Buying a spotting scope on a budget, mystery pipits and more.
Q
Despite birding for years, I’ve never actually owned a scope, but now I have a little money put aside, I’m considering investing in one. Not looking for anything crazy, probably in the £200-£300 range, but any recommendations? @AlexJHolt, via Twitter
A
Birdwatch Optics Editor Mike Alibone replies: “My advice would be to go secondhand or ‘nearly new’ if your budget is in the £200-£300 range. If you purchase something new within that price range then it perhaps may not live up to expectations.
“It is clearly useful to test out a variety of models with which you are comfortable using, as it’s not just about optical performance. Size, weight, portability and ease of use are all aspects to be taken into consideration, as well as what type of tripod is required to support it.
“If you have the opportunity to look at friends’ scopes and to get their unbiased feedback, then that’s an ideal way to start, but many brands and dealers have shops and open days at various nature reserves around the country.
“Three popular brands to look at are Opticron, Hawke and Viking at the above price. It’s also worth looking at what’s on offer on the internet as different dealers offer different prices for the same product, some also throw in free tripods and most offer reliable secondhand models for sale. In addition to the brands above, you can visit dealer’s sites; try Cley Spy (www.cleyspy.co.uk), South West Optics (www.swoptics.co.uk), The Birder’s Store (www.birders-store.co.uk), In Focus (www.at-infocus.co.uk), Ace Optics (www.aceoptics.co.uk) or Uttings (www.uttings.co.uk).”
Q
I took this photo of a Common Kingfisher at Burnham Overy Staithe, Norfolk, in December and noticed the colouring was quite a bit different – the head and the back were a brownish purple colour, not a blue colour as normal. Do you have any ideas why this might be? Jane Rowe, via email
A
Hein van Grouw, Senior Curator, Birds at the Natural History Museum, replies: “In the photo the colour appears aberrant, but I think it is a ‘trick of the light’. Firstly, the bright red and probably reflecting surface the bird is sitting on may be the cause of the brownish-purplish colour (red + blue = purple).
“Another possibility is that the feathers are wet. The blue colour of Common Kingfisher is structural, meaning that it is the combined effect of dark (blackish) melanin pigment and the microscopic structures of the feathers which affects how light is reflected. “Tiny pockets of air inside the feathers preferentially reflect blue light, because such light has shorter wavelengths. The blue colour is intensified because the dark melanin granules absorb the other wavelengths of light. When feathers are wet the structure is different and therefore different wavelengths are reflected, resulting in seeing a more ‘brownish’ colour. So I think this bird was not aberrant in colour at all.”
Q
I got very brief views of this bird in October last year on the Brancaster to Titchwell track in Norfolk. I only managed to capture two photos and it wasn’t seen through bins. I think Redbreasted Flycatcher, but the Merlin ID app has suggested Taiga Flycatcher as first choice. Can you drag anything from these photos to suggest it’s not Red-breasted? Stuart Oliver, via email
A
Birdwatch ID Consultant Andy Stoddart replies: “The combination of small size, compact shape, plain face with a bold eyering, plain upperparts and cocked blackish tail with white side panels immediately narrows the choice to Red-breasted or Taiga Flycatcher.
“Although record shots, the photographs are still good enough to identify it with confidence as a Red-breasted. The bird shows a clear bright orangey-buff wash across the throat and upper breast combined with rather pale, brownish-looking uppertail coverts. Taiga would show ‘colder’, whiter underparts, and the uppertail coverts would look strikingly black, blacker even than the uppertail. A further pointer towards Red-breasted Flycatcher is the just visible, apparently pale base to the lower mandible.”
Q
I took this photo on 24 November 2020 from a small boulder cove near Port Logan in Dumfries and Galloway.
I think it is a Rock Pipit – they are fairly common here – with a facial aberration, the pronounced creamy/ buff moustache. But that feature keeps niggling me as to the possibility it may be something else. The bill is quite strong and this leads me back to Rock Pipit. I would be grateful for your opinion. Lawrence Gray, via email
A
Birdwatch ID Consultant Andy Stoddart replies: “This is indeed a Rock Pipit. The dull grey hues, blurry underparts markings and dark legs are all typical, as is, of course, the pebbly habitat. The pale creamy areas in the throat, the malar area, around the back of the ear coverts and in the crown are, exactly as suggested, a plumage aberration.”