A couple of weeks ago I raised my birding profile by being able to help a visitor correctly tell the difference between a Mediterranean gull and a black headed gull. I was later referred to in the Visitor Centre as the “gull expert!” ...they obviously hadn’t bumped into any of our guides or more learned colleagues that day!
Today as I went out for my lunchtime walk I was asked by Matt to try and find the Chiloé wigeon which had been seen yesterday to add to our sightings list for the day. I struggled to pronounce the name let alone identify it on a busy Scrape full of birds! Nevertheless I always accept a challenge and headed out along the North Wall towards the sea. As I approached the North Wall viewpoint there were several people looking for the stone curlews but they were proving difficult to see today and with binoculars I could not pick them up. There was another group along the North Wall looking for the grasshopper warbler that was spotted this morning. As I walked past the group of eager birders, the bird did not miraculously appear at that very moment so I was not fortunate enough to see it.
I strolled along the dunes towards East Hide looking for adders but did not see any of those either. You may be thinking, well did she have her eyes shut? I had in fact seen marsh tit, chaffinch, blue tit, robin, black bird, dunnock, magpie, pheasant, herring gull, black-headed gull and sand martin all before reaching this point! I reached East hide and made my way upstairs where I met up with one of our guides Peter. If anyone could find me a Chiloé wigeon it would be him so my luck was improving and I still had a sherbet lemon left in my pocket!
From East Hide I enjoyed watching avocet feeding, black- headed gulls quarrelling and a few making nests, shelduck, shoveller, mallard and common tern. Peter put some sandwich terns in his scope and pointed out the difference between a sandwich tern and a common tern to me. I may have missed the sandwich terns and mistaken them for common terns had it not been for Peter’s excellent comparison notes. Let’s see how you get on!
Spot the difference # 1 Answers at the bottom!
Common tern by Jon Evans
Sandwich tern by Jon Evans
Peter and I walked along the dunes where he spotted a linnet calling from the top of a gorse bush and pointed it out to me. He then spotted a group of grey plover flying over which he could pick out because of their black armpits in flight. Peter took off at a run to see where they went down on the Scrape but they unfortunately kept flying inland.
From public hide we scanned South Scrape and spotted bar tailed godwit. I had seen black-tailed godwits many times before but would not be able to pick out a bar tailed godwit...until today! From their names I naturally thought that the bar-tailed godwit would have a zebra like black and white striped tail but it turns out the differences are a little more subtle.
Spot the difference #2. Answers at the bottom!
Black tailed godwit (summer plumage) by Jon Evans
Bar-tailed godwit by Jon Evans (winter plumage)
Peter then showed me some kittiwakes in his scope and I was impressed with the pretty looking gull. I had seen kittiwakes before but not in such detail through a scope where I could really see the difference between a kittiwake and a common gull.
Spot the difference #3
Kittiwake (google images)
Common gull by Mike Lane (rspb-images.com)
I then looked at my watch and thought I should really head back to the Visitor Centre as time had just whizzed by when a gentleman in the hide said he had just seen a little ringed plover on the shore near to the Sluice. One of my favourite birds is a ringed plover and I have never seen a little ringed plover so my ears pricked up and I listened to hear more. He described the bird to Peter who declared it was in fact a ringed plover.
Spot the difference #4
Ringed plover by Jon Evans
Little ringed plover (google images)
After hearing the clear distinction between the two birds I hastily made my way towards the Sluice conscious of the time. A little bird singing from the top of a gorse bush near the Sluice caught my eye and demanded my attention for a few moments. I wasn’t entirely sure what I was viewing so I did what every good amateur does and I took a photo. Once back at the Visitor Centre after a speedy walk I looked at my photos and saw (then got clarification from Matt) that I had seen a whitethroat. So I did not fulfil Matt’s mission of finding a chiloé wigeon, but I did have a lovely and very educational walk around the Scrape. I managed to add a few birds to the board in reception too and definitely am now more confident about telling the difference between a few common confusion species.
How did you get on? Have a look at my answers below (or a book/bird guide for more detail!)
Spot the difference answer #1
Common terns have red legs and a red bill, whereas sandwich terns are larger with black legs and a black bill with a yellow tip and a slight tuft to its black cap.
Spot the difference answer #2
Bar-tailed godwits do indeed have a barred tail but only on the under feathers of the tail and it is a lot more subtle than I expected. The bar-tailed godwit also has shorter legs, particularly above the knee and a slightly shorter upturned bill whereas a black-tailed godwit has a straight bill. In summer plumage the orange/red belly of the bar-tailed godwit goes all the way underneath the bird whereas a black-tailed godwit still has a white bottom.
Spot the difference answer #3
A kittiwake has a yellow bill and black legs whereas a common gull has a yellow bill and yellow legs.
Spot the difference answer #4
A little ringed plover has a yellow eye ring that the ringed plover lacks. Breeding ringed plovers have an orange bill base and orange legs whereas little ringed plovers have a black bill and dull legs.