Common Crane - Middleton Moor

 An exciting day at Middleton with good numbers of common migrants but the star bird was a Common Crane which we believe is just the third record for the site.

It usual for the gulls to spook periodically often for no apparent reason but I always check the sky incase a raptor has scared them. This happened yesterday and I looked up to see a Coomon Crane no more than 100m above me. It did a nice fly past then started to circle, quickly gaining height until it was just visible with the naked eye then drifted off south. A fantastic sight and as breeding numbers continue to increase in Norfolk and Linconlshire, reported as 87 pairs last year, it may become a commoner site.

Common Crane

Other birds seen included both Yellow and White Wagtail (the Continental counterpart of our Pied) and Garden Warbler as well as Wheatears and Common Redstart that have been around for several days.

White and Yellow Wagtails

Finally I found a 1st winter Caspian Gull amongst the gulls which still number about 60 Lesser Black-backed and up to 100 Common.

Caspian Gull - first winter

Ruff and other migrants Middleton Moor

 I've been away for a month so had some catching up to do on the Spring migrant front. A party of 5 female Ruff ( reeves) turned up at Middleton on 9th April and a male joined them on 16th and I was pleased to see they were still present yesterday on my return.

Ruff - five females with the larger male at the back

It was a decent day with Ringed and Little Ringed Plovers, 2 Common Sandpiper and a good range of migrants including Ring Ouzel, several Redstart, Whitethroat and a dozen or more Willow Warbler. 

Also a White Wagtail which is the first I've seen at Middleton.

White Wagtail

No change this morning but a single Dunlin had joined the Ruff.

White Wagtail déjà vu on Beeley Moor

Having seen a completely unexpected White Wagtail on Beeley Moor at this time last year I have a habit of closely scrutinising all the wagtails I get a decent view of. I was still very surprised to come across another pale backed 'alba' wagtail and even more so to see it in the same place as last year on the edge of Beeley Moor. In fact, I think it is too much of a coincidence and am inclined to the view that it is the same bird, a year older.

White Wagtail - adult male

Last year I decided that the bird was in it's first summer as both juvenile, post juvenile and pre-breeding greater coverts could be identified in the wing. This bird looks like an adult with just two ages of feather in the median and greater coverts which is typical of an adult bird. As last year, this bird looks like a male with a sharp division between the black of the nape and the grey of the mantle. 

It appeared to be with a female Pied Wagtail and both birds were collecting and flying off with food so obviously feeding young nearby. Last year the female was also rather pale backed but this year the female looks to be a typical Pied.

Pied Wagtail - adult female

I'm calling the bird a White Wagtail but it's impossible to be certain, it could be a hybrid but must surely have some White Wagtail in it.

Another interesting feature when comparing these two birds was that the Pied shows black sides to the upper breast in the shoulder area giving a continuous black breast band whereas the White had white sides to the breast, with some black spotting so the breast band is more isolated appearing as a bib rather than a continuous band.

Pied Wagtail female v White Wagtail male

An unexpected White Wagtail or hybrid and some juvenile chats

A muck heap on the edge of Beeley Moor has proven to be a magnet for small insect feeding birds this week. As well as many Pied Wagtails I came across a single bird showing characteristics of White Wagtail feeding there, which is only the second I've seen locally. Our Pied Wagtail is a race of the continental White Wagtail which is a regular visitor to our coast and wetlands in the spring. Seeing one here in the summer is very interesting and raises the possibility that it could be breeding, either with another White wagtail or more likely with a Pied. Intriguingly I did photograph another pale backed bird that was probably a hybrid White x Pied Wagtail.

Update: I sent details of the upper bird to Peter Adriaens a Dutch birder who is the author of the most recent article on the separation of White Wagtail from Pied Wagtail. He commented as follows;

I agree that it shows a grey rump, which would be very unusual for a yarrellii. 

Its upperparts look rather dull grey with some dark streaks though, which is more typical of yarrellii but can also be shown by worn alba in summer. 

The flanks look rather dark and extensively grey. 

It could be a dark alba, but I am not fully convinced, and I certainly cannot exclude a hybrid. 

Based on his comments it's perhaps safest to leave the bird as a possible hybrid.

White Wagtail male (upper) with probable hybrid White x Pied Wagtail (lower)

As well as the wagtails there were also several family parties of Stonechat and Redstart which provided some great photo opportunities.

Stonechat juvenile male

Common Redstart juvenile

White Wagtail - Whitesprings Plantation

The Pied Wagtail is a common resident in the area and winter roosts at the Endhoven works can number several hundreds. Its European cousin, the White Wagtail, is a regular spring and autumn migrants in Derbyshire and is primarily associated with wetland areas so it was a surprise to find one feeding on one of the recently felled areas at Whitesprings Plantation this morning.

White Wagtail (Motacilla alba alba)

Identification is easiest in the spring when there are no juveniles around.
Key features are the pale grey mantle, pale flanks and greyish rather than blackish rump. 
The relevant area of the rump is generally taken as that adjacent to the middle tertial.
Note, however, how the colour of the mantle varies in these photos with the angle of the bird and changing light. The lower bird in the bottom photo looks distinctly darker than that in the top most photo.