Lesser Scaup

Scaup

East Loch Bee - Whooper Swan 4

Stinky Bay - Glaucous Gull 2

G/N/Diver 1

Iceland Gull

Barnacle Geese

Pintail Ducks

Hugh

Suzanne H

Dawn S

Near the causeway

At first reckoned as a White-billed Diver AKA "parsnip bill" - yellowish bill pointing upward...

Lesser Scaup

2 lesser scaup drakes

I asked John Dempsey about distinguishing between the two:

"Lesser Scaup are tricky - and some folk down here think I have got it wrong on my two pix (and they may well be right!), but basically they are smaller than Common Scaup, a lot less broad in the beam, with a smaller black nail on the bill. They ride higher in the water than most diving ducks as they're so small, and the head should show an angled rear crown, with a little peak. The bill should be concave and not as big as on a Scaup, and the white flanks shouldn't be the glaring white of a Common Scaup. The wing pattern is different too - but you have to get a good view to see that. The bird I watched was about the same size, or smaller than nearby Tufted Ducks, but the weather was pretty lousy... "
See those photographs at John's blog and a lot more chat about the differences between the two...

" Lessers have a very small amount of black at the tip, and a more concave shape bill, most so at the base.... the highest point of head is at the rear, and much more sloped at the front.....males flank feathers have fine grey vermiculations giving a clouded greyish appearance. (rear flank striping usually courser and visable.).... upper parts darker than greater scaup and more coarsely vermiculated...they sit higher in the water.." (based on Neill Hunt's notes)

"2 males on Coot Loch and 2 Lesser Scaup, amongst about 300 birds on a very small out of the way Loch, needle in a hay stack!"         (Thanks Debbie and Brian)

Terry Fountain sent us in several photographs taken of ducks on Coot Loch on the 18th March including lesser scaup and scaup
Take a look if you would like the challenge of telling one from the other

Little Gull

Whooper Swans

North of Melbost Borve, look for the electricity sub-station on the left, go past the conifers and then look for the fertilizer sacks - room to park and wait with a good view...

Immature male

Please give it lots of space

Lesser Scaup

Lesser Scaup

Scaup (Greater)

2

Bar-tailed Godwit

Purple Sandpipers

See Debbie's photograph of the Bar-tailed Godwit

"Flocks of both....also there were some lovely black headed gulls"

Bar-Tailed Godwit 200+

Whooper Swan 12

West Loch Bee - South Uist - Outer Hebrides

Lesser Scaup

Scaup (Greater)

John Dempsey visited the Uists again John's blog

Amongst others, John got a super photo of a glaucous gull with a herring gull - useful for comparison of these two to see just how big the glaucous gull really is.

Mystery Bird!

Ring Ouzel ? Not!

I have copied the photograph into my photographic programme and enlarged as much as possible and we think it is a "Blackbird". The reason for this is the 1) posture. -- 2) the length of tail. ---- 3) the with of tail (at end) and 4) The shape and colour of the bill. BUT hang on a bit - because if you have a clearer pic we may change our mind.
Do you have a higher resolution pic of the bird in question please.

John H

i have attached an image of the bird i spotted last year in the castle grounds. The bird reported recently is probably the same one, or possibly one of it's offspring but if i was a betting man, i would put my money on the former.

I have attached another couple of images for use on your site. I have picked one showing the right profile of the bird and you can see from the two photographs that it has two equally spaced white patches on either side of its head, which matches the bird found recently.
Incidently, i photographed this bird in April 2005 in the castle grounds, close to the old rugby pitch.

Frank sent in two excellent photographs:
aberrant backbird and aberrant blackbird

Frank S

For what it's worth i would say the strange bird in the castle grounds is a Blackbird with pied markings and not a ring ouzel.

Frank S

I think the "Ring Ouzel" is an aberrant Blackbird. RO would show very
neat white fringing to all the black wing feathers, which from this
angle would be very obvious

Martin S

I think it is a blackbird

Ela S

I think the Ring Ouzel Photo is actually of a Blackbird which has some albinism. Ring Ouzels don’t have the yellow eye ring which clearly shows in one of the photos and the secondary and primary feathers should show much lighter edging. The white on an ouzel should be on the top of the chest and not on the sides of the head and neck as this shows. I’m sure this is an adult Male Blackbird with patches of white about it. I’m down in Devon but there are Ring Ouzel nearby on Dartmoor where I have studied them.

J.F.Jones

Mystery bird

Ring Ouzel ?

Red Throated diver 1
Purple Sandpiper 9
Kittiwake 2
Gannet 8
L/T/Duck 20+
Eider 50+

Sparrowhawk

Red-breasted Merganser (Pair)

Black-throated Diver (1)

Long-tailed Duck (9)

Gannet (3)

Stinky Bay - Benbecula - Outer Hebrides

Glaucous Gull

Fieldfare (50+)

Redwing (50+)

Wren (3)

Fulmar

Gannet (9)

Gull feeding on a dead whale

One redwing with ring on right leg

Merlin (1)

Sparrowhawk (1)

Gyr Falcon

Glaucous Gull (1)

Just a quick note on the early appearance of a lone Sea Eagle... over the last 7 days, corvids are collecting nesting materials in the area also (seems a little early yet to me)

No location posted due to eggers..