Just how rare are rare birds?

[FUDGEY]

Might sound a silly question, but Ill try explain what I mean. For example a short toed treecreeper has been residing in the UK down South for the last few days. How many of us see birds like this and just say "oh thats nice a Treecreeper" I know I would never look close enough to tell the difference with birds like this. There are many more that you would have to look at in detail to tell exactly what they are. I bet we have all seen rarities at some point and just took them for their commoner relations.

[nightshade]

This is why we get people specialising on this site, I don't think I could gaze through a microscope to get a spider to species level by looking at its nadjery bits, but luckily somebody will. Small Brown Birds are just that to me, but are manna to others, I do try, but am too interested in everything wildlife, rare or otherwise
I suppose I ought to specialise in something but what (bats) ? I enjoy being a dabbler

[Anzu]

Originally Posted by nightshade

This is why we get people specialising on this site, I don't think I could gaze through a microscope to get a spider to species level by looking at its nadjery bits, but luckily somebody will. Small Brown Birds are just that to me, but are manna to others, I do try, but am too interested in everything wildlife, rare or otherwise
I suppose I ought to specialise in something but what (bats) ? I enjoy being a dabbler

hooray for dabblers So much wildlife everywhere you look, it's all interesting!

I guess that is why I like to take photographs of any wildlife I see so I can look at it in detail later on and find out exactly what it was I was staring at, either by using a book or the internet.

I guess by doing this I'm learning more about wildlife so that next time I see whatever I saw again I can identify it.

[htcdude]

I'm the same with you Anzu, although I know more about birds than anything else, but I photograph anything that breathes, find out what it is and learn a bit about it



FUDGEY I know what you mean, I'd imagine even top birders will overlook many birds in their lifetime, passing them off as a common species

Nige

[Adam Cheeseman]

Originally Posted by FUDGEY

Might sound a silly question, but Ill try explain what I mean. For example a short toed treecreeper has been residing in the UK down South for the last few days. How many of us see birds like this and just say "oh thats nice a Treecreeper" I know I would never look close enough to tell the difference with birds like this. There are many more that you would have to look at in detail to tell exactly what they are. I bet we have all seen rarities at some point and just took them for their commoner relations.

Calling all birds that turn up in this country that wouldn't normally be here Rare is a misnomer. Taking the STT as an example, there have only been 25 records previously in Britain so it is rare here, yet hop on a cross channel ferry and you can walk into a woodland and see them fairly easily because they are common.
I dare say many vagrant species do get missed out and overlooked, but with the increase in popularity and means of getting information out to the masses means that many more are found now than used to be the case.

Cheers,

Adam

[Dogghound]

Additionally I think the more experienced (or more time you spend birding/reading etc) and the more detail you look at and patience you have with each bird the more likely you will pick something up. Some birds are very hard to ID in the field a lot are caught at ringing sites where they are easier to ID (was the treecreeper on of these?).

Spring and autumn are both periods where any birder should really be taking that little bit more attention to detail. Some birds can be very similar i.e. some of the small phylloscopus warblers. Its always worth waiting an extra half hour/hour to get a good look at the bird.

[solus]

Originally Posted by Dogghound

Some birds are very hard to ID in the field a lot are caught at ringing sites where they are easier to ID (was the treecreeper one of these?).

It was indeed.

[Dogghound]

I must admit it would be hard to pick a short toed treecreeper out without it being in the hand the stepping on the wing would be extremely hard to see especially if it kept going around the back of the trunk as they often do. Additionally the other features are very subtle in this species like the reduced spot on primary 4, bill length, hind claw length, alula edge, supercilium and throat. I guess if you were realy keen you could pick them out in the field but you would have to really study every treecreeper. I only really pay attention to treecreeper if they are at coastal sites where they are not usually common in spring/autumn. I did manage several scandinavian familiaris bird last autumn.

[nightshade]

I once had a bird here I looked up all the books I have and Cettis warbler was the only bird that fitted the bill. People on this site were very helpful, BUT they could not accept my description and kept suggesting other birds that it could be (I could not get photos clear enough and its backside was the usual presentation, very shy bird) I did know that we have Goldcrests about so in the end I persuaded myself thats what it must have been.
So photograph anything you see
With a Scale
Time of day
Date and weather
Several shots fore and aft and above/below (somebody is bound to want to see the nether regions as final confirmation ) in case it is something rare!

[Hobjob]

It was a first for Suffolk, and rarely for me i twitched it.

Its been re-captured in the permanent mist nets at Languard almost daily since it first appeared - that is a very busy daily ringing station, that gets all sorts of rarities because it sits on a promontory on the East Edge of UK! But it had to be in the hand to ID it.

They don't especially want to re-capture it, but it is gaining weight daily! It was underweight on arrival.


But I only know I really saw a Short Toed Treecreeper because it had a fresh ring on it, and over the years I think they have only ringed about 50 commons, and none yet this year.

Bit daft to twitch it really, but I had to go to B & Q just up the road anyway.
I think I saw Tursiiops2 there too? - but it is his patch.