Bird for ID (no pics)

trebor28

went out for a short walk today.

saw a good few redwings, at least 5 that i could be fairly certain of.
not sure about others.

also saw a couple of fieldfares.


one bird i saw i need a bit of help with.
it was in a marshy area, normally some snipe around there.
it was a black bird, not really sure how to describe it, it was about the shape and size of a swift, but it had a white rump, and kind of flitted along in flight.

had a look at the bird identifier but couldnt say for sure what it may be.

any ideas?

Feargal as Luimneach

trebor28 wrote: »

one bird i saw i need a bit of help with.
it was in a marshy area, normally some snipe around there.
it was a black bird, not really sure how to describe it, it was about the shape and size of a swift, but it had a white rump, and kind of flitted along in flight.

had a look at the bird identifier but couldnt say for sure what it may be.

any ideas?

Was probably a female bullfinch. White rump in flight is very noticable.

trebor28

Feargal as Luimneach wrote: »

Was probably a female bullfinch. White rump in flight is very noticable.

definitely not a female bullfinch, they were only a few yards behind me but definitely not one.

this was bigger leaner with longer wings.

ps
i have been doing a bit more research, im not saying it is one but it looked kind of like a storm petrel.

will head back and see can i get a photo or at least another view of it.

Rainbowsend

trebor28 wrote: »

one bird i saw i need a bit of help with.
it was in a marshy area, normally some snipe around there.
it was a black bird, not really sure how to describe it, it was about the shape and size of a swift, but it had a white rump, and kind of flitted along in flight.

had a look at the bird identifier but couldnt say for sure what it may be.

any ideas?

Could it have been a wagtail? they flit a lot

trebor28

Rainbowsend wrote: »

Could it have been a wagtail? they flit a lot

doubt it, bit bigger and it left the vicinity whereas a wagtail probably wouldnt.

no sign of it today!

Feargal as Luimneach

trebor28 wrote: »

definitely not a female bullfinch, they were only a few yards behind me but definitely not one.

this was bigger leaner with longer wings.

ps
i have been doing a bit more research, im not saying it is one but it looked kind of like a storm petrel.

will head back and see can i get a photo or at least another view of it.

Storm petrel are strictly pelagic. They would be extremely rare inland except on breeding islands. The only time you would get one inland is after a severe storm. Perhaps it was a fieldfare. They have a lightish rump.......

trebor28

Feargal as Luimneach wrote: »

Storm petrel are strictly pelagic. They would be extremely rare inland except on breeding islands. The only time you would get one inland is after a severe storm. Perhaps it was a fieldfare. They have a lightish rump.......

i wasnt for a second claiming it was a storm petrel, just trying to make a comparison.

no definitely not a fieldfare either, wouldnt have gotten that close to one.
plus this was marshy wet ground with lots of reeds.

yes a photo would be good alright, or even if i had my bins with me i would be able to give more info

Feargal as Luimneach

trebor28 wrote: »

i wasnt for a second claiming it was a storm petrel, just trying to make a comparison.

Sorry Trebor I misunderstood you:o

trebor28

Feargal as Luimneach wrote: »

Sorry Trebor I misunderstood you:o

no bother.

Ditch

trebor28 wrote: »

went out for a short walk today. one bird i saw i need a bit of help with.
it was in a marshy area, normally some snipe around there.
it was a black bird, not really sure how to describe it, it was about the shape and size of a swift, but it had a white rump, and kind of flitted along in flight.

had a look at the bird identifier but couldnt say for sure what it may be.

any ideas?

That's am excellent description of a House Martin. Only, no way are ye gonna find one of them here in bloody december!

Sorry, mate. Got me about as stumped as the next man

trebor28

Ditch wrote: »

That's am excellent description of a House Martin. Only, no way are ye gonna find one of them here in bloody december!

Sorry, mate. Got me about as stumped as the next man

your catching up fast i see!

there was an update to that which i never posted.

i think the white rump was wrong.
i saw it again and i think it was just a white underside and black top side.
roughly the same dimensions as a snipe but a slimmed down trimmer version.
thats why i compared it to a swift originally.

on the rspb site the pic of the arctic squa with the wings pointing down is what it kinda looked like.
but smaller obviously.

havent seen it for a long time now.

Ditch

trebor28 wrote: »

i think the white rump was wrong.
i saw it again and i think it was just a white underside and black top side.
roughly the same dimensions as a snipe but a slimmed down trimmer version.
thats why i compared it to a swift originally.

on the rspb site the pic of the arctic squa with the wings pointing down is what it kinda looked like.
but smaller obviously.

Lapwing!

trebor28

Ditch wrote: »

Lapwing!

no, way smaller.

Ditch

Bugger! It's getting extremely tough to get alongside exactly what ye trying to explain to us here, mate.

What was the habitat? That might help. But, flitting between white rumps and white undersides, with black tops and wings like a skua or a swift ....?! Size of a skinny snipe?

Could be a little auk, at this rate. I'm just trying to figure out something a bit more sensible.

Shall we just go with Nutcracker and have done with?

trebor28

^^^ :D

it had all goodish land around it but there is this wettish spot just either side of a small stream.
its all rishes etc and there is always a few snipe there.

its smack bang in the middle of the country, miles from the sea.

Ditch

O Kaaaay ..... I've been missing the obvious here; Did it have a long beak, like a snipe has?

In fact; Did ye see it on the ground? If so, was it up on its legs, like a snipe.

Was it a Wader?

trebor28

never saw it one the ground and couldnt say either way as to the beak.

it had a very high pitched call if that helps any.

Ditch

Sh!t. I feel the glowing, orange orb of hope is fast sinking beneath the western horizon of exhausted lateral thinking here .....

This high pitched call; Did that when it took off, yes? And did it sound like a nasal, high pitched, " Veeeee! " ?

trebor28

sorry!

its been a while so its hard to remember correctly.

it was like a high pitched whistle.

couldnt say for certain about a nasal 'veeee'

Ditch

Nope. Sorry, Trebor. I'm knackered on this one, mate.

Situation ye saw it tends to suggest a wader or some kind. Wader that best fits ye 'description' is a Lapwing. One of the few waders without a long beak. Ye never noticed a beak .....

Ye did notice the particular wings. Lapwings have very noticeable wings on them.

Ye bird first showed a white rump. Then ye memory changed the image to " Black on top. White on the bottom. "

Lapwings show a white rump. They also ~ if ye squint ~ appear " Black on top. White on the bottom. "

Ye bird gave a " High pitched whistle " as it made itself scarce. And ye " couldnt say for certain about a nasal 'veeee' " ?

So, ye couldn't say for certain that it didn't give a " nasal 'veeee' " ~ The call of a disturbed lapwing.

(Eye F**ks Trebor before turning to face the jury)

I suggest, on the evidence laid before us; The wet land, beside a river. The bird with no discernible beak. No trailing legs.

One which the defendant would have us believe showed " A white rump ". Then was " Black above. White below ". With wings so eye catching that they formed a large part of what he Did remember .....

And a bird which uttered an alarm call which the defendant cannot suggest, beyond reasonable doubt was not " Veeee! " ~ that of a Lapwing ....!

Ladies and Gentlemen; I put it to you that the defendant is Guilty of not paying enough attention to this bird or making field notes at the time.

I would most strongly urge you to throw the book at him. Preferably the Collins Bird Guide. Might save any more of this bloody nonsense!

trebor28

you are nothing if entertaining!!!:D:D:D:D

lapwings have that curvature in their wings that make them look like an m if you see them on the horizon, if ya know what i mean.

this birds wings were narrower and straighter, more angular.

thats why i said swift and arctic skua.

could it have been a young lapwing?? are they much different to the adult?

Ditch

trebor28 wrote: »

you are nothing if entertaining!!!:D:D:D:D

It's called " Dookering ". My secret is that I never take myself too seriously. And I don't give a toss about what anyone else thinks of my manner. I do it for fun

Now; I'm not gonna win with the Lapwing theory, am I? Hey ho. At least I tried, eh? ( .........? Ding!!! Jack Nicholson. Cuckoos Nest! I knew I'd heard that before somewhere. Now, before some f**k off great Indian comes in here, smothers me to death and steals my thunder .....)

Honestly, mate; Only other thing that's biting away at me is Ringed Plover. And that's a piss poor effort too. It just doesn't fit the scenario. I'm just trying to shrink this image. Give it sharp, pointy little wings and stuff. Yet take away any long beak or trailing legs.

I've spent a Lot of time around marshes and wet meadows. But, it was a while back. I just have this image in my head. Bird that gets up and darts off like that. Can't pin it down Damn.

trebor28

well i couldnt say about the beak or the feet.

i have taken bins and a camera with me any time i have been there since but to no avail!

presumably i have missed something that would make it a very easy call.

Rainbowsend

Colour?
Wing shape?
Beak?
Flight pattern?
Size?
Long/short legs?
Voice?
Tail/length/shape?

Lets try and narrow it down a bit.

trebor28

from what i can remember...

Colour?
black top side white bottom side.

Wing shape?
narrow, angular to a point, longish for bird size.

Beak?
i dont remember much about the beak which would make me think it was only normalish one inch straight etc.

Flight pattern?
as i said it kind of flitted along around over head and then flew away, kinda floppy flight pattern.

Size?
roughly the same size as a snipe, only a slimmed down version.

Long/short legs?
couldnt say.

Voice?
high pitched whistle type call. that could have been just alarm call.

Tail/length/shape
from what i can remember shortish, something like a starling?, straightish, might have been a slight v in it.

thats all i can remember, dont know any of the technical terms so sorry about the descriptions.

have resigned myself to not finding an answer.
sorry about ruining the other thread mothman, wasnt my intention.

ttc028

Green Sandpiper perhaps?

trebor28

could well be a green sand piper.

trying to look for a video of it flying, but youtube isnt coming up trumps.

call sounds about right from the rspb website. would it be a distinct call to the sand piper or would other waders have similar calls??

trebor28

found this photo on irish birding.

the bird on the right wings pointed down was very similar to what i saw.



not saying it was though, its just very similar.
if there is another bird that fits the bill point me in the eight direction.

Bsal

Maybe Oystercatcher hehe. http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/o/oystercatcher/index.aspx