My Bird Year List 2011

[Tursiops2]

Just got back from a nice stroll down to Landguard. No sign of the Wheatear that was seen yesterday or, for that matter, the Firecrest that's been around all week .

Still, I did add:
76. Linnet
77. Ringed Plover

and walking back along the sea front produced:
78. Sanderling
79. Purple Sandpiper

The last is another patch tick, so I'm happy with that.

Originally Posted by aeshna5

Feral Greylags count!

Hmm. Round here, feral Greylag is the aquatic equivalent of feral pigeon, and I haven't counted them either. I'm a bit of a purist, I'm afraid. I suppose though, to be consistent, I should also exclude Canadas and RL partridge, which I don't want to do. So, from now on, I'm going to put all naturalised/escapes in square brackets, like this:-
80.[Greylag]
81.[Feral Pigeon]

T2

[RoyW]

Originally Posted by Tursiops2

Hmm. Round here, feral Greylag is the aquatic equivalent of feral pigeon, and I haven't counted them either. I'm a bit of a purist, I'm afraid. I suppose though, to be consistent, I should also exclude Canadas and RL partridge, which I don't want to do. So, from now on, I'm going to put all naturalised/escapes in square brackets, like this:-
80.[Greylag]
81.[Feral Pigeon]

It does seem strange to exclude Greylag Goose (and Feral Pigeon) - especially as you are happy to count other introduced species (which in your area potentially includes the Barnacle Geese, which are generally far less established than feral Greylags.

[Tursiops2]

Originally Posted by RoyW

It does seem strange to exclude Greylag Goose (and Feral Pigeon) - especially as you are happy to count other introduced species (which in your area potentially includes the Barnacle Geese, which are generally far less established than feral Greylags.

I refer my Rt Hon. Friend to his earlier remarks:

Originally Posted by RoyW

What you include in a year list is entirely down to personal choice ("rules" are only important if you wish to compare your list directly with others on a "like for like" basis).

The Barnacles I've included are 5 that spent a few weeks on the Marshes in Jan/Feb. I'm open to correction, but as far as I know they were genuinely wild birds - unlike the (very tame) flock of 25 that turned up for a day last July, now they were "plastic".
T2

[david156]

Added Purple Sandpiper today taking my year tally up to 130.

All in Norfolk.

[Naturenutz]

I have decided to list everything and then you can always discard them if needs be . Still stuck on 106.

[david156]

Originally Posted by Naturenutz

I have decided to list everything and then you can always discard them if needs be . Still stuck on 106.

I just use the BOU list. If its on that and it lives in the wild and doesn't answer to the name 'polly' or similar, it gets ticked.

[RoyW]

Originally Posted by Tursiops2

I refer my Rt Hon. Friend to his earlier remarks:

The Barnacles I've included are 5 that spent a few weeks on the Marshes in Jan/Feb. I'm open to correction, but as far as I know they were genuinely wild birds - unlike the (very tame) flock of 25 that turned up for a day last July, now they were "plastic".
T2

Yep, what you include on your list is entirely up to you!
That doesn't mean that I can't consider your decision to be strange though (note that I didn't say that it was wrong!)


As for the Barnacle Geese, the truth is that you will probably never really know whether they were wild birds from (eg.) the Dutch wintering population, or a few from the self sustaining feral flock on the Suffolk coast.

[david156]

Originally Posted by RoyW

As for the Barnacle Geese, the truth is that you will probably never really know whether they were wild birds from (eg.) the Dutch wintering population, or a few from the self sustaining feral flock on the Suffolk coast.

There is a similar issue been going on in Norfolk this winter with a Lesser White Fronted Goose at Cantley RSPB. It arrive with a carrier species, stayed with them, acted wild, and left with the same carrier group (Bean Geese) and yet some are questioning whether it is an escapee, a true wild bird or from the reintroduction programme in scandinavia! To be honest, with how rare they are in this country, I think it is the nearest i'll get to a true wild LWF Goose.

[Tursiops2]

Originally Posted by RoyW

As for the Barnacle Geese, the truth is that you will probably never really know whether they were wild birds from (eg.) the Dutch wintering population, or a few from the self sustaining feral flock on the Suffolk coast.

To be honest, I didn't know there was a self-sustaining flock in Suffolk . If I see any more, I shall view them with a more sceptical eye.

Originally Posted by david156

There is a similar issue been going on in Norfolk this winter with a Lesser White Fronted Goose at Cantley RSPB. It arrive with a carrier species, stayed with them, acted wild, and left with the same carrier group (Bean Geese) and yet some are questioning whether it is an escapee, a true wild bird or from the reintroduction programme in scandinavia! To be honest, with how rare they are in this country, I think it is the nearest i'll get to a true wild LWF Goose.

I know what you mean. A few years ago I found a LWF on the Orwell. I knew that records of LWF are automatically regarded with "suspicion" so I asked on BirdForum what the chances were of this being a wild bird. I was told that one indication was the species it was associating with. Mine was with Brents, Canadas, feral Greylags, and a single Barnacle that had been on the river for the last year. If it was a wild bird, it was definitely mixing with the wrong crowd!
T2

[david156]

Originally Posted by Tursiops2

I know what you mean. A few years ago I found a LWF on the Orwell. I knew that records of LWF are automatically regarded with "suspicion" so I asked on BirdForum what the chances were of this being a wild bird. I was told that one indication was the species it was associating with. Mine was with Brents, Canadas, feral Greylags, and a single Barnacle that had been on the river for the last year. If it was a wild bird, it was definitely mixing with the wrong crowd!
T2

Takes me back to my teenage years in Essex!

There was a feral LWF on Buckinham Marshes RSPB with Greylags, and if anyone knows that area, they'll know that cantley and buckinham are next door to each and yet the 'wild' LWF didn't attempt to mix with the feral bird. It stuck rigidly with the Bean Geese.