From The Raptor (and Apprentice):
On Tuesday 13th November whilst walking in Sanna on a very rainy day with an Apprentice we went to see the smelly remains of the whale on the beach. After a short time (the smell is still quite bad) we were walking back along the beach towards the main area for exiting the beach when two oystercatchers startled me and made me look up, and out of the corner of my right eye I caught a glimpse of a small falcon-shaped bird darting behind one of the high sand dunes. Without a thought we were off up the steep faces of the dune to the top to scour the area for another glimpse, then after a few seconds I spotted something on the hydrant that sits on the track in front of the green church (why didn't I have my binoculars with me?), the camera would have to do.
We moved closer, the bird sat tight, took a couple of pics, then on hands and knees we moved around the dunes until we were close enough to get a decent pic without alerting the bird. Now we thought we were getting a grand viewing of a peregrine. Until tonight when I put the pics on my laptop and wait a minute thats not a peregrine, books out, flick, flick, flick, well its a merlin, nope not a merlin, lets think what's falcon, small and isn't a peregrine or a merlin! A hobby, but we don't have hobbies in Scotland never mind Sanna.
Well after about an hour the decision was made - it's a hobby (or if your a football fan a Falco subbuteo), a hobby well out of its range, or do they frequent our shores? There are supposed to be less than 500 pairs in the UK, none above the southern areas of England, and all should have left by the end of September for Africa.
Why do we think its a hobby? Well the hydrant it's on is only about 12" wide, the bird is about the same length, much shorter than either of the other two, no trousers on its yellow legs, the white band which doesn't quite go all the way around its neck, the lack of eye flashes, the bold black chest markings and on one of the pics you can see a rufus red area around the feathers above the legs. None of the other two have this, also on an unpublishable pics (bad quality) the tail feathers are splayed and are very square cut.
So if anyone out there can confirm this by the pics attached we would be most grateful.
Many thanks to The Raptor (and Apprentice) for story and pictures.
More about the hobby here.
am no expert but that could well be a juvenile hobby :)
ReplyDeleteCould this be a case of "Reverse Migration" or an escapee from the poor Summer the rest of the country had?
ReplyDeleteHi John,
ReplyDeleteHaving had a good look at the photos, I'm pretty certain that the bird is in fact a juvenile Merlin.
Why?
The colouration is more akin to a merlin than a young hobby. A hobby would show distinct narrow pale edges to the feathers on the back and would appear very dark, compared to the brown colour of this bird.
The folded wings finish short of the tail - on a hobby they would be as long or longer than the tail.
The tail of this bird is barred whereas that of a hobby would be all dark.
The bird shows a white throat, like a hobby, but appears more hooded than hobby which would show more white on the side of the face. Also this bird appears to show a white patch on the nape which is missing on a hobby.
Hobbies typically perch in trees and do not habitually sit out on open perches unlike merlins which constantly take advantage of such prominent perches as the one in the pciture.
I hope that helps,
Barrie Hunt
The Saltings
Hi Barrie -
ReplyDeleteMany thanks for this. As The Raptor said, he's very unsure of what it is, and your reasons are pretty convincing. Hobbies aren't supposed to be around here, and certainly not at this time of year. I have also heard of people who have seen merlins locally - sadly, I haven't,
Jon
HI,
ReplyDeleteHave to agree with Barrie here,for all his reasons, plus Hobbies have "trousers" Merlins do not.Could be a female Merlin or a juvenile, as they are very difficult to tell apart.
Hi the Raptor here, thank you for all your comments, especially barrie seems ive got it wrong again. It was a very wet day and the pics are not great, I thought it was a bit of a 'want to see moment', but I did spend a long time checking all the pics to try and get a good ID of the bird, but whatever, it was great watching it and just getting the photos Hobby or not.
ReplyDeleteThe Raptor
Was a cracking view we got of the bird! It hung around for a while, but atleast we now know what it is now,
ReplyDeleteThe raptors 'apprentice'
Throat banding points very much towards a young hobby. We get them doon here in Dumfriesshire in mist nets when they are ringing sometimes. Check with McMillan on Skye and your local bird reports for recent sighting in your area.
ReplyDeleteMind you Raptor a decent camera would help get more distinct images!
Older bird reports for Argyll state the hobby is sometimes seen both in spring and autumn. Check the latest bird reports. Not like a merlin methinks.
ReplyDeleteHi Mountain Man!!, Im really glad of your comments and am sure it is a Hobby ive searched about every web page which contains pictures of both the Hobby and the Merlin and I can only come to the conclusion that it is a Hobby. As for the camera! the pics were taken from quite a distance through grass on a very wet and windy day, so less of the dodgey camera stuff, I know where you live!!, but thanks again Mountain Man.
ReplyDeleteThe Raptor
F2.8 lens would have showed the way freen. Keep snapping. Have you no had ony waxwings at Kilchoan yet?
ReplyDeleteI dont have to change lenses on my camera, so I do with what I have.
ReplyDeleteI have not seen any waxwings this winter nor have I heard of any reports of then, the fieldfares and redwings that came through a few weeks ago have decimated the rowans berries so the is not much for them to feed on, but I will keep my lens pointed.
The Raptor.
I do use a fixed lens as well Raptor but it is F2.8 throughout. Hunners o waxwings and dizzens o' redwings here lately. Skittery Felties putting in a guid showing as well. We lost many of oor rowan berries tae the early influx of redwings but birds still aroon. Hawthorn, Catoneasters still with berries here + pink and white rowans still hae some berries. Keep snapping. Goldcrests, bullfinches showing well.
ReplyDelete