I realise that this is old news (5 months to be precise) however Andy queried the validity of my sighting. I have a few more pics of the bird in question (not great quality I know) but I would genuinely be interested in your feedback as I was convinced (at the time) that I was observing a White Wag.
I consider myself a very enthusiastic birder who is certainly not afraid to be proved wrong. I am sure if we are all honest with ourselves there may have been occasions when we have convinced ourselves at the time of observation that we have positively identified a particular species then on perusing our notes and guides at a later time thought well I'm not sure about that after all.
Anyway enough of that have a look at the pics if you are interested and let me know what you think!
On a more seasonal note 23 pinkies flew Sw at 19:20 on the southern boundary of the area this evening. Definitely!
4 comments:
hi dave must have to agree with andy to me it looks like a female pied wagtail,but not having seen the bird i would not like to say for definate but the mantle does not look pale enough
Interesting pictures. The flanks do look rather pale on the second photo but is there the hint of a dark rump on the first one, which would point to a Pied Wag. Was the picture taken in May. Do first summer birds differ greatly ???
I agree Nick that the flanks do look very clean but I don't think there is sufficient contrast between the black of the head/bib and the back to make this a White, I reckon there would also be a greater contrast between the wings and back if this were a White. It might be a trick of the photograph but I think I can also make out darker areas coming through on the mantle? Having said that the rump would have been the real clincher, I always like to see the rump (but then don't we all!).
Well done to Dave for bringing this up, this is one of the pleasures of birding to me, we're all constantly learning and I too would be very interested in other people's opinions.
Hi all,
As a relative novice, can I offer this thought? I tend to do most of my local birding around April / May, and each year I would wonder if I had missed a White Wagtail by not checking thoroughly - until in 2003 I saw one on the Wirral. The contrast between nape and mantle on this male was immediately striking, and I was then certain that I had not overlooked one of these in the past.
The female seems a bit less clear cut, but looking back at some rather poor images from Spain (my hand-held digiscoping technique does not always hit the mark!), the plain grey back continues right down to the tail, while the bird in your pictures does seem to darken noticeably on the rump.
No, I couldn't be certain from the photo's, but I would probably err on the side of caution.
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