Starlings, Corvids and Pipits.....

Starlings were one of the most numerous birds today with 2500 of them scrabbling about on the beach feeding on sand fly lavea

 Some of them like the one below were just fantastic in the bright morning sun.

Some slower shutter-speeds trying to give the impression of the movement and noise of the birds in front of the hide

 Also there was a Darvic-ringed Black-headed Gull on the beach. We await news of the bird's origin.

 About 43 Chough were on the beach, with about 1/2 of them being coulour-ringed too...

 Our resident Hooded Crow, likes to keep a safe distance between it and us!

 A Purple Sandpiper spent a few minutes on the beach

About 35 Rock Pipits were on Solfach, many of them our colour-ringed breeding birds, The one below (although not colour-ringed) looks very green/grey and is boldly marked, quite dingy, with grey outer tail feathers and dark legs and probably a local bird

The bird below is quite a pale individual, has paler legs and paler outer-tail feathers and may well be from the Scandinavian race A.p.littoralis

 A shot of the same bird as above in flight; note the pale outer tail feathers.

A shot of another bird below with pale legs and near white out-tail feathers which lead me to think this too may be of Scandinavian origin.

Another paler looking bird, again maybe from Scandinavia

 Now for Birds from the island - Dark and dingy looking

 Slightly paler, but still nesting on Bardsey

 Typical dull and dirty islander!

 Again dull dark olive grey resident

And then this appeared.....

Standing out among all the dark Rock Pipits was this bird, my initial thoughts were it looked like a Water Pipit, very brown above and when it flew its outer-tail feathers were blindingly white confirming that the bird was indeed a spinoletta

Legs were paler than those of any pipit on the beach.

At times it looked more like a Meadow Pipit than a rock Pipit

Although not white, the bird did have a good flaring supercilium

It lacked any of the dirtiness that is shown by our Rock Pipits

The underside was very clean with brown streaking

 

On the only occasion it came close, the very pale legs could be seen

and the bill looked brighter than all the Rock Pipits

The Water Pipit top left and a Rock Pipit right

And also selection of Water Pipits to compare from previous years 

November 2009

 October 2003