FEBRUARY 2009'S MYSTERY BIRD ANSWERS

There was an excellent 34 entrants again this month for what was a difficult round, none more so than those bloody gulls eh! So how many species were there afterall...

Mystery Bird 3

Avian Selection, Seaforth NR, Lancashire, November 2008 (Ian McKerchar)

This mystery photo caused no end of confusion, not necessarily due to the difficulty of the species involved but perhaps more so down to entrants trying to read my mind, don't give up your day jobs ☺ Many entrants saw species that weren't there because they felt that I was trying to lead them astray, that I was hiding something all together rarer in those gulls, one entrant even managed to correctly identify the site which didn't help him at all (!) but there was no rarer species, no hidden American Herring Gull or Kelp Gull (not that anyone guessed at them!) and in fact the photo was taken as merely a snap of some birds and with no devious intent (other than the Magpie if I'm honest!).

There are in fact only five species involved in the photo but entries ranged from five to eight, there were only two species of gull involved (yes, really!) but some entries contained as many as five, one entrant even identified the 'dead un' but not only do I not have a clue what it was (I don't remember noticing) but I did say it didn't count anyway! So firstly, let's knock off the actual correct answers. The one I expected atleast some to miss and they didn't disappoint was Magpie (feeding on the 'dead un'), there was a Coot (far left just below centre, everyone managed that one), Oystercatcher (all over the shop, one entrant even counted them correctly!), Great Black-backed Gull (2 adults, lower middle and far right) and finally Herring Gull (yes, every other gull is indeed a Herring Gull!).

So what wasn't there? Green Sandpiper got a vote (to the immediate right of the very middle gull) but it's lack of orange legs is simply due to it being a first year Oystercatcher (they have greyish legs remember and it's wings are noticeably brownish to boot) but a hint of white on the neck is still visible in the image. Black-headed Gull got a couple of mentions but to be honest I still can't see where they came from, Lesser Black-backed Gull got more than a few mentions but that both very dark mantled gulls are clearly adults, the one in the foreground has blatant pink legs and the bird far right certainly hasn't got yellow legs and even on the odd angle of view we have in the image it is clearly far too large and bulky for Lesser Black-backed, I mean, look at it's huge bill! Common Gull received the most incorrect answers, coming from the very centre gull (which I assure you wasn't the intent of the photo) or the second standing gull from the left but look closely at both of these gulls and the tertial pattern is patently barred and is certainly not solidly dark as we would expect on a first winter Common Gull, so too are the greater coverts. The centre gull does indeed appear quite small but compare it to the Oystercatcher to it's right and it's not that small, bear in mind that there is much size difference between the sexes in most gulls so this might well be a small female. Of course, were there's a Common Gull mentioned there's a Ring-billed Gull never far behind and it too received  a few votes but goes the same was as Common Gull, plus I'm really not evil you know!

Ten entrants got all five correct species and they are Rob and Sonia Adderley, Michel Rogg, Tim Wilcox (our man on crutches), Caroline Clay, Nick Godden, Nick Patel, Paul Brown, Gary Marland, Mike Passant and Phil Greenwood, well done you all.

Mystery Bird 4

Eighteen of the thirty-four entrants nailed this mystery bird correctly but four species made up the total running so it clearly wasn't clear cut. Corn Bunting received a single entry but that species would show a much longer, forked tail, would lack such striking pale edges to the remiges, hasn't got such long primaries, isn't as deeply brown on the upperparts, has a whiter underparts (the mystery bird's are clearly rather buffish) and would have much stronger looking legs amongst other points, so no it isn't that. Skylark received a rather surprising seven votes (I really hadn't considered that as a potential answer!) but amongst other features it would usually display a quite prominent rusty 'patch' on the secondaries other than perhaps a worn bird in spring but as we can see, the mystery bird's remiges are clearly pristine and to be honest the jizz looks all wrong for that species. In the end the decision for most entrants fell between Stonechat and Whinchat for which the latter species received 69% of those votes but were they right? Our mystery chat has a rather heavily and boldly scalloped mantle, perhaps more so than one might expect from a Stonechat, it appears to have no white on the inner greater coverts and it's neck is concolourous with the mantle, more pro-Whinchat features but the 'nail in the Stonechat's coffin' is the length of the primaries Our chat has obviously very long primaries (approximately almost as long as the tertials) but Stonechat does not and for those reasons the 69% were right, it is a Whinchat. Those managing the mystery were Mike Chorley, Simon Warford, Michel Rogg, Mark Rigby, Neil Calbrade (our man in Norfolk), Nick Patel, Nick Green, Kane Brides, John Tymon, Paul Brown, Simon Johnson, Gary Marland, Tom Callan (our man at 13 years old!), Mike Passant, John Frankland, Phil Greenwood, Dave Broome and Iain Johnson (our man in New Zealand).

Whinchat, Spurn, East Yorkshire, October 2008 (Ian McKerchar)

It was an admittedly difficult round and not surprisingly only five entrants managed to correctly identify all the species in the two mystery images, a fine achievement, so take a bow Michel Rogg (our man in Switzerland), Gary Marland, Mike Passant, Paul Brown (our man in North Ronaldsay) and Phil Greenwood.

So, in only the second round of the competition this year everybody bar one has slipped up and Paul Brown becomes the only entrant to manage all the correct answers to date but he could always forget to enter as and when things hot up in North Ron' (can't be far away now) so it's still very early days and as they say 'all to play for'!