Bird for ID, anyone?

[millerd]

I spotted this white heron from the bus today just as we turned into Stanwell Moor village. It was in a partially flooded field along with a number of gulls and a standard grey heron, and within a few hundred metres of the west end of the southern runway.

It was a bit smaller than the grey heron, but not by much. Luckily, it was still there after I'd returned home, found the camera and hurried back - though still too distant for anything better than this shot. I assume it's an Egret, but which one?

Any offers from the experts gratefully received.

Dave

[Nick Broomer]

Hi Dave,

Its a Little Egret.

All the best, Nick.

[Lancastrian]

That, Millerd, is a Little Egret. It shows greyish legs and bill.

[Trev Sawyer]

Hi Dave,
Yep, a Little Egret Dave... becoming more and more numerous and turning up all over the place now. blue/black legs and bright yellow feet!
This one was sitting in a tree in Cambridge earlier this year....

Trev

[millerd]

Thanks everyone! I couldn't see its yellow feet... I didn't realise how common they are becoming inland.

Dave

[Jack Harrison]

In North Norfolk, where I lived until recently, Little Egret (at least in winter) out-numbered the ordinary Heron - but maybe that's an illusion because they stand out so well.

Little Egrets are quite recent colonists in Britain (circa 20 years) but have yet to reach Mull. They will in time. The somewhat similar Cattle Egret has just begun breeding (in Somerset I think) and is likely to become a regular over the next few decades.

While discussing birds, here on Mull I am surprised by the list of absentees (or rarities):

Black-headed Gull,
Moorhen,
Coot,
Great Crested Grebe,
MAGPIE (that is an amazing absentee),
Jay
Rook (apparently does occur but not yet seen by me - instead we have Ravens by the hundred)

and no doubt many others. But we seem to have acquired all those missing House Sparrows - very common here.

Jack

[JohnR]

While discussing birds, here on Mull I am surprised by the list of absentees (or rarities):

Black-headed Gull,
Moorhen,
MAGPIE (that is an amazing absentee),
Jay
Rook (apparently does occur but not yet seen by me - instead we have Ravens by the hundred)

and no doubt many others. But we seem to have acquired all those missing House Sparrows - very common here.

Jack

Could these have not been shot out by a previous generation? Rooks, Magpies and Jays are still considered vermin by some and I can remember being encouraged to shoot Moorhens or Coots when I was a nipper (I can't remember which or why but the Colonel didn't like them - and we laughed like hell when he drove off one day having left his Purdey's on the roof of his car.)

[MikeOxon]

It is remarkable how quickly the Little Egret has spread. There are often groups of them on Otmoor near Oxford, whereas I still tend to think of them as rarities!

on Mull I am surprised by the list of absentees

I'm surprised you see few BH Gulls - presumably, Common Gull fills the niche. I'm also interested that the House Sparrow is common. I was in iceland recently and they have no Sparrows, but Snow Buntings seem to stand in for them. Ravens were very common on Iceland too. And , of course, you have Sea Eagles

Mike

[Jack Harrison]

few BH Gulls - presumably, Common Gull fills the niche.

There are a few but it is Herring Gulls that are so numerous.

Of course, what is most interesting in all this is that what is a rarity on one area (eg Snow Bunting; House Sparrow) should be abundant in another. I will get EXCITED when I see a Magpie here

Jack

[David M]

MAGPIE (that is an amazing absentee)

That truly is a stunning revelation, Jack.

Magpies are present in almost plague proportions throughout most of England and Wales.

You can perhaps count yourself lucky with this one.

[essexbuzzard]

The fact that ravens are common probably explains why there are no smaller magpies-they eat the same food! Magpies are also scarce,though certainly not absent,in west Cornwall,where ravens and buzzards are common,and perhaps eat all the food.
But in the east,where buzzards are scarcer and ravers absent,magpies are very common. Is this a coincidence?
The absence of rooks is no surprise,they are birds of lowland,tilled land,or dairy farms. They are scarce or absent from most of Europe,too.

[David M]

The fact that ravens are common probably explains why there are no smaller magpies-they eat the same food! Magpies are also scarce,though certainly not absent,in west Cornwall,where ravens and buzzards are common,and perhaps eat all the food.
But in the east,where buzzards are scarcer and ravers absent,magpies are very common. Is this a coincidence?
The absence of rooks is no surprise,they are birds of lowland,tilled land,or dairy farms. They are scarce or absent from most of Europe,too.

Interesting stuff. I must say that rooks, ravens AND magpies are ubiquitous in my part of south Wales. They all seem to share in whatever favourable conditions are available in this part of the world.

[Gibster]

Hiya Jack,

regards your absent Magpies....check this link and scroll down to April 2011. They ARE there, just need to go twitch them it seems!

http://www.mullbirds.com/Archived%20April.html

For the low down on the status of bird species on Mull click on http://www.mullbirds.com/SPECIESLIST.html

Cheers mate, stay well up there

Gibster.

[Jack Harrison]

Magpies....They ARE there, just need to go twitch them it seems!

I somehow don't think I will get excited enough by Magpies to twitch them any more than I would a Carrion Crow should one ever turn up.

But unfortunately, I did see a Mink the other day. The story is that they were released from a breeding establishment some while back by animal rights (?) people and have played havoc with the native wildlife since.

Jack

[FISHiEE]

Think that's how they all came about on the mainland too. Unfortunately preserving the rights of the mink kinda messed things up for some of our native species!

[Paul Wetton]

Hi Jack

Plenty of Rooks on Iona, all over the place. More interesting are the breeding Corncrakes there.

Otters will kill Mink if they get chance and there are still plenty of Otters on Mull. We saw 7 separate individuals including cubs in a weeks stay in 2007. We unfortunately did see a Mink as well very close to a large dog Otter who didn't seem too interested.

Have a great Christmas.

[Jack Harrison]

Paul:

Plenty of Rooks on Iona, all over the place.

They are on Mull but as far as I know, only in the west, eg places like Dervaig.

Iona is definitely on the "shopping list" for next spring. Coll and Tiree also have Corncrakes but believe it or not, both islands are difficult to reach from Mull. Overnight stops in Oban are needed to be able to contact the ferries to Coll or Tiree. So Iona is likely to be the No.1 place for me to hear (see?) Corncrakes. However, Mull itself might just have Corncrakes in the extreme west opposite Iona.

Jack

[FISHiEE]

According to this Blog (http://treshnishbirdlog.blogspot.co.uk/ ... chive.html) they get them in the North West from time to time. The blog is a pretty good read for all widlife on the island including the buterflies. Sounds like the guy knows where to find a few of the islands raraties!

This chap runs some self catering cottages in the North West and sounds like definitely worth staying there for a few days when on Mull to pick his brains on some of the sites!

[David M]

According to this Blog (http://treshnishbirdlog.blogspot.co.uk/ ... chive.html) they get them in the North West from time to time. The blog is a pretty good read for all widlife on the island including the buterflies. Sounds like the guy knows where to find a few of the islands raraties!

This chap runs some self catering cottages in the North West and sounds like definitely worth staying there for a few days when on Mull to pick his brains on some of the sites!

Nice find that, FISHiEE. The images are excellent and it's nice to be reassured that Marsh Fritillaries are definitely to be found on Mull, even if they aren't too numerous.

[Jack Harrison]

Somerset and Carolyne Charrington manage Treshnish Farm in the west of Mull.

I met Somerset (what a name!) very briefly last May when I visited the farm. He was hard at work but managed a few minutes of his time to chat. He regretted that he couldn't confirm Marsh Fritillary on his land but was ever hopeful. Amusingly, Somerset reckoned that the best spot for Marsh Fritillaries on Mull was around the recycling centre just outside Tobermory. I chatted to one of the staff there when dumping vast amounts of bubble wrap (used in my move). He didn't know Marsh Fritillaries but I got the informal go-ahead to have a look around next season (at least guaranteed Ravens there).

Marsh Frits are also reported on the opposite side of Tobermory beside the main road to the ferry at Craignure. I would imagine that they occur quite wildly - plenty of apparently suitable habitat - but in very low numbers so could be difficult to track down. But no doubt, a lot easier to find than Chequered Skipper which I still consider to be an outside possibility on Mull.

Jack