Tuesday 25 May 2010

Resident Kestrel and Mystery bird

Paul Manchester sent me this great picture of the resident female Kestrel on the Great Orme. He also sent me a picture of a bird he thought may be a female Redstart which he saw distantly by the cemetery on Saturday. The bill and head shape don't seem right for Redstart to me, but I'm not 100% sure what it is. A Wren with its tail held downwards was one thought, while the possibility of it being a female Rock Thrush seems thoroughly ridiculous. I'm off to find the branch tomorrow so that I can measure it's size and nail the i.d. inthe process. Any one got any opinions?

3 comments:

  1. A bit of a conundrum, because it is hard to ascertain the size and colouration in the light, but from the head and the bill, it looks like a juvenile Starling to me.

    Cheers, Paul.
    http://theblackgrouse.blogspot.com

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  2. That's a very odd bird - my first reaction was wren with a deformed bill. I don't think it's redstart (think the reddish is the reflected light from the grass coming through the feathers), and I see why PS suggests starling but the jizz just doesn't sit right for me. Did you get any further on the scale/size?

    Julian

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  3. Hi Paul,
    The vast majority have voted in favour of Wren, including Lee Evans himself.
    See here - http://surfbirds.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6959
    and here -
    http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=171831
    All the best

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