DECEMBER 2008'S MYSTERY BIRD ANSWERS

There were 28 entries to this the final round of 2008 Manchester Mystery Bird competition and the faithfulness of those hardy souls through the year's competition was entirely admirable, a colossal thanks you to you all. Sometimes the scrabbling for images (often taken with a pure purpose for the competition) and the frantic late night write-ups on the final day of the month can feel a pain in the arse but the devotion of the entrants and their kind words of thanks and pleas for a 2009 competition soon put it into perspective and once again it's all worthwhile ☺

Mystery Bird 23

Okay, it's a raptor, so well done so far! Infact all but one entrant managed to get that far, the non-raptor entry being for Carrion Crow, a bird of much different proportions to our mystery bird, lacking it's yellow legs and not jet black plumage but what of the raptors then? With it's very 'fingered hand' and apparent very dark plumage, the choices were reasonably few and far between which was reflected in receiving only 5 suggested species but what a selection they were. The first to be eliminated was Harris Hawk which received two votes, for it would display obvious white terminally on the tail and a visible white patch on the uppertail coverts not to mention that it isn't on the official British List and so wouldn't be included in this competition, also gone was Common Buzzard which received a single vote, as it would show obvious barring on the uppertail clearly unlike our mystery bird and for similar reasons Hen Harrier was incorrect too, being a bird of considerable barring and showing a white rump (in female and immature plumages). The fourth to go is probably my favourite suggestion for any of the rounds this year, for it had me searching through 'Raptors of the World' for a bird I hadn't even heard of but despite it's apparent similarity to our mystery bird (though a more barred tail?), Sulawesi Hawk Eagle which unsurprisingly managed only a single vote certainly isn't on the British List and so is eliminated on that alone if nothing else. The remaining suggestion is of course the correct one and 18 entrants saw enough detail to correctly identify this mystery bird as a Marsh Harrier, the plumage looks very dark as we can mainly only see the remiges and rectrices (and not the browner plumage), all of which are characteristically all dark and un-barred and we can just make out chestnut tips to the secondaries (more visible on the right wing) which enable us to age it as a juvenile atleast.

Marsh Harrier, Martin Mere (Adrian Dancy)

Mystery Bird 24

Predictably, the final mystery bird of the year fell between only 2 possibilities, those of Goosander and Red-breasted Merganser with a 18/5 split in favour of the former, but were the majority right? Bearing in mind that female and juvenile Red-breasted Mergansers have darker upperparts and upperwing, tinged browner with browner flanks and yet our mystery bird has a plumage altogether much plainer, paler and neater grey with a head colouration which, even whilst partially submerged, appears a shade of chestnut brown too dark for a merganser, the majority are indeed correct. Well done them!

Goosander, Clewes Park (Adrian Dancy)

It was pleasing to see so many entrants get both birds correct in the final round, so congratulations to Peter Rolph, John Tymon, Ron and Sonia Adderley, Ian Bowker, Nike and Caroline Clay, Simon Warford, Paul Cliff, Kane Brides, Mark Rigby, John Frankland, John Rayner, Tony Coatsworth, Helen Garwood, Phil Greenwood, Iain Johnson, Simon Johnson, Jimmy Meadows, Dave Broome, Tim Wilcox and Michel Rogg.

And so, as the 2008 competition draws to a close the leader from the off maintains his tight grip on the title, unfaltering to the last he deservedly becomes the new Manchester Mystery Bird Champion taking over that mantle form last year's winner Dave Broome. So well done Simon Johnson the new title holder. Who will challenge for it next year, will it be you?

Ian McKerchar, January 2009