OCTOBERS MYSTERY BIRDS ANSWERS

A total of 11 entrants competed in this months mystery bird round and my thanks are to them for joining in and having a go- well done!

Hopefully, over the forthcoming months more of you will enter, so I still urge those who haven't had a go yet and those who have, whether you got the mystery birds wrong or right, to continue....................it's all a bit of fun!

Mystery bird no.1

All but one of the entrants managed to identify the bird correctly, although it's combination of jizz (from what we can see anyway!) and leg structure led all entrants to guess it was a shorebird. There are only really three shorebirds that fit such a short legged and small looking creature with obvious bright reddish/orange legs, Terek Sandpiper, Purple Sandpiper and Turnstone. Terek Sand. can quickly be discounted in that it's plumage would never look quite so dark brown and the dark around the neck area (just visible) doesn't fit either. Purple Sandpiper, offered by one entrant, can too, easily be discounted as amongst other features, it would show obvious streaks along the flanks. With such clean underparts, bright orange legs, black around the base of the neck and rather dark looking lower scapulars with one of the feathers importantly displaying an obvious white lower edge, this bird can only be a Turnstone.

Turnstone, Hayle Estuary, Cornwall- Ian McKerchar

Mystery bird no.2

All entrants correctly guessed the above bird was a 'dabbling' duck but it was obvious that this was much more difficult than the Turnstone, as 5 species were offered, Mallard, Gadwall, Shoveler, Teal and Garganey. With no features from the breast forward on show entrants had to study hard what they could make out but one of the most obvious features of the bird is it's bright orangey legs (there was no intentional 'theme' to this months mystery birds-honest) and by a simple process of elimination all but Mallard, Gadwall, Black Duck, Shoveler and perhaps Blue-winged Teal can be discounted from those occurring on the British List. Black Duck doesn't fit the plumage of this bird at all (it would be much, much darker and have no white in the tail) and Blue-winged Teal too lacks white in the tail, whilst it's legs are really more yellowish and not as bright as this birds. Without getting bogged down in intricacies of feather centres and edges too much, this bird's very dark tertials with sharp white edges rule out the much paler, poorly defined edges of Mallard and the same can be said for Gadwall, whose tertails, whilst very dark, wouldn't be expected to show any pale edges and perhaps we'd get a glimpse of that species's distinctive white speculum? The bird is indeed a Shoveler as 6 of the entrants correctly guessed and a more distinctive characteristic of the same bird can be found in the image below.

Shoveler, Marshside, Lancashire- Ian McKerchar

Of the 11 entrants, 6 managed to guess the identity of both birds correctly, they are: Rob Adderley, Kane Brides, Dave Broome, Tony Coatsworth, Andy Isherwood and Tom McKinney.