Your Questions

Send all your birding questions to birdwatching@bauermedia.co.uk and our experts will give you the answers

What’s this bird, please? Q

This bird frequented my feeders through March and into April. I thought it was a Common (Mealy) Redpoll and posted it on social media as such once it had departed after it had spent nearly a month in my garden! I soon had replies telling me that it wasn’t a Mealy but a Coues’s. What do you think? Chris Grimshaw, Lincoln

A

Your bird certainly appears to be either a Mealy (Common ) Redpoll or (Coues’s) Arctic Redpoll, Chris, just based on its frosty appearance. These species can be very difficult to separate and usually require a full suite of features to confirm identification. The seeming minuscule bill, white rump and relatively lightly streaked flanks all point to Coues’s, but are not necessarily conclusive. The absence of red on the forehead of your bird probably points to the bird being a first-winter individual. And, in younger Arctic Redpolls, there is apparently more chance of streaking on the rump (as seen here) as well as heavier flank streaking (some Arctics are much less streaked than your bird, which has a rump which resembles many Mealies’ ). Photos of the undertail coverts would be very useful, if you have any. Otherwise, we recommend submitting your detailed description and photos to the BBRC (British Birds Rarities Committee), for more expert analysis than we can provide!

I’m stumped. Help! Q

A friend sent me this picture to identify the bird, it has beaten me, any ideas?! It was probably taken in the Burford area, Oxfordshire.

Roy Lester by email

A

As far as we can tell, Roy, your friend’s baby bird is a Goldfinch. We have not got a tremendous amount of experience of birds which are so young and out of the nest (which is a bit worrying). However, the combination of its finch-like shape, overall brownish plumage, contrasting with the largely black wings (and emerging black tail feathers), plus the broad yellowish bands on the wing and the little white feather tips on the wing, all suggest this bird is going to soon (all being well) change into a typical, familiar, juvenile Goldfinch. If anyone knows better, then please write in and put us right!

Is this a hybrid duck? Q

Attached are slightly iffy pics of a duck seen on Sutton Bingham reservoir yesterday. Very bright and windy, so sorry for the images. Question is, what duck? I am guessing some form of hybrid, would you agree? I am seeing Tufted Duck, possibly Shelduck; red bill? Any ideas please?

Rob Sumsion

AWe agree, Rob, that your duck (a drake) appears to be a hybrid. The genes most strongly expressing themselves, from its parentage, seem to be those of

a Red-crested Pochard (including the reddish head, the pinky-red bill the black breast, brown back, pale flanks and black rear end). However, the head is a bit too dark and its shape is wrong; the flanks are too neatly defined (Red-crested Pochards have smudgy contacts between back and flank). Perhaps the most likely other parent would be a Tufted Duck (which has neatly defined white flanks and a dark head).

I saw this in France Q

I am having trouble identifying this bird which seemed slightly bigger than a sparrow. It was spotted in a garden in central France (Limoges) in late April. I dismissed Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff as it has no supercilium. Then I thought of Garden Warbler, but they are rarely in the open I believe. So, I wondered whether it could be a Spotted Flycatcher, or a female Redstart, as there is a hint of red in the tail perhaps. Thank you so much for any help you can give. Neil Jarvis

A

Your analysis was good, Neil, looking for key features and dismissing birds, accordingly. The closest you got was when you noticed the reddish tail, as it is a female-type Black Redstart. Note the Robin-like shape, the plain plumage, which is almost all dull grey or grey-brown, apart from that orange-red tail with a dark centre. Note also the dark legs and indeed the fact that it is apparently feeding on the ground. Black Redstarts are very scarce breeding birds in the UK, but in continental Europe they are very widespread and common, often occurring in gardens even in pretty urban areas.

Is this a Dusky Grouse? Q

This bird ran across our pathway while walking in the hills above Squamish, north of Vancouver. I thought it might be a Dusky Grouse, but would like your opinion… John A. Smith

A

We think you are pretty close, John, but the Dusky Grouse has its range a bit to the east of Squamish. In this area (ie the western coastal strip of Canada up to Alaska), the closely related (and formerly considered conspecific) Sooty Grouse is the main large grouse species. Your bird certainly seems to fit the bill for Sooty Grouse. That said, females of both species are apparently not reliably separated in the field, so we only have distribution to go on.