Young Guillemot inland?

[Jcommon]

Well today i was walking my dogs through my local patch alongside the river Wansbeck in Northumberland and sighted what was very clearly a young Guillemot swimming upstrem. I watched it for about ten minutes before i left but just wanted to ask the board why a 'sea' bird would be 2 miles inland?

I couldn't take a good photo with the phone i have at the moment either :

[Adam Cheeseman]

Hi, a young bird could easily just have gone in the wrong direction and 2 miles is barely inland. We get Guillemots and other seabirds here in Surrey pretty regular, especially on migration.

Cheers,

Adam

[Dogghound]

How sure are you that its a young guillemot?

Juveniles left the north sea colonies about 3 weeks ago they fledge before they can fly (they jump off the cliff) they are then cared for by the male which almost always takes them away from the shore and out to offshore feeding grounds away from large gulls. The chick is completely flighless for around 50 days after fledging (which does vary). So most birds will be unable to even fly at the moment. It is extremely unlikely but weird things happen. Could you have seen a little grebe or something similar? how did it behave? how did it dive?

[Dogghound]

Originally Posted by Adam Cheeseman

Hi, a young bird could easily just have gone in the wrong direction and 2 miles is barely inland. We get Guillemots and other seabirds here in Surrey pretty regular, especially on migration.

Cheers,

Adam

I think the whole of yorkshire has only ever had a tiny amount of auk records inland since recording began, which is in close proximity to c.80,000+ auks inthe breeding season. Very interesting and odd to get regular records in surrey. A dead little auk was found about 4 miles from the coast here after heavy storms about 6 years ago but thats about it in recent times.

[RoyW]

I think that Adam meant that records of seabirds including Guillemots were regular in Surrey (with Guillemots, like most other individual species, remaining rare.).
If an unprecedented influx in early 1986, when at least 18 Guillemots were seen on Surrey parts of the Thames - perhaps as many as 30, is ignored, there have only been about 20 individuals officially recorded in Surrey (9 from 1987 to 2003).

I agree that a juvenile Guillemot is unlikely, and if it was a Guillemot I would think that a sick adult might be more likely (if the attending adult had died a youngster might follow a river inland though).

In Essex Guillemots are rare inland, but they are recorded in rivers like the Thames and Colne in most years.

[Jcommon]

I'm certain it was not a Little Grebe, i see them all the time on the river. I consulted my RSPB identification book and the only two things that looked similar were a young Guillemot or a little Auk in winter plumage. And since its the peak of summer i doubt the second could be possible.

I'm going to go back tomorrow to have a look but i suppose the chances of it still being there are very slim. All i can say was that it was about the size of/ if not a slight bit bigger than a Puffin and swam with its legs behind it, but the colours certainly match that of a young Guillemot.

Thanks

James

[Jcommon]

Just used Google to search for Young Guillemot's and i'm now 100 % thats what i saw.. Poor xexexexexexe won't have much chance by itself though will it?

[RoyW]

Remember that adults may already be in winter plumage (and last years young may not have attained summer plumage at all) - this would mean that they look very similar to juveniles.

Even if it is a young Guillemot from this year, I wouldn't completely write off its chances of survival.

[Jcommon]

Could it find enough food to eat in a river? i suppose small fish such as minnows and Bullhead would be just as easily caught as small coastal species.

[htcdude]

Maybe it was a Cormorant?