Tuesday 30 December 2008
Monday 29 December 2008
Leucistic Herring Gull - Stewartby Lake
Bramblings
Sunday 28 December 2008
Thursday 25 December 2008
Christmas Quacker...
Monday 22 December 2008
Coal Tit
Saturday 20 December 2008
Wednesday 17 December 2008
Sunday 14 December 2008
Saturday 13 December 2008
Thursday 11 December 2008
11th Decembr garden sparrowhawk Putnoe
Monday 8 December 2008
Wintering Garganey
Sunday 7 December 2008
Saturday 6 December 2008
Bean Geese
Monday 1 December 2008
Sunday 30 November 2008
2 Black-necked Grebes
Slavonian Grebe
Saturday 29 November 2008
Goosander at Harrold
Thursday 27 November 2008
American Purple Gallinule
An American Purple Gallinule (Porphyrio martinica) was picked up dead during spring this year by one of the keepers of the Southill Estate. The bird has only come to light because of a chance encounter with Barry Nightingale, who regularly does WeBS and other surveys on the private estate.
Whether this bird arrived naturally, or escaped from a collection is unknown. How this individual arrived in Bedfordshire I suspect we'll never know. Currently the bird in a deep freeze waiting more analysis.
There is only one accepted British record, of an immature picked up exhausted on St Mary's, Isles of Scilly, 7th November 1958 (British Birds 53: 145-146, plate I; G. A. Pyman and the Rarities Committee, British Birds 53: 164; K. Williamson & I. J. Ferguson-Lees, British Birds 53: 371; Flood, Hudson & Thomas, 2007: plate 42). Obviously the most likely answer is of an escaped bird from a collection, but this type of information, for this species, is difficult to come by. If anyone has any information for American Purple Gallinule being in ANY collections in the UK (or even in Europe) I'd be most interested.
The record has already been submitted to BBRC for their further investigation.
What a year Bedfordshire is currently having!
Steve
Beds county recorder
Photos by BN, BS and GD
Whether this bird arrived naturally, or escaped from a collection is unknown. How this individual arrived in Bedfordshire I suspect we'll never know. Currently the bird in a deep freeze waiting more analysis.
There is only one accepted British record, of an immature picked up exhausted on St Mary's, Isles of Scilly, 7th November 1958 (British Birds 53: 145-146, plate I; G. A. Pyman and the Rarities Committee, British Birds 53: 164; K. Williamson & I. J. Ferguson-Lees, British Birds 53: 371; Flood, Hudson & Thomas, 2007: plate 42). Obviously the most likely answer is of an escaped bird from a collection, but this type of information, for this species, is difficult to come by. If anyone has any information for American Purple Gallinule being in ANY collections in the UK (or even in Europe) I'd be most interested.
The record has already been submitted to BBRC for their further investigation.
What a year Bedfordshire is currently having!
Steve
Beds county recorder
Photos by BN, BS and GD
Wednesday 26 November 2008
RBF
Monday 24 November 2008
Red-breasted Flycatcher at Leagrave Marsh
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