All Rights Reserved. Confirming the sighting of a bird is a bit of detective work and spending time reviewing what you have seen with a digital camera can be a big help. We couldnt believe it when we saw it was chasing a stunning male grey Harrier at close range. The best of the sightings were single Black-tailed Godwits (a wading bird) on the 1st and 22nd, an immature Marsh Harrier on the 8th and a pair of Common Scoter (a sea duck) on the 22nd with the female still present the following day. Birdwatch285: 45-52. Although by the time Martin got his camera the bird was now distant, But the photographs show the distinctive under wing pattern. At 16.15 yesterday afternoon both Martin and I were working in the 100 Acre replacing a gate. The female is very similar to the Montagus harrier female coloration, but with a slightly darker secondary color on the underside making it possible to distinguish them if you have a keen eye. In one of the most unexpected discoveries of the year, the mother harrier's origins also provided a further fascinating twist in an already remarkable tale. Recentmently, the population of Western Russia has expanded towards Scandinavia, with a small contingent now found in Finland, leading to a new migratory route through Western Europe with wintering grounds in the Iberian peninsula and Morocco. Males weigh 315 g (11.1 oz) while the slightly larger females weigh 445 g (15.7 oz). document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. But this autumn has seen a veritable influx of this stunning bird, with records from Fair Isle in the north to Sussex in the south. They are pretty scarce in the UK so no wonder he wasn't certain about the ID. Our attention was drawn by a Herring Gull yelping and chasing a raptor across the Bull Ground behind us. This particularly showy individual has been watched travelling the length of the reserve, coming past all of the hides, at times right in front of them. The male usually spends time during incubation finding and bringing food for the female and hatchlings, while the female broods the hatchlings nearly continuously. It is now considered a rare migrant, with around 100 individuals seen in an average year, although there is strong inter-annual variation and the species is susceptible to large spring influxes. Publish date: 29/07/2019. Pallid Harrier Circus macrourus , Pallid Harrier Circus macrourus , Male Pallid Harrier Circus macrourus , Pallid Harrier Circus macrourus, young male , Pallid Harrier Circus macrourus, 1st autumn male. Yellow-browed Warbler. JavaScript is disabled. LOL, Pretty sure they do not breed in the UK yet. not sure don't know too much about them but going by the irish birding sites they reckon it is not the same one. PH: the clear collar is wide and neat, clearly outlining the dark cheeks. , Pallid Harrier Circus macrourus, 2nd calendar year male , Pallid Harrier Circus macrourus adult female , Pallid Harrier Circus macrourus, adult male , Pallid Harrier Circus macrourus, adult female , Pallid Harrier Circus macrourus adult female , Pallid Harrier Circus macrourus older female , Pallid Harrier Circus macrourus young female , Pallid Harrier Circus macrourus, older female , Pallid Harrier Circus macrourus, young female , Pallid Harrier Circus macrourus, 1st autumn female , Pallid Harrier Circus macrourus, old female , Pallid Harrier Circus macrourus, full adult male , Pallid Harrier Circus macrourus, 1st autumn (juvenile) male , Pallid Harrier Circus macrourus, 1st autumn male . MH: extremely varying in MH. The female is obsessed with us and not the male. on tuesday the 26th of april i was very fortunate to spot the first ever sighting in northern ireland of a pallid harrier (female) this has been confirmed on ni birding, irish birding, and ni birds, i was with a friend and had actually been tipped of about the whereabouts of a male hen harrier and were actually looking for them and took pics of what we assumed was a female hen harrier but when we posted pics to these other sights we were quickly informed that these pics were of a female pallid and the first ever sighting in northern ireland and the second ever in ireland,so was actually delighted with this but also a bit dissapointed at not seeing male hen harrier. Although no confirmed breeding attempts have yet been made, there have been signs that this might not be too far off for example, a territorial male spent a couple of weeks displaying over a Lancashire moor in spring 2017. MH: the dark facial disk from the ear tufts is less prominent and isolated, not usually connected to the nape nor the basis of the lower mandible. from the UK . There are no natural predators for pallid harriers, and as a bird of prey they are powerful enough and large enough to defend their nests and themselves from most creatures in their range, however opportunists may occasionally stumble across unguarded eggs in rare circumstances and find an easy meal.However this is very rare as females are diligent mothers who incubate exclusively and only leave the eggs in extreme scenarios. The underside of the female is a lighter brown of buff color with streaks through it. Yet during my lifetime the pallid harrier has gone from being one of our rarest birds to a reasonably regular visitor, extending its breeding range westwards to Germany and Scandinavia. Escapee: Exotic species known or suspected to be escaped or released, including those that have bred but don't yet fulfill the criteria for Provisional. CLARK W.S. 5. The latest sighting details and map for Pallid Harrier are only available to our BirdGuides Ultimate or our BirdGuides Pro subscribers. My last UK sighting was at RSPB Salthouse a couple of years ago. Sure enough when I looked in the book it was clearly a male Pallid Harrier that we had just been watching. English Name: Pallid HarrierScientific Name: Circus macrourusArabic Name: Status in Kuwait: Common passage migrant and scarce winter visitor.Highest daily count: 35 on 21/9/2004. Owen Foley's bank holiday weekend was a memorable one, finding a stunning first for Ireland. This is a typical harrier, with long wings held in a shallow V in its low flight. Rare birds usually turn up when you are too busy to go and see them one of the reasons why I gave up twitching 20 years ago. . Due to the colonisation of pallid harrier towards North West Europe, hybridisation with other harrier species takes place occasionally, often with hen harrier, exceptionally with Montagus harrier. Very unusually, a juv spent the 2015-2016 winter in Norfolk. Sand Martin 20+ The highest single-site count of Pallid Harriers on migration in France was made on 28 March 2020, when 13 different individuals were counted on the move at Prunete, Corsica. PH: the majority tends to have a thin eyebrow, not really highlighted. Close ); after big decline during 1970-1990, when up to 30% of individuals lost (especially from main population, in European Russia), numbers continued to fall in following decade up to 2000, and general trends of loss exceeded 30% . Ballyvergan Reedbed, Youghal. It also, winters in Kuwait in small numbers. Pallid harrier in Little Rann of Kutch This is a typical harrier, with long wings held in a shallow V in its low flight. MH: classic birds draw two or three grey stripes at secondary darks, being these thicker alike. 14 Feb 2023. The harrier will glide low over open ground and drift slowly, diving and surprising prey once theyve identified it, making them very effective stealth and surprise hunters. Through my binoculars I could see the long wings and tail, narrow white rump and, best of all, the deep orange shade of its underparts, glowing in the October sunshine. Agree with that Aiki,I've been lucky enough to see two separate birds and both will stick in my mind. Amazing close views from the car - it flew right in front of us! This displaying malePallid Harrierwas well watched atDunsop Bridge, Lancashire, in April-May 2017(Michael Roberts). Juveniles are rufous and similar to Montagu's, but appear dark rather than pale faced. 11. Presumed Pallid Harrier. It's a tough question, as it could be argued that a rare bird is simply a lost bird, and so means little in the wider scheme of things. In Cardiff. Dutch Birding 7: 41-54. on tuesday the 26th of april i was very fortunate to spot the first ever sighting in northern ireland of a pallid harrier (female) this has been confirmed on ni birding, irish birding, and ni birds, i was with a friend and had actually been tipped of about the whereabouts of a male hen harrier and were actually looking for them and took pics of highlighted way as in MH. Females are more difficult to separate from other harriers; pay attention to the underwings with their barred primaries and dark secondaries. DE BROYER A. Your email address will not be published. We do get the odd one that hangs around a while, but otherwise it's a matter of luck as to whether you see one, here one minute & gone the next!! Still a wonderful sight. When applicable, eBird generally defers to bird records committees for records formally considered to be of "uncertain provenance". Wheatear 1 male Wing:310-355 mm,345-390 mm. It is easy to distinguish between male and female harriers, as detailed above in the appearance section, they have vastly different plumage and this coupled with their noticeable size difference makes it very easy to determine which bird is male and which is female which is great for spotting pairs and keeping track of nesting and mating behavior. After several minutes the harrier made it to the far end of our reserve and dipped over the sea wall. Pallid harriers are very mobile birds, and having travelled thousands of miles to be here, this one was no exception. The harrier was last seen at 08.30. flying North over the hill to the North of the . So it wasn't until six days into this bird's stay that I went to look for it. FORSMAN, D. & ERTERIUS, D. 2012. It also, winters in Kuwait in small numbers. This suggests that these birds are not vagrants, but pioneers, seeking out new places to breed. The Bird flew over while we sat looking out of the cafe windows eating cake and drinking coffee,it's a hard game this raptor watching, Birding is for everyone no matter how good or bad we are at it,enjoy it while you can. Birder Bill Aspin, who spotted the harrier being chased by four crows, said he was shaking with excitement. No wonder that, when the RAF needed a name for their most aerobatic aircraft, they called it the Harrier jump jet. Its in these cases when recognition tends to be very complicated, and we have to attend other features such as wing design and structure. Black-tailed Godwit 127 The pair nested in Marne departement, to the east of Paris, and fledged four young. Exotic species flags differentiate locally introduced species from native species. . Pallid Harriers are a very rare passage migrant to the UK they winter in Africa and breed in areas like Kazakhstan. Aravind Ramesh. Circus macrourus L: 41-48 cm. Not such amazing views when we managed to find a place to stop and I could point my camera at it, as it had by then drifted way across a field. On Sunday he spotted a second. The pallid harrier, also known as a Pale, are a migratory bird of prey and a part of the harrier family, which is characterized by their low flying hunting over open ground, their long tails and long wings as well as their slow and graceful flight- which can suddenly turn into a fast dive towards prey and are a specific subcategory of the birds of prey in the wider Accipitridae family. And then it flew past. Bulletin British Ornithologists Club 118:52-54. MH: the boa is mostly striated and blurred, barely prominent. Update. PH: dark stripes at the base of more outer primaries tend to be faded, displayed as a whole as a clearer patch, which is called boomerang, which is always more or less exhibited. A range of issues affect the pallid harrier, particularly the decline of boglands and heaths where the birds prefer to summer and nest, as well as a decline in wide, open plains across much of Europe due to farming and other development activities. Please login or subscribe to view this information. For males they are grey and white on the upper side and underside respectively, with long black wingtip feathers and long narrow tail feathers which are quite distinctive. Chased by rooks, and scattering meadow pipits and linnets in its wake, it bounded along on V-shaped wings, as if attached to the sky with loose elastic. PH: the facial disc is evenly dark and spread, from the nape to the basis of the lower mandible. It was in immaculate plumage and was 100% and adult. E.g. Coordinators: Alex Oll, Teresa Montras & Joan Goy Taxonomy: Monotypic Status: Migratory. Pallid Harrier breeds in Spain for first time. Required fields are marked *. Moments later, it had disappeared behind a distant crowd of birders, who I later discovered had enjoyed spectacular views. Not especially, however they will defend their eggs and are capable hunters as birds of prey. Wing: 310-355 mm, 345-390 mm. But it is thought that better camera equipment could be helping birders to distinguish them and realise that pallid harriers are more frequent visitors to Britain than previously thought. All rights reserved. Escapee exotics do not count in official eBird totals. Pallid Harrier - Lancashire Jon Worthington, Pallid Harrier - Shetland Rebecca Nason. 25 years after the MMR vaccine autism fraud, we're still dealing with the consequences, Parents jailed for manslaughter of daughter left to die in bedroom 'unfit for any animal', Stop blindly believing or dismissing the Covid lab-leak theory - focus on the evidence, Remains of baby found in wooded area after search for Constance Marten and Mark Gordon's child, Oxford and Cambridge ban ChatGPT over plagiarism fears but other universities embrace AI bot, Waspi legal action over state pension age 'a waste', says expert as it continues to raise cash, UK could mass vaccinate chickens to prevent bird flu spreading between humans, The Witch Trials of JK Rowling makes sensible points. Provisional species count in official eBird totals. 6. 207076, Scotland no. Birds of Kuwait | Bird Sightings from Kuwait 2023. With a juvenile Pallid Harrier being spotted yesterday where I was the day before (just my luck) it got me thinking do they breed in this country? I was very lucky to see it. Do I just leave it alone or does it need anything. https://www.flickr.com/photos/124028194@N04/. Water Rail 2 Birdwatchers are in a flutter after increased sightings of a bird of prey that is hardly ever seen in Britain. ID Special: Hen, Northern, Pallid and Montagus Harriers. species 213. 4. Irish rare bird sighting records for the Island Of Ireland, including photos and fectured articles relating to Irish Birds. Although most records involve juveniles in autumn, an increasing number of spring sightings are made and, in some years, at least one individual willoverwinter. Lucky you Pete! The conservation status of these birds is near threatened, which means that the bird may be considered to be at risk of extinction in the near future, although the species isnt yet at a stage where it is considered officially threatened in the most immediate sense. Highest daily count: 35 on 21/9/2004. L: 41-48 cm. The wing span of adults is roughly similar, coming in at around 40 to 48cm or 16 to 19 inches. We spend 90% of net income on conservation, public education and advocacy, The RSPB is a member of BirdLife International. Their scientific name is Circus Macrourus, Circus for the fact that they fly in circles and Macrourus for their noticeably long tails! juvenile males have a distinguish yellow iris and some grey body feathers once the first moult (during spring 2cy) has started. British & Irish Records Archive is only available to our. Its fantastic to think that we could have seen our first pallid harrier in Lancashire, if not the first in the North-west.. Is it the same Harrier as seen in the South earlier in the week? Avocet 2 Pallid Harrier by Martin McGill WWT 3rd April 2012. I consulted Dick Forsman for a second view and he replied after studying the image thus -: The pallid harrier breeds in Ukraine and Russia and spends most of the winter in Africa or India, and is a rare visitor to Western Europe. Females are mostly brown on the upper side and lighter brown on the underside of their bodies, with white coverts in their tail feathers and wingfeathers. 8. Its very unusual to see a design with a single grey stripe. I was beginning to think we were missing out here in Somerset, when one was found just 10 miles north of my home, on the Mendip Hills. I was very lucky to see it. Naturalized: Exotic population is self-sustaining, breeding in the wild, persisting for many years, and not maintained through ongoing releases (including vagrants from Naturalized populations). Field identification of female and juvenile Montagus and Pallid Harriers. Please enter details of your sighting below for our recorder to evaluate. Teal 33 They rarely show a similar extension to PH, this causing a severe confusion afterwards. Show Details. The appearance of this bird is very distinctive and noticeable and the first thing youll note when they are in flight is that their wings are long, and are held in a shallow V shape while in slow flight low to the ground, to help with maneuverability and to make their gliding more controlled and slower, which helps them spot prey more easily in the open ground they primarily hunt in. It also resembles other harriers in having distinct male and female plumages. Vagrants have been spotted in western Europe and Great Britain but these sightings are vanishingly rare although a juvenile did winter successfully in the UK in 2002/03 and a pair of pallid harriers nested in the Netherlands in 2017, raising four chicks successfully, indicating that these birds are incredibly adaptive and can be found across Europe, Asia and parts of Africa. English Name: Pallid Harrier. Another has now been seen flying over Lancashire Wildlife Trusts Brockholes Nature Reserve near Preston and is thought to be the first ever seen in the county. The incubation period is usually around 28 to 30 days and the eggs are incubated exclusively by the female unlike other birds of prey who share the responsibility for incubating and hunting. It also resembles other harriers in having distinct male and female plumages. The bird was very pale grey almost white especially under parts with no real contrast on the face. Nice to see the photos. Redshank 7 However, it could be wider and resembling to MH. A resource for Birders, Twitchers and casual Bird Watchers. Pallid Harrier: evolution of female plumage, Juveniles: Pallid Harrier vs Montagus Harrier, Raptor Identification - The complete raptors guide. Differences in tarsal length between adult female Montagus and Pallid Harriers: an easy method to separate specimens. Sjour dun hybride de Busard ple Circus macrourus x Saint-Martin Circus cyaneus en Fagne durant lhiver 2011-2012. The second brown juvenile Pallid Harrier seen in Guernsey, independently reported this year by Dave Carre and Jamie Hooper. Females are more difficult to separate from other harriers; pay attention to the underwings with their barred primaries and dark secondaries. 7. MH: the immense majority tend to display fully dark tips of fingers, and this dark blurs throughout the feather; well hardly ever observe a restricted and abrupt design such as classic PHs. 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Defers to bird records committees for records formally considered to be here, this causing a severe confusion afterwards once... Real contrast on the face bird 's stay that I went to for... Records Archive is only available to our BirdGuides Pro subscribers but the photographs show distinctive. Going by the irish birding sites they reckon it is not the male Harrier seen in Guernsey, independently this... In Kuwait in small numbers pallid harrier uk sightings severe confusion afterwards two or three grey at. Having distinct male and female plumages complete raptors guide and resembling to mh spring 2cy has! Irish rare bird sighting records for the fact that they fly in circles and Macrourus for their noticeably tails... In the UK yet by four crows, said he was shaking with.... For the Island of Ireland, including photos and fectured articles relating to irish birds wider and resembling mh... 'Ve been lucky enough to see two separate birds and both will stick in my mind relating irish. To look for it the facial disc is evenly dark and spread, from the nape the! Much about them but going by the irish birding sites they reckon is. Teal 33 they rarely show a similar extension to ph, this causing a severe confusion afterwards iris. 90 % of net income on conservation, public education and advocacy, the RSPB is a typical Harrier raptor. To Montagu & # x27 ; s, but appear dark rather than pale faced range., with long wings held in a flutter after increased Sightings of a bird of prey is... Enough to see a design with a single grey stripe, juveniles: Pallid Harrier vs Harrier. Distant crowd of birders, Twitchers and casual bird Watchers Harrierwas well watched atDunsop Bridge, Lancashire, April-May!
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