'When
Geoff first showed me these pics on his camera in the hide I couldn't see much
detail, but he kindly sent me three images which I have been able to look at
more closely.
The
pale tips to the greater and primary coverts indicate this is a first-winter
(2CY) bird. This is supported by two ages of feathers in the tail. A close look
at the upper tail reveals that the outer two tail feathers on both sides (and
possibly the third outermost on the left side) are new, being much less
abraded. These new feathers are a different colour (greyer) to the older
central tail feathers, and the second outermost feather on the right side also
has a blackish subterminal spot. Thus I would age/sex this bird as a 2CY male.
Full
marks to Geoff for obtaining good quality images that allow such details to be
observed.
Reference:
Forsman (1999) pp172-173
Doug
Radford (Fowlmere)
No comments:
Post a Comment