide books for a long time, despite having 579 species on its official list. Its popularity with tourists and attractiveness to birds are a given, so it is surprising to realise that it is only partially covered by the major Chinese and South-East Asian field guides. The key text is Viney, Phillipps and Ying’s The Birds of Hong Kong and South China (2005), also published by the Hong Kong Bird Watching Society (HKBWS). This covers the region well but is expensive and hard to obtain, only being available from the HKBWS by mail order or from the visitor centre at Mai Po. This handy pocket photo guide will not change that situation…

IN THE FIELD Wetland wonders FRED VISSCHER (WWW.AGAMI.NL) WORLD Wetlands Day (www.worldwetlandsday.org) is on 2 February and there is no better day to go out to look for birds on the many fantastic wetlands which can be found in Britain. It is a themed day to celebrate wetlands and this year is aimed at investment to save and restore the world’s wetlands. There are 71 Ramsar Sites in England, 51 in Scotland, 10 in Wales and 20 in Northern Ireland. These are all wetlands of international importance and a visit to any of them is an opportunity to see some great species. Britain’s wetland birds are surveyed annually by The Wetland Bird Survey (WeBS) which counts wintering wetland birds each year. It began 75 years ago as a count of…

What’s in the digital edition? FEBRUARY’S digital edition has lots of bonus content, including: Video of the Northern Mockingbird in Northumberland; Recordings of the calls of Common and Siberian Chiffchaffs and Dusky and Yellow-browed Warblers; An image gallery of Vortex’s updated Diamondback HD scope; Film of the Night Parrot rediscovery; The calls of Blackbird, Mistle and Song Thrushes, Dunnock, European Robin, and Great and Coal Tits; Film of rarities and scarcities from Britain, Ireland and the wider Western Palearctic. The digital edition is available for PC, Mac, iPhone/iPad and Android. Sample issues are free, and subscriptions or single copies can be purchased. Visit www.pktmags.com/bw-digital to find out more.…

FINDER’S REPORT Christmas miracle! Ian Grant was gifted an early Christmas present when he dug out a monster find on his inland patch. IAN STEWART Baikal Teal: Aqualate Mere, Staffordshire, 21 December 2021 DECEMBER 2021 was already a month to be remembered for birding at my local patch at Aqualate Mere – on 20 December I had managed to relocate the female Ferruginous Duck first found at Belvide Reservoir on 22 October. However, I wasn’t expecting to go one better when I went back to get photographs … I arrived on site around 10 am with my father Martin and our friend Pete Jordan. Aqualate Mere can be quite frustrating to bird at times due to the only hide being located at the east end – and the wildfowl often…

SUBSCRIPTION OFFER SAVE OVER 20% A YEAR when subscribing to Birdwatch £3.92 AN ISSUE Billed £46.99 annually SUBSCRIBE NOW Hasslefree – every issue delivered to your door delivered in an easily recyclable paper envelope Saveeven more – qualify for exclusive Bookshop discounts Call today on 01778 392027 or visit our website www.birdguides.com/store/subscriptions DID YOU KNOW? Birdwatch is also available as a digital edition! Download issues directly to your digital device and read wherever you are. To find out more visit www.pktmags.com/bw-subs-2022.…

COMMENT BIRDING ETC DOMINIC MITCHELL Changing times As the pandemic passes its second anniversary, Dominic Mitchell reflects on birding in a challenging era, the local emphasis it has brought and what might lie ahead. Part of the enduring appeal of birding is its ability to evolve and adapt, while losing none of the core traits that made it so engaging in the first place. The fundamentals of our interest in birds remain just as they have for decades – at its most basic level, a binocular, a field guide and the desire to observe, identify and record what you see is enough to set you on a path of discovery. Over time, you can then develop and specialise as much, or as little, as you wish. That’s the case on…

BIRDERS’ CHOICE AWARDS 2021 THE WINNERS With voting closing at midnight on 31 December the results for the 2021 Birders’ Choice Awards are now in. All the responses have been counted up and we can now reveal the winners … In association with VOTING for the seventh annual Birders’ Choice Awards took place throughout December, and again many Birdwatch and BirdGuides readers cast their votes, recognising the best and worst in birding and conservation during the past 12 months. We’d like to thank everyone who took part. Read on to find out who or what won such accolades as Conservation Hero of the Year, Rarity of the Year, Product of the Year and more – as voted by you. This year’s Local Hero of the Year will also be revealed.…

European odyssey HOT on the heels of the acclaimed second edition of Britain’s Birds, the authors have followed up with Europe’s Birds: An Identification Guide. The book covers some 900 species in 640 pages and includes 4,700 colour photographs, making it “the most comprehensive single-volume photographic guide to Europe’s birds ever produced”. Europe’s Birds follows the treatment of species and subspecies and scientific classification of BirdLife International rather than the International Ornithologists’ Union adopted by the BOURC. This means, for example, Siberian and Stejneger’s Stonechats and Tundra and Taiga Bean Geese are treated as subspecies, while Siberian Chiffchaff is a full species. Usefully though, identification features are included for all of the above, plus other pairings. The format has been kept largely the same, allowing for a lot of information…

bookshop bookshop www.birdguides.com/bookshop? 01778 392027 BOOKS FOR YOUR #LocalBigYear Best Birdwatching Sites Series Publisher: Buckingham Press The Best Birdwatching Sites series investigate a variety of inland and coastal sites to ensure readers have the widest possible choice of destinations and habitats to explore. Shop this series at: bit.ly/bestbirdwatchingsite Where to Watch Birds Collection Publisher: Bloomsbury Each site account gives information on access, habitat, species, timing and calendar, with maps, allowing birders of all levels to plan successful birding trips anywhere. Shop this collection at: bit.ly/wheretowatchbirds Collins Identification Guides Publisher: Harper Collins These field guides cover topics from common birds that have occurred five or more times in Britain and Ireland to some of the lesser-known and rarer species to visit our shores. Shop this collection at: bit.ly/collinsguides All prices quoted…

EXPERT ADVICE IN THE GARDEN • LISTCHECK • Q&A IN THE GARDEN If you build it … STEVE YOUNG (WWW.BIRDSONFILM.COM) AGEING trees are often scarce and health and safety dictates that old branches are too often lopped off in public spaces, so holes in trees are less easy to come by than they should be. Nestboxes can help species that otherwise find it hard to find a suitable nest site and, in gardens and parks, bring the fascination of nesting birds up close and personal. Many people already feed their garden birds, but it’s just as important that they have safe and secure sites for breeding. National Nestbox Week happens every year from 14-21 February. Organised by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) it aims to encourage more people to help…

Q&A YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED Q We spotted this unusual bird in our garden on the morning of 19 December (see photo, right). We live in Newcastle upon Tyne, close to the city, and I’ve never seen a bird like this in housing estates close to the centre of town. We’re used to seeing Magpies, Blue Tits and regular garden birds in our area, and we like to educate our children as much as possible about other wildlife near us. On showing our kids, I did recognise that this bird was a pheasant, but I can’t find any information on one that looks like this, lacking any blue/green collar and with so much flame red showing. I’d be very grateful if you could give me any information on it. Dean Weston,…

CLASSIFIED Directory YOUR MAGAZINE In the next issue March LONG-EARED OWL BY MARTIJN VERDOES (WWW.AGAMI.NL) ■ All ears Breeding in small numbers across Britain and Ireland, as well as being secretive and almost entirely nocturnal, Long-eared Owl can be challenging to catch up with. David Campbell takes an in-depth look at the species’ fascinating history. ■ Seeing is believing How is it that a large group of birders can all manage to misidentify the same bird? Why do some people have an uncanny ability to find rarities? Julian Hough delves into the psychology of birding to answer these and more questions. ■ Seeing is believing How is it that a large group of birders can all manage to misidentify the same bird? Why do some people have an uncanny ability to…

#LOCALBIGYEAR THE BIG PICTURE FRINGILLA-FEST! In association with RALPH MARTIN/BIA While you may be unlikely to witness such snowy scenes this month, a similar mass of Bramblings is not impossible, for Britain is enjoying a bumper winter for this smart Fringilla finch. The signs of an invasion were on the cards as early as October last year, when the species began arriving en masse, being logged in triple-figure counts with regularity at various east coast watchpoints. Some huge totals were recorded in Western Europe too: an astonishing 20,000 were counted in 2.5 hours over the island of Fedje in western Norway on 18 October, 13,501 flew south over Marlenberg, near Strasbourg in north-east France, on 14 October, while 13,395 southbound birds were tallied as they passed De Hamert in The…

FINDER’S REPORT Beached booby in Brighton A dog walk on her local beach took an astonishing twist for Clodagh Bannerman when she encountered a county first. CLODAGH BANNERMAN Brown Booby: Hove, East Sussex, 2 January 2022 ON 2 January, a normal Sunday morning dog walk along an overcast seafront took an unexpected turn when my dog Marla made an exotic discovery on the beach in Hove, not far from the old pier. The beach was showing signs of the previous few days’ stormy seas. We had found an enormous live sea snail, a lot of plastic debris and, most strangely, a whole pineapple – plenty for the dog to get interested in. I didn’t pay attention to her scampering away and was quite startled to notice her sniffing round a…

COMMENT NEWS OF THE WILD BILL ODDIE Rooftop birding In the second part of his column on some notable firsts for his north London garden, our columnist celebrates a regular migrant alighting on a TV aerial. Now where was I? Oh yes, just fallen out of bed at about 3 o’clock in the afternoon and already feeling chronically fatigued. Just about enough energy to draw the curtains to reveal a Jay perched on an ancient TV aerial. Not the typical view of Hampstead Jays. They are usually flapping purposefully overhead with acorns in their beaks, especially in autumn when they are so numerous we declare ‘Jay Days’ on the nearby heath. I have seen single birds burying their bounty in my garden, although I suspect they are as random and…

THE BIG DEBATE Q:Are reintroductions a positive thing for nature? Species reintroduction – the deliberate release of a species into the wild, from captivity or other areas where it is found, into a location where it was previously present – has proven to be controversial. Some wildlife has been successfully brought back, such as Western Osprey in England and Eurasian Lynx to various places in Europe, and conservationists argue that such reintroductions are a key part of preserving species. However, others say that these schemes are largely vanity projects, taking vital funding from more useful programmes. Here, two experts look at the pros and cons. Far too many species globally are at risk of extinction and action has never been more critical. Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust’s Head of Conservation Dr James…

Picture perfect AS a boy growing up in Surrey in the early ’80s the only real chance to see a Eurasian Hobby involved a long bike ride to Thursley Common or to hope for a chance sighting on the annual local YOC (Young Ornithologists’ Club for those too young to remember!) coach trip to Stodmarsh or Dungeness. Fast forward 40 years and it’s a totally different story: the species now breeds widely around Surrey and has spread northwards and westwards as far north as Aberdeenshire and Inverness. Anthony Messenger found his first pair in his local Derbyshire area in 1990 and has studied the species ever since, devoting most of the summer months to trying to pin down the breeding sites and recording behaviour. This book is a fantastic testament…

EXPERT ADVICE ID IN BRIEF • BUILDING KNOWLEDGE EXPERT ADVICE The best tips, advice and more www.birdguides.com ID IN BRIEF Eurasian Sparrowhawk and Northern Goshawk NOW is a good time to sit back on a high slope or bank, but not too obviously silhouetted against the sky, and look across an extensive tract of woodland. Late morning on a fine day is a good choice. What might you get? Not so long ago, not a lot: Common Buzzard if you were in the north and west and Eurasian Sparrowhawk becoming more widespread. Plenty of Woodpigeons and Stock Doves. Now, though, there is a far better chance of a Common Buzzard or two almost anywhere, a good chance of a displaying Eurasian Sparrowhawk and maybe a Red Kite or Northern Goshawk. It is…

BIRDING BY SOUND Describing vocalisations JIM ALMOND (WWW.SHROPSHIREBIRDER.CO.UK) AS day length slowly increases, resident birds sing with more commitment and give us a chance to listen to them before the influx of summer migrants confuses things; and before too many leaves are on the trees. There are two problems: first, identifying the singer; and second – whether you are doing the identifying or trying to help someone else – describing the sound in a useful, practical way. Many bird sounds lack a hard consonant, but it is difficult to write them down without an assortment of ‘t’ or ‘k’ or ‘d’ sounds to add a bit of structure. Try cuc-koo as u-oo or Tawny Owl’s ke-wick as ew-i. They are easily recognisable when you say them, less so on the page.…

COMMENT YOUR TURN your letters &photos Tell us what you think. Write to: Rebecca Armstrong, Editor, at: Birdwatch, Warners Group Publications plc, The Maltings, West Street, Bourne, Lincolnshire PE10 9PH or email letters@birdwatch.co.uk www.facebook.com/birdwatchmagazine @BirdwatchExtra ECO-BIRDING NICK Moran’s article ‘Rise of the velo-birder’ (Birdwatch 353: 42-44) was a welcome and timely encouragement for birders to consider the implications of their hobby on the environment. Any initiative which helps reduce carbon emissions while still enjoying the birds around us has got to be a good thing. One of the positive impacts of the lockdowns associated with COVID-19 was a noticeable shift towards more local patchbirding. As a means of encouraging our members to continue this trend the North East Norfolk Bird Club recently introduced an Eco Badge awards scheme which gives recognition…

COMMENT MURMURATIONS LUCY MCROBERT Going for gold As Lucy McRobert reaches the 50-column milestone, she takes a look back at how the birding community has changed in that time – and forward to 50 more. According to Editor Rebecca’s back-of-the-envelope maths, we think this is my 50th column for Birdwatch. What a milestone. It’s been a pleasure to go on this birding journey with both the magazine and readers, even the ones who have been outraged enough to write angry letters (“Who does she think she is? Some ornithological Jeremy Clarkson?” Win). When I started in 2014, there weren’t many women taking the UK birding ‘stage’. I was always lucky to have excellent female birding role models, but when Dominic Mitchell commissioned me, it was a gamble. A few people…