Ian Mitchell's sighting of a Merlin on Slack Lane 16 October, is the epitome of 'right place, right time' to take full advantage of what was being seen, and to achieve footage of a bird not only grounded in a winter stubble field, but then seen taking a bath, and then on a fence post. The result of this amazing spectacle is a well deserved ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ video by Ian Mitchell.
Copyright Ian Mitchell
The Show Goes On.
Regarding my bird found at Cockersand on 12 October, I was contacted by Ian Hartley who found a Merlin at Cockersand 3 days later on 15 October, describing the bird as an adult female. Reading Ian's report on the LDBWS sightings page, and having already found a 1st winter Merlin in the same area of Cockersand, brought about a comment from me on Birds2blog....'In my opinion, the same bird has been seen on two ocassions since my first sighting on 12 October when I aged/sexed it as an immature/female, my description being based on immature Merlin not being separable from female in the field'.
Having seen the post on B2B, Ian offered some explanation about his description, telling me that having compared the videos of my 1st winter Merlin with that of the bird he saw 3 days later, he was convinced they were two different birds. Going on to explain, Ian said 1st winter and adult females can be separated with good views as was the case on 15 October.
The truth is, having taken closer looks at Ian Mitchell's footage, the best feature regarding plumage detail, is that the bird is noticeably much more heavily streaked than an adult female would be, and also less rufous on upperparts which tend to be seen as a richer brown.
I would like to point out, it is generally accepted that most winter Merlin seen in lowland Britain are juvenile/immature/1st winter - take your pick for description - which adds to my surprise that an adult female had been found at Cockersand in mid-October.
It is important to note, there was never any intention to indicate doubt about Ian Hartley's sighting, the post made no such mention of any doubt. In the end, my opinion....'the same bird has been seen on two ocassions since my first sighting on 12 October'....is now invalid.
Pete -
ReplyDeleteBrilliant that you could get the 4K footage to fit on your blog, you have done well to also get the still from the footage for the header.
Hopefully this clears the Merlin confusion up now. Just the confusion between the 2 Ians now - only joking.
Cheers Ian Mitchell
Ian's video of the Merlin is wonderful, Pete. Thank you and Ian for puting it on B2B. My bird ID skill level is such that I'd probably have struggled to recogise the bird as a Merlin without reference to a fieldguide, let alone contemplate sorting out its sex and age! I believe that I've only once seen one.
ReplyDeleteMy very best wishes - - - Richard
Ian/Richard....Thanks for comments.
ReplyDeleteThe 4K format is excellent, the only problem being it has to be viewed on a device with 4K compatibility.