Long-billed Dowitcher

Today it really felt as though Spring had arrived. We were off down to Pennington to look for the Long-billed Dowitcher. It wasn't exactly warm but the sun was shinning, the sky was blue, and there was no wind, and for the first time this year the birds seemed to be out singing and marking out their territories.

On the walk down to the lagoons from the car park we had Linnets, that I didn't manage to photograph, a Reed Bunting and even a Wren happy too be sitting out in the open singing.

Reed Bunting

Wren

Waders were in short supply, as they have been for most of this Winter, but the comparison of this Spotted Redshank and Redshank made an interesting picture.

Spotted Redshank and Redshank

Spotted Redshank

A search for the Long-billed Dowitcher found it sleeping in the reeds along side three Snipe. It looked promising when we first spotted it but it wasn't until it raised its head and revealed the bill that we could be sure.

Long-billed Dowitcher and three Snipe

We watched it for a while and it was beginning to look as though it would not leave the cover of the reeds. Luckily a low flying Lapwing spooked the Snipe and the Dowitcher took to the air with them. I would normally have expect it to head deeper into cover.

The flight shot gives a good view of the white cigar shape on its back.

Long-billed Dowitcher - showing cigar shaped white mark on its back

The bird did not travel far and was soon heading back to its favoured resting place in the reeds

Long-billed Dowitcher

With the shot below showing the greenish/yellow legs and truncated bill with slightly down turned end.

and heading back to the reeds

Next stop was at Mark Ash wood in the New Forest but our usually reliable Tawny Owl seems to have moved on and our quick search for a Lesser-spotted Woodpecker revealed no sighting and no sound of drumming. Perhaps still a little too early in the year and certainly a little late in the day.

Next stop was Eyeworth Pond at Fritham. The small birds are always easy to photograph here  as they are very tame and use to visitors providing them with food. The only difficulty is getting a decent shot of the bird without piles of seeds getting in the way.

There are usually Mandarins on display although they tend to stay on the far side and shelter under the trees but the bonus on this visit were four Goosanders, three male and one female.

Goosander

Goosander and Mandarin Duck

Goosander and Mandarin Duck

Mandarins escorting the female.

We had great fun watching and photographing these and there were a number of flight shots that nearly made the grade but in the end were all consigned to the bin. It is amazing how different the male Mandarin looks in flight.

Then it was back to the feeding station and a few shots of the more common birds.

Great Tit

Great Tit

Marsh Tit

Marsh Tit

Nuthatch

A great days birding with, for a change, some decent lighting for the photography.

Hawfinch

I had two targets today, the first Hawfinch which was successful, the second Penduline Tits which was a bit of a disaster. For the Hawfinches I went to Lakeside Country Park in Eastleigh. I had seen them here in previous years and sure enough they were frequenting the same area again this year. That is, the trees just behind the cafe and next to the miniature railway line.

You can get good views through the binoculars but it is difficult to get close. They tend to stay in the tops of the trees and will fly off if you get too near. I was also having the added problem of them always appearing to land so that I was photographing into the sun. Still, I shouldn't complain, they are always a great bird to see. Two record shots are shown below.

For the Pendulines I visited Titchfield Haven and had decided to sit in West Hide and wait for them to come to me. That is exactly what I did for four hours. The birds of course went to Meadow Hide on the other side of the river. It was a long cold wait for birds that decided not to show.

There were lots of other birds around Lakeside. Repolls, Siskin, and an assortment of finches but again they were all in the tops of the trees.  This Wren made a couple of appearances. It seemed lively enough but seemed a bit on the thin side for this time of year.

There were a few Fieldfare in the trees but no Redwing that I could see.

With the long wait in the hide at Titchfield I saw very few birds but I at least managed to pick up shots of a Blackbird and Song Thrush to give a bit of variety to the blog.

The only other bird of interest was this Black Swan in the Harbour. It seemed to spend the whole day chasing a Mute Swan around the boats. I am not sure if it was feeling amorous or whether it was just trying to drive a rival off its territory.

The Black Swan is breeding in the wild and seems to have a self sustaining population. I wonder how long it will be before it is accepted as a British bird. Alternatively, I suppose, it could go the way of the Ruddy Duck and be wiped out in this country to stop it interbreeding with the Mute Swans.

Spotted Flycatcher

Sometimes you go out with a plan and it works - yesterday. Sometimes you go out with a plan and it doesn't work - today. I had wanted to see a Merlin. It's been at the top of my list for a long time now, a bit of a bogey bird. The only Merlin that I have seen were a couple of dead ones that we picked up off the road near Scotney Pit.

There was a Merlin reported at Farlington Marsh yesterday so I though I would give it a go. No luck, the best I could manage was a Kestrel. Still I had a good day, I saw a lot of birds and even got a few good shots.

Linnet - rather dull at this time of year

Linnet

Sedge Warbler

Wren

The Bearded Tits were seen at Farlington today but not by me. They are probably still feeding on insects and will be easier to see once they change over to the reed seeds in the winter. There were also Yellow Wagtail in with the cattle but the grass was long and I could not get a clear shot of them.

Next stop was Church Norton where I got some close views of the Spotted Flycatchers from the hide.

Spotted Flycatcher

Then round to the North Wall. The water in the Breech Pool was back to a reasonable level and with mud showing again the waders were back. I missed the Spotted Redshanks so the picture opportunities were limited to the Black-tailed Godwits and Snipe.

Black-tailed Godwit

Black-tailed Godwit

Snipe

Swallows and House Martins were hawking over the pool and gathering on the overhead cables. It will soon be time for them to leave. 

To finish off I had a Long-tailed Tit flock moving through. For some reason they always raise the spirits.

Long-tailed Tit

I didn't get the Merlin but it still turned out to be a good day. Nothing really exciting but a lot of good birds to see.

Turtle Dove

The Sussex Wildlife Trust Headquarters at Woods Mill is always a good place to look for Turtle Doves. They tend to favour  a couple of trees on the footpath down the west side of the site and often sit out in the open.

My first circuit of the site did not look very promising. There was very little moving and not much bird song. I sat for a while and enjoyed the view out over the lake and had just decided to move on to Pulborough Brooks when I heard a familiar purring coming from the other side of the lake.

The Turtle Dove was easy enough to find but it was deep in a tree and it was very difficult to find an angle for a clear shot.

Turtle Dove playing hard to get.

It called on and off for about half an hour and then flew away. It was probably about an hour before it returned. This time it found a more open perch but was left silhouetted against the sky so was still not easy to photograph. It also seemed determined to keep its back towards me for most of the time I was watching.

At last a front view but he doesn't look very happy

It's a pity he didn't want to pose for me but I'm just happy that he made it through the Mediterranean and ended up somewhere where I could see him. Lets hope he finds a mate and that the species starts to make a recovery.

There was not much else around, a few Whitethroats, a Sedge Warblers singing from deep in the reeds and a couple of Wrens singing their hearts out.

Wren

I had left the Macro lens at home so when a Dragonfly flew past me I did not at first think about taking a picture. However, on the second pass I noted more detail and could not immediately put a name to it. You can take Dragonfly pictures with a big lens but you have to stand a long way off. Vegetation tends to get in the way and its usually best to use manual focus unless they are really perched out in the open.

It took me a long time but I eventually got a few decent pictures. It looks like an immature Scarce Chaser.

The species is called a Scarce Chaser and it is scarce throughout its range in southern and eastern England. However, where it does occur it is usually abundant and West Sussex seems to be a good location for it.

An interesting days birding and it was good to see a Turtle Dove. Is it my imagination or have they become more common over the past couple of years?

Cattle Egret

 I think that I will soon have to remove the word "novice" from the descriptor above. I am starting to notice things that even surprise me.

Today I was searching the salt marshes on Sheppey having made yet another failed attempt to get a picture of the Lesser Yellowlegs at Cliffe Pools. There were a few distant Little Egrets and nothing much else but then there was one bird that did not look quite right. I do not carry a scope so my technique is to take a picture on the 700mm set up I use and then to blow it up on the back of the camera to see what I've got. Its not much use on hazy summer days but works quite well as we move into the crisper, clearer winter days.

My initial shot below showed an Egret but the shape looked wrong, the head was too big and rounded and there was no sign of a dark bill.

View through 700mm lens

Blowing up the shot on the back of the camera confirmed a yellow bill but it was clearly not a Great White Egret as it was too small. That only leaves a Cattle Egret. Initially I had my doubts. I would not expect to see it on a salt marsh. It is an insect eater and in this country would normally be seen around cattle.  A  quick check in Collins confirmed the identification ( I hope! ).

Digital enlargement of the shot above.

 I would have liked a better shot but it was quite mobile and stayed distant so all my shots suffer from being huge crops and over sharpened.

Cattle Egret in Flight

Cattle Egret

There were lots of other waders on the mud flats but very few that were close enough for a picture.

Grey Plover

and one still showing the remnants of its summer plumage

Ringed Plover

 There were also a number of Raptors around. Peregrines, Buzzards, Marsh Harrier, etc but the only picture I managed to get was yet another Kestrel.

Kestrel

And finally a few shots of a Wren hunting insects in the fading light.

Wren

There is one around here somewhere.

There were plenty of birds around today although they were mostly the usual suspects and very few were close enough for pictures. Still Sheppey is a new area for me and I enjoyed searching out new birding locations. On the way off the island I went past the entrance to Elmley NNR. It was getting late and its a big site to get around so I decided to leave it for another day. Bad mistake. This evening there is a report of nine White-fronted Geese on the reserve and I haven't managed to see one yet this year.

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The identification of the Cattle Egret in this blog was questioned and led to the publishing of a BIRDGUIDES Webzine article, The article and comments are set out below for completeness.

Throughout October and November 2013, a Cattle Egret was reported regularly (although intermittently) from the Isle of Sheppey, in north Kent. The bird, first reported on 3rd October and last seen on 29th November, was generally to be found on the saltmarsh at Harty Ferry, at the south-east end of the island. Despite its being around for several weeks, we received no images directly here at BirdGuides — unusual for such a long-staying scarcity. However, towards the end of last year, Marc Read emailed me a link to Sussex birder Martin Peacock's blog, asking me to have a look at the egret featured in his post from 17th October. On opening it up and looking at the photos of the bird in question — the Harty Ferry bird no less — it was instantly clear that something was wrong. Though labelled as a Cattle Egret, there appeared to be multiple plumage and structural features at odds with that species, although it didn't really seem to fit any of the European or African egret species. I got in touch with Martin to express my thoughts, and he responded with the following:

"The pictures below are of the 'Cattle Egret' seen regularly around Harty Ferry on Sheppey back in October. It was my first Cattle Egret, so I spent some time checking the identification, photographing and learning about the bird. Although I was happy at the time that it could not be anything other than a Cattle Egret, I could not find any pictures on the web that showed examples of black legs and yellow feet as you would find on a Little Egret. The shape of the lower jaw also seemed to be different to the pictures that I was looking at but I put this down to the bird being a juvenile. Finally there was the fact that it was feeding on a saltmarsh along with other Little Egrets, when I would have expected to find it in pastures, feeding around cattle, or in similar habitats.
The shots were published on my blog back in October and I thought nothing more of it. However, since that time I have received queries suggesting that this may be a Little × Cattle Egret hybrid. I have searched the web but although this hybrid is recognised I cannot find any details on what the resulting bird would look like. This is getting a bit beyond my current levels of expertise and I wondered if there is anyone out there that can help me with the identification...
Finally, my apologies for the quality of the pictures. The bird was about quite distant and the pictures are heavily cropped."

Above: the 'Harty Ferry egret', both at rest and in flight, 17th October 2013 (Photos: Martin Peacock).

So, what is it? For starters, it seems quite clear that this isn't a Cattle Egret. Perhaps the most striking feature is the yellow feet (as in Little Egret), but there are other differences that point away from that as a diagnosis. For example, the bill is comparatively long, thin, and posseses a dark tip, while it also appears rather long-necked for that species. The legs are also rather long and spindly. Could it be an aberrant Little Egret? Personally, I'm not sure: facially, it looks quite Cattle Egret-like with those bright yellowish lores and the predominately yellowish bill (which is perhaps a little shorter than on your average Little Egret). Similarly, the neck, though longer than a typical Cattle, looks quite thickset and rather less 'snaky' than you'd expect in a Little Egret. This, along with the quite plump body and shortish legs, give it quite a dumpy, stunted feel.

Composite showing (left to right) Little Egret, the 'Sheppey egret' and Cattle Egret in similar poses, demonstrating the apparently intermediate structure and appearance of the Sheppey bird. Photos of Little Egret (John Freeman) and Cattle Egret (Tom Victory) from the BirdGuides Iris galleries.

Another species with a yellow bill is Intermediate Egret but, like Cattle Egrets, they have black (not yellow) feet and are larger, longer-necked and more elegant-looking than Little Egrets (not smaller and short-necked as in the Kent bird). White-morph Western Reef Egrets would show paler, greenish legs and a duller bill, as well as a different structure. The bird is also clearly not a Great White Egret.
It is at this point that we mention the 'H' word for the first time. Hybrids between herons, egrets and their allies are rare but certainly not unknown. The Handbook of Avian Hybrids of the World lists Cattle Egret as having hybridised with both Little Blue Heron and Snowy Egret in the USA, and with Little Egret in both Europe and Africa. Furthermore, examples of Cattle Egrets apparently hybridising with Squacco Heron have been recorded in the wild in Spain and Italy (see here and here), while an apparent Cattle Egret × Night Heron has been recorded in captivity in Germany (see here).
Therefore, displaying characteristics seemingly intermediate between Cattle and Little Egret, could the Sheppey bird be a hybrid between the two species? Based on what we can see in Martin's photographs, such an assumption certainly seems reasonable. We'd love to hear your views and opinions on the bird — feel free to leave any comments in the section at the foot of this article!

Martin Peacock & Josh Jones
Friday 10th January 2014

Comments

a lesson for all in checking a rarities true identity. how many people must have seen this and just 'ticked' without thinking. photos show very clearly its not a simple cattle and H seems right
Mark Welfare, 10/01/14 14:08	Report

#2 According to Collins....Western Reef Egret (Egretta gularis) can have an all yellow bill, legs greenish grey to black, with yellow toes, clearly it can be cosmetically variable, also size ranges between 55-68cm. (garzetta/Little Egret) 55-65cm. with gularis at the upper range wings can stretch to 112cm as opposed to 106cm for garzetta. Cheers
Ken Murray, 10/01/14 21:01	Report

#3 Well spotted Marc. I wonder how many people saw this and didn't question the ID?
Andy Lawson, 10/01/14 22:23	Report

#4 Hybrid Little x Cattle looks the most likely. It is obviously not a proper Cattle Egret and to be honest I am surprised that it was reported as such for so long.
Steve Lister, 11/01/14 12:55	Report

#5 Why not simply a Little Egret, with an individual fault in the complex mechanisms for controlling the production and accumulation of melanin. Perhaps, with the substitution of a carotenoid-based bill colour?
Colin Selway, 12/01/14 14:23	Report

#6 Perhaps worth remembering that juvenile Little Egrets can look like this http://www.birdguides.com/iris/pictures.asp?v=1&f=365422 Of course this isnt a juv but individual variation can occur, what did these birds look like when they fledged!
Richard Ford, 15/01/14 00:17	Report

#7 On the Western Reef v Little point Ken Murray raised - it should perhaps be noted that the tip of the bird's bill appears to be decurved. Normally regarded as a distinguishing characteristic between these two easily confused species.
kev roy, 15/01/14 17:34	Report

#8 A breeding plumaged Cattle Egret was present in North Kent last spring and was seen on Higham Marsh, Cliffe and finally Northward Hill close to a Little Egret colony............

Paul Larkin., 15/01/14 17:38