And The Winners Are..

Thanks to everyone who took part in Another Bird Blog’s recent draw for a copy of The Crossley Guide:Raptors. I put the correct answers in a hat and Sue pulled out the two winners, so congratulations to Mr E. Newman of  Somerset UK and Mr W Jones of Florida USA who both gave the answer to the question as American Kestrel Falco sparverius - if you are reading this Errol and Wally, please let me have your full postal address. Soon a copy of the Crossley book will be winging its way to them courtesy of Princeton University Press and I'm sorry that only two people could win a copy of this super new book.

Here’s a copy of part of the official British List of birds from the BOURC website, where American Kestrel is listed just below our UK/European Common Kestrel Falco tinnunculus.

 

The British List from BOURC 

Yes, just two accepted records of American Kestrel in the UK, both in 1976, the first on the remote Fair Isle north of Scotland and a later one in the extreme south of England in the county of Cornwall. There are no further records of Amercan Kestrel in the UK since 1976, but there's lots of people hoping to get one on their own Britsh List, including me.

Although we are fairly used to seeing small passerines whisked across the Atlantic in autumn low pressure systems to then landfall in the UK or Ireland it is rare for raptors to be so involved. I guess the primary reason is that birds of prey are strong fliers and can normally outpace and outmanoeuvre an adverse weather system, whereas a tiny falcon like an Amercan Kestrel of just 10 inches and the size of  a Jay, is much more likely to be caught up in such extremes.

There was a false alarm here a couple of years ago when in November 2010 thousands of UK twitchers raced across country to Sussex, England in the hope of seeing an American Kestrel, only to discover it had escaped from a wildlife sanctuary. Perhaps they didn’t know that American Kestrels are commonly kept in captivity and used in falconry, especially by beginners? So don’t despair UK birders, there’s a likelihood of more escapes but also the possibility that eventually a “real” American Kestrel will turn up again in Britain or Ireland.

There are a couple of pages from the book below, plates which show American Kestrels in their natural habitat, in lifelike scenes and in a range of age and colour variants. The whole book is based upon this pioneering approach to bird identification, a method employed in the first Crossley Guide and continued here to even better effect. The new guide is an ideal way for beginner or novice birders to learn about raptors and an opportunity for the more experienced to sharpen up their skills on the "Mystery Image" pages.

American Kestrel - from The Crossley ID Guide: Raptors 

 

American Kestrel - from The Crossley ID Guide:Raptors

I found this on Wiki - The American Kestrel (Falco sparverius), sometimes known as the “Sparrow Hawk” is actually a small falcon, and the only kestrel found in the Americas. Until the sixth edition of the AOU Checklist of North American Birds was published by the American Ornithologists' Union in 1983, the most commonly used name for the American Kestrel was the “Sparrow Hawk” or “Sparrowhawk”. This was due to a mistaken connection with the Eurasian Sparrowhawk, however the latter is an accipiter rather than a falcon. Though both are diurnal raptors, they are only distantly related. 

In fact, and I read this up on Wiki too, the American Kestrel is not a true kestrel at all. DNA analysis indicates a Late Miocene split between the ancestors of the American Kestrel, and those of the European Common Kestrel and its closest relatives. The colour pattern of the American Kestrel with large areas of brown is reminiscent of kestrels, but the colouration of the head - notably the black ear patch, which is not found in any of the true kestrels - and the male's extensively grey wings are suggestive of a closer relationship with the hobby family. 

American Kestrel by Greg Hume via Wikimedia CC.

Oh, why is this birding stuff so complicated? 

Call into Another Bird Blog soon for more news, pictures and points of view about our feathered friends.

Taking Stock

Indoors today surrounded by rain, snow and even blizzard conditions in the hills not far away, with more to come the experts promise. So here's the news from yesterday, before the weather went from not good to infinitely worse..

Despite the early sun Thursday morning began as yet another bitterly cold one with a biting easterly breeze. It was a combination which left few choices about the outing, the main priority being to bird somewhere moderately sheltered where there might be a touch of warmth in the air. 

So it was over the moss roads to the Rawcliffe feeding station to take stock of the birds there, a top up of the niger tubes and  a scattering of mixed seed on the deck. I stopped on the way along Lancaster Lane to look for birds on a still partially flooded field where I found a couple of shire horses to say hello to.

Pilling Moss

Shires

The flood held five or six Meadow Pipits and more than 15 alba wagtails, all Pied Wagtails I think, until my viewing was interrupted by their multiple alarm calls as a Peregrine flew overhead going in the direction of Pilling and the shore. The wagtails settled in another field further away where 6 Fieldfares probed through the mud for worms and a pair of Oystercatchers has taken up residence. I think the oyks should wait before laying eggs as most fields are being ploughed now after a cold but dry spell which has left the ground generally workable. 

Oystercatcher

Towards Out Rawcliffe I saw the first of four pair of Buzzards I would see, this couple joined in the air by the inevitable crows but also by a Sparrowhawk. Buzzards are extremely active now after many adopted a wintering low profile or moved south and west for a while. 

Buzzard - Buteo buteo

Last week a reader asked about our UK Stock Dove, the pigeon that is somewhat ignored by us birders seeking something more colourful or exciting. Near Out Rawcliffe I watched a pair of Stock Dove at a broken down old tree, a tree which has served Kestrels. Little Owls and Stock Doves in past years but which is now in serious decline - Rather like the Stock Dove itself, a species which has suffered sharp losses of habitat combined with pressure from hunting.

Stock Dove

And from Wiki - "The name Stock Dove has caused some confusion about the origins of this bird. The modern usage of the word "stock" might imply that the bird has been tamed and kept as stock for food and merchandise, leading to the belief that this bird is a hybrid breed with its origins in human aviaries; however this is not the case. The word "Stock" refers not to the stock of trade, but comes from the Old English "stocc" meaning "stump, post, stake, tree trunk, log." Therefore "Stock Dove" means "a dove which lives in hollow trees". Such hollow trees near human settlements would often be taken and used as wood stock for firewood, hence the name”. 

 Stock Dove

“Before deforestation, the Stock Dove was the most frequent pigeon, nesting mostly in oak or pine wood, but as it usually nests in cavities in trees it was normally only found in old forests. In plantations there are not as many holes to nest in, so the species is scarcer. In addition, because the Stock Dove is double brooded, a second hole is required for the second brood. They are known to nest in rabbit burrows, ruins with cavities large enough to host nesting and old poplar hedges which have numerous cavities for nesting and in cracks in crag or cliff faces, in ivy, or in the thick growth round the boles of common lime trees. Stock Doves will also use nest boxes”.

About the farm one or two Curlews were in bubbling display as they passed through and east towards the Bowland fells, and I counted more than 20 of them heading that way. The feeding station still holds the Bramblings, 4 today, plus 15 Reed Bunting, 10 Chaffinch and 6 Goldfinch. 

At a nearby garden were 30+ Tree Sparrows, 1 Great-spotted Woodpecker and 1 Mistle Thrush. Four more Buzzards, 60+ Woodpigeon, 4 Yellowhammer and a pair of Kestrels completed my morning. 

Yellowhammer

If there’s anyone not entered Wednesday’s draw on Another Bird Blog to win a copy of the new Crossley ID Guide: Raptors, there’s still time to do so by clicking here.

 The Crossley ID Guide: Raptors

Good luck and come back soon. Meanwhile see Who would rather be birding or take a look at Madge's Weekly Top Shot.

Blog Tour - Crossley Raptors UK - Free Book Draw

Yes this is it folks, and if you reached here today via Princeton University Press Blog or Birdfreak.com you will know what this is all about. For regular readers of Another Bird Blog today’s post is a little different in the form of a whistle-stop on a transatlantic blog circuit organised by Princeton University Press, a tour of Internet birding and featuring Richard Crossley’s new book The Crossley ID Guide:Raptors. 

Readers will remember Richard’s Crossley’s innovative and highly successful book The Crossley Guide:Eastern Birds, reviewed here on 27th January 2011. The post became the most visited page on Another Bird Blog with more than 1200 hits to date. The book became a huge success and Richard is now following it up by joining forces with Brian Sullivan and Jerry Liguori to co-author this new volume which takes a detailed look at North American raptors.

The Crossley ID Guide:Raptors

As part of Another Bird Blog’s contribution to this circuit and further down the page there is a draw whereby two lucky people will each receive a copy of The Crossley ID Guide:Raptors. All you have to do to be in with a chance is answer a simple question. So read on but don’t skip the middle bits which may give a clue as to the answer to my question. 

This new book may be produced in the US but let’s not forget the UK and the US share not only chunks of our history and culture but also a number of birds of prey and occasional transatlantic passerine and wader vagrants.  There’s a healthy interchange of bird watchers too, with US birders heading to Europe as well as many UK birders visiting US raptor watching stations and bird observatories or taking birding holidays.

I looked through the The Crossley ID Guide: Raptors to find the species common to both nations, the familiar birds which UK birders might see over in the US, and the regular species a US birder might well see in the UK. We share species, but we often like to name them slightly differently, a whimsy of our respective ornithological systems, so I will list the species and include both name versions where appropriate, US version first followed by the UK name and then finishing with the Latin name:

• Merlin Falco columbarius
• Northern Harrier/Hen Harrier Circus cyaneus
• Rough-legged Hawk/Rough-legged Buzzard Buteo lagopus
• Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus                         
• Gyr Falcon Falco rusticolus 
• Northern Goshawk Accipiter gentilis 
• Osprey Pandion haliaetus 
• Golden Eagle Aquila chrysatos 

There may be several thousand miles of ocean separating the US and the UK, but there are subtle variations as well as the obvious similarities, with just a few of those detailed below.

In the tiny landmass of the UK our Merlin is the singular species of Falco columbarius. In the vast continent of the US with its huge variety of habitats the Merlin has evolved into three sub-species differentiated mainly by the darkness of their plumage. There is a dark form, the so called “black” Merlin of the Pacific Northwest, a pale “prairie” Merlin of the northern Great Plains, and the intermediate “taiga” Merlin of open forest. It’s the latter type which is equal to our familiar UK Merlin.

Merlin - from The Crossley ID Guide:Raptors

Following a number of variable plumages seen in the UK autumn time, there’s been discussion here about the possibility of Northern Harrier/Hen Harrier Circus cyaneus being two species, a North American one and a slighly different European/UK type. The jury, in this case the International Ornithological Committee, examined the evidence and decided not to split as the genetic differences between the two are very low in comparison to many other Eurasia/North America disjunctions. 

Northern Harrier/Hen Harrier - from The Crossley ID Guide: Raptors

Happily both of our Peregrine populations are in a healthier state since the ban on DDT of the early 1970s which led to a recovery in numbers. This has been supported by large-scale protection of nesting places and a reintroduction programme in the many parts of the US. In both our countries the Peregrine has reoccupied former haunts and they now breed on human artefacts in our city centres. There are three subspecies of Peregrine Falcon in the US, tundrius of the north, anatum found mainly in the Rocky Mountains, and pealei which is found in the Pacific Northwest. Peregrines introduced into the eastern and other states are of mixed races. Here in the UK our Peregrine Falcons are from the nominate (first named) race Falco peregrinus peregrinus.  

Rough-legged Hawk/Rough-legged Buzzard Buteo lagopus is but a very irregular winter visitor to the British Isles, spreading here from continental Europe, generally during times of intense cold weather and/or shortage of their lemming/mammal prey. This situation rather simplifies separating out our everyday UK Common Buzzard Buteo buteo, unlike the US landmasses where 10 species of Buteo occur, all of which feature in The Crossley ID Guide:Raptors.

Rough-legged Hawk/Rough-legged Buzzard - from The Crossley ID Guide:Raptors

The Gyr Falcon is incredibly hard to see in the UK, and just like the Rough-legged Hawk the pale Arctic falcon is a very irregular visitor to the UK mainland. As Crossley has described its status in the US, “a loner with a huge territory”, an accurate portrayal for a bird which spends much of its time hunting across the northern oceans.

In the US the Northern Goshawk is a widespread but scarce breeder of forested areas. It's a status replicated over here in the UK, whereby spotting a Goshawk makes for something of a birding Red Letter Day.

Northern Goshawk - from The Crossley ID Guide:Raptors

Ospreys are a common sight in in many parts of the United States, whereas in the United Kingdom the species is confined mainly to Scotland with just a small number of pairs breeding in the more remote parts of Wales and northern England. In the English counties Ospreys are a regular sight on migration during both spring and autumn periods.  

Last but not least on my list is the magnificent Golden Eagle, a species which in both the UK and the United States breeds only in the more remote northern forests and mountains. Here in the UK our Golden Eagles are confined to the inaccessible parts of Scotland and rarely venture south across the border into England. 

And now without further ado the prize draw - at last you say. There is a small, colourful  raptor featured in The Crossley ID Guide: Raptors which has occurred in the UK on less than a handful of occasions, in fact just two accepted records, so few that while it belongs on the Britsh List of birds as maintained by The British Ornithologist's Union's Records Committee (BOURC), I didn't include it in my summary of shared species above. The last occasion this raptor appeared in the UK as a vagrant was during the late 1970s, over 35 years ago. What is the species? Please post your answer as a  comment to this post before 27th March 2013. Two winners will be chosen at random, and due to logisitcs, one from the US and one from the UK. The winners will announced on Another Bird Blog on 28th March and requested to send me (in confidence) their postal address. In due course each winner will receive a copy of The Crossley ID Guide:Raptors courtesy of Princeton University Press.

As part of this two-week blog tour raptor enthusiasts are invited to join in a live Shindig video chat event on Friday 22nd March - "Raptor ID Happy Hour" from 6pm to 7pm EST at  Shindig's Raptor Event. Two of the participants are the authors themselves, Richard Crossley and Brian Sullivan - sounds like a good place to be on a Friday evening with a glass of beer close to hand.

Next stop on today's blog circuit is a trip to Radd Icenoggle in Montana USA where Radd's Blog is looking back at the Montana State recovery programme which rescued the Peregrine Falcon from the verge of extinction in that region. Following on from Radd the Magnificent Frigate Bird web site will feature Barred Owl and Cooper's Hawk and there's another chance to win copies of The Crossley ID Guide:Raptors.

Visit the Blog Tour Schedule

Finally and before you head off to Montana with Radd, don't forget to enter today's prize draw on Another Bird Blog and then come back soon to find out the winners of the fabulous prizes.