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Help from the twitchers please


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39 minutes ago, Athy said:

It sure does!

I am slightly surprised that the article gives its name as a lapwing and its nickname as a peewit. I remember Dad insisting that its official name was a Green Plover.

I suspect the "official name" will change with the generations and by geography too. 

 

After all I was brought up to know the difference between a house sparrow and a hedge sparrow 

 

We don't have hedge sparrows any more!

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Just now, cheshire~rose said:

I suspect the "official name" will change with the generations and by geography too. 

 

After all I was brought up to know the difference between a house sparrow and a hedge sparrow 

 

We don't have hedge sparrows any more!

Hedge Accentor or Dunnock.

 

 

download.jpg

Edited by Ray T
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I've noticed a lot more lapwings over the past five years or so than there used to be, still not in the numbers they were when i was a lad.

Often sat and watched their aerial acrobatics when taking a walk up "on't tops".

Once when walking the dog with my daughter we had one giving it the old broken wing trick to lure us away from it's nest, daft thing kept it up for about half a mile.

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Just come to mind, in music lessons at infants school we learnt this:

 

ON THE MOOR (a round)


On the moor I saw a plover

And a curlew call her lover

“Pee-wit!” “Pee-wit!”

Spring shall surely come again.

 

Curlew:

download.jpg.ec5380c6e1c009f08202ddd05f597516.jpg

 

Plover: (One of  many types)https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=plover&qs=n&form=QBIR&sp=-1&ghc=1&pq=plover&sc=8-6&sk=&cvid=4BE92F6D3450489AAD4C0097954376A9

 

maxresdefault.jpg.173520ae0d96ab2d5baaccb582919340.jpg

 

Edited by Ray T
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4 minutes ago, Dr Bob said:

@tree monkey are you happy that is the bird you saw? If not, I am sure we can dig deeper.

I didnt think Lapwings are on the red list? I see them most times you go to one of the waterfowl reserves around the country or even just in fields. I've got loads of pics of them.

I'm not 100% myself but it looks a reasonable guess, it was big and I didn't think it had so much white on it but I was trying to steer the boat at the time.

If you have any other suggestions 

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2 hours ago, tree monkey said:

I'm not 100% myself but it looks a reasonable guess, it was big and I didn't think it had so much white on it but I was trying to steer the boat at the time.

If you have any other suggestions 

Google Oystercatcher.

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4 hours ago, Ray T said:

Just come to mind, in music lessons at infants school we learnt this:

 

ON THE MOOR (a round)


On the moor I saw a plover

And a curlew call her lover

“Pee-wit!” “Pee-wit!”

Spring shall surely come again.

 

 

 

 

 

Must have been a very odd curlew making a noise like that.  Here in Scotland curlews are called whaups, and there are several place names round here starting with that name.

Edited to say that I heard my first whaup of the Spring a couple of evenings back.

Edited by Mac of Cygnet
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13 hours ago, tree monkey said:

I'm not 100% myself but it looks a reasonable guess, it was big and I didn't think it had so much white on it but I was trying to steer the boat at the time.

If you have any other suggestions 

Where were you at the time? 

 

That could make a difference 

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5 minutes ago, tree monkey said:

First field through bridge from grendon service block, arable stubble field

Fairly unlikely to be an oystercatcher as they like mudflats! coastal and tidal areas - a stubble field is where you would most likely find curlew nesting 

 

edited to add I suspect you would have noticed the brightly coloured bill and legs if it had been although the single note repeated 3 times does sound like oystercatcher and you have wetlands nearby so it is possible 

Edited by cheshire~rose
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3 minutes ago, cheshire~rose said:

Fairly unlikely to be an oystercatcher as they like mudflats! coastal and tidal areas - a stubble field is where you would most likely find curlew nesting 

Not a curlew even a numpty like me knows what they look like, Sis used to get a good few nr her place

 

The more I look I think it must have been a pee wit, striking thing

Edited by tree monkey
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1 minute ago, tree monkey said:

Not a curlew even a numpty like me knows what they look like, Sis used to get a good few nr her place

Sorry I meant Lapwing! 

 

Have a listen to the video at the bottom of this page - they have a very high pitched peep peep peep when they fly 

 

https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/oystercatcher/

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40 minutes ago, tree monkey said:

Pee wit does, northern lappwing 

 

Or am I confused here, see this is why I like trees

Yes the peewit or lapwing does have the crest which is why I was fairly confident we had a satisfactory identification - there are not many British birds like that you described that have a crest 

 

It was Dr Bob who put the doubt in your mind (and ours) 

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19 hours ago, tree monkey said:

Being a complete numpty as far as bird ID can any one help

Spotted yesterday, biggish bird black with white bands on the underside of the wings, crest on its head and I think white patch on its chest.

Single note call repeated 3 times

On a stubble field

 

@Dr Bob and anyone else who knows these sort of things. 

 

Thank you

I guess we need a bit more info on how it was flying. The Lapwing ID sounds about right. See a photo below I took of one flying a few  years back. They do look very black/white when flying despite their spectacular colouring in Ray's pic.

 

To aid in the ID I would look at a couple of things. Firstly size. Where does it fit on a scale of blackbird, jackdaw, Crow/Rook, Magpie (all of which you will know)? Size is actually very difficult when they are in the air as its all about distance. What's your best guess?

 

Secondly flight details. A medium size blackish coloured bird could take in quite a lot but its flight details rule out most. You say it was on a stuble field but with white underwing markings. To see the white underwing markings, it must have flown up. Now I can think of many black coloured birds and with us now getting into the migration season, it is possible to see almost anything as they fly from Africa/Med up to Scandinavia. Most will however be just going from A to B so flying past. There are lots of waders around your area ie Oystercatchers or small ducks ie tufted ducks (they have a crest) but they are likely to be flying in straight lines in pairs or groups. Certainly wouldnt see a tufted duck on a stubble field. Was it flying round and round, and if so was it 'graceful' or clumbsy looking? If graceful, rule out ducks!

 

If blackbird sized then a rare sighting could be a Ring Ouzel (they like stubble fields on the way up to thier breeding sites in the mountains of Wales, Cumbria and Scotland) - they are very rare. Dippers are black with white breasts (size of a blackbird) but they would be flying low over small rivers in April not out in fields.

 

I have to agree with Ray that it's likely a Lapwing. This time of year they are establishing nests (on the ground) and will be flying around the nest sites so not moving across your view from A to B. They are very cautious of raptors trying to steal eggs so get flushed up and fly round quite areobatically. That should be the main clue. Loads around your area so it wouldn't be a surprise. I think Lapwings are quite distictive in having very 'rectangular' wings with flattish ends rather than pointed ends so their profile in the sky is unusual. They are very graceful in flight.

 

The crest is however perhaps the biggest pointer as not too many black coloured birds with crests - the only other common one being the tufted duck - but they dont land in fields!

 

I'm going with a Lapwing unless its flight pattern doesnt match what is said above.

Lapwing Jan 2017.png

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18 minutes ago, cheshire~rose said:

Yes the peewit or lapwing does have the crest which is why I was fairly confident we had a satisfactory identification - there are not many British birds like that you described that have a crest 

 

It was Dr Bob who put the doubt in your mind (and ours) 

I've just tried to wander down to the field, unfortunately there are a group of boats moored opposite and I don't want to wander by too close.

 

I am not at all confident about bird ID so am easily led, I don't think the muppet had much to do with my lack of confidence  :)

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6 minutes ago, Dr Bob said:

I guess we need a bit more info on how it was flying. The Lapwing ID sounds about right. See a photo below I took of one flying a few  years back. They do look very black/white when flying despite their spectacular colouring in Ray's pic.

 

To aid in the ID I would look at a couple of things. Firstly size. Where does it fit on a scale of blackbird, jackdaw, Crow/Rook, Magpie (all of which you will know)? Size is actually very difficult when they are in the air as its all about distance. What's your best guess?

 

Secondly flight details. A medium size blackish coloured bird could take in quite a lot but its flight details rule out most. You say it was on a stuble field but with white underwing markings. To see the white underwing markings, it must have flown up. Now I can think of many black coloured birds and with us now getting into the migration season, it is possible to see almost anything as they fly from Africa/Med up to Scandinavia. Most will however be just going from A to B so flying past. There are lots of waders around your area ie Oystercatchers or small ducks ie tufted ducks (they have a crest) but they are likely to be flying in straight lines in pairs or groups. Certainly wouldnt see a tufted duck on a stubble field. Was it flying round and round, and if so was it 'graceful' or clumbsy looking? If graceful, rule out ducks!

 

If blackbird sized then a rare sighting could be a Ring Ouzel (they like stubble fields on the way up to thier breeding sites in the mountains of Wales, Cumbria and Scotland) - they are very rare. Dippers are black with white breasts (size of a blackbird) but they would be flying low over small rivers in April not out in fields.

 

I have to agree with Ray that it's likely a Lapwing. This time of year they are establishing nests (on the ground) and will be flying around the nest sites so not moving across your view from A to B. They are very cautious of raptors trying to steal eggs so get flushed up and fly round quite areobatically. That should be the main clue. Loads around your area so it wouldn't be a surprise. I think Lapwings are quite distictive in having very 'rectangular' wings with flattish ends rather than pointed ends so their profile in the sky is unusual. They are very graceful in flight.

 

The crest is however perhaps the biggest pointer as not too many black coloured birds with crests - the only other common one being the tufted duck - but they dont land in fields!

 

I'm going with a Lapwing unless its flight pattern doesnt match what is said above.

Lapwing Jan 2017.png

I do think lapping is right, I didn't see much colour because it was mostly flared out by the sun.

Its was absolutely not a duck and although I wouldn't describe it as graceful it could handle itself ;)

Wings were squared off which I forgot in my original description and does seem to be a decider. 

Thank you all

 

 

Oh to add, see Trees is easy

Edited by tree monkey
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