JULY'S MYSTERY BIRD ANSWERS

Yet another pleasing return with 21 entrants to what was a slight break from the norm this month, with that one mystery bird (number 20) involving a potential nine species. Despite this though most entrants relished the challenge and worked hard in an attempt to identify all the species present, how did you do? Find out below!

Mystery Bird 19

So, a brown 'dabbling duck' with an obvious white patch in the wing, female Gadwall...surely? Other than one incorrect vote for Teal (note the contrast between the neck and breast, the white in the outer tail feathers and the bill which is rather too heavy looking for Teal) all the other 20 entrants were split 50/50, between Gadwall and Mallard. So, white patch in the wing, must be Gadwall eh? Lets take a closer look. For starters, the white in the wing is a strange 'V' shape and not the white 'block' we'd expect from a female Gadwall, the tail sides do appear very white, another anti-Gadwall feature and the throat rather buff and not the expected white. The bill still looks a little to heavy for Gadwall and lacks Gadwall's rather more broad orangey sides, could this really be a Mallard, are we basing our identification on that white 'wing patch' alone? Looking closer still there appears top be no primaries visible, see enlarged photo below...

This lack of primaries was clearly visible from the original mystery bird photograph and of course indicates that the bird has moulted it's flight feathers, so what of the white 'wing patch' if everything else points us to it being a Mallard? These white feathers forming a slight V shape are infact feathers from the underwing coverts protruding where usually they would be cloaked by the secondaries (which are of course missing due to moult), another photograph of the same bird appears below and thing seem much clearer now! Rob and Sonia Adderley, Michael Baron, Dave Broome, Andy Isherwood, Craig Higson, Nick Hilton, Simon Johnson, Nick Patel, Michel Rogg (sending his best wishes from Switzerland) and James Walsh all correctly the identified the bird as a Mallard but this particular mystery bird clearly proves how misleading some birds can appear, especially off little more than a cursory glance.

Female Mallard, Pennington Flash- Ian McKerchar

Mystery Bird 20

As a break from the norm and to test your skills a little further, mystery bird number 20 did indeed contain nine species of birds but no more, despite some of your best efforts! Eight, I felt, were reasonably easily identifiable with a further one being all the more difficult but most of the 21 entrants had other ideas with some 19 species being offered, a plastic bag too and one entrant even managing to submit 10 species which, despite having taken the photograph and knowing the answers meant I spent a lot of time checking I hadn't missed something! All the species contained within the photograph are pointed out below:

photo taken at Seaforth Pools, Merseyside- Ian McKerchar

Eight entrants managed to identify 8 species, Adam Davison (all except the Roseate), Henry Cook (all except the Lapwing), John Frankland (all except the Roseate), Nick Hilton (all except the Roseate), Steve Nelson (all except the Lapwing), Jimmy Meadows (all except the Lapwing), Nick Patel (all except the Roseate) and James Walsh (all except the Lapwing), with seven entrants managing all nine species, Rob and Sonia Adderley, Michael Baron, Dave Broome, Craig Higson, Andy Isherwood, Simon Johnson and Simon Warford. It turned out that the Lapwing was almost as difficult to identify as the Roseate Tern, especially as it was just flapping it's wings but it's combination of the tail and rump patternation, underparts colour (including white underwing coverts) and apparently all dark wings with, if you look real hard, the white tips to the primaries visible on the left wing were enough to identify it, whilst the Roseate Tern's much whiter upperparts and especially the primaries with it's slightly smaller, slimmer size providing enough clues for many to nail it's identity. There were an additional ten species claimed which were not in the photograph, although I had to check some really hard, such was the confidence of the entrants, they were: Canada Goose, Mediterranean Gull (2 votes), Wheatear (2 votes), Pied Wagtail (3 votes!), Pochard, Wigeon (2 votes), Little Tern, Herring Gull, Dunlin and also a plastic bag!

Three entrants receive 2 points for getting both mystery bird number 19 and eight species in mystery bird 20 correct, Nick Hilton, Nick Patel and James Walsh, Simon Warford also receives two points for getting all nine species correct in number 20, whilst a further six are to be congratulated in gaining the extra bonus point for managing all 9 species and so receiving the full 3 points on offer, Rob and Sonia Adderley, Michael Baron, Dave Broome, Craig Higson, Andy Isherwood and Simon Johnson. Dave Broome has yet to get a mystery bird wrong but Rob and Sonia Adderley are always within striking distance should he slip up having only dropped two points in the competition and Andy Isherwood lies in wait beneath them having dropped only 3.