Innholdsfortegnelse for Waterbirds i Bird ID Photo Guides

Basic Principles Common Crane may be an increasingly familiar sight in Britain, but it is still unusual and spectacular enough to stop anyone in their tracks. No longer confined to its traditional Norfolk stronghold, the species has spread to several other areas and potentially can be encountered almost anywhere outside the breeding season. The same can’t be said for Demoiselle and Sandhill Cranes, both red-letter day vagrants with differing status on the British list, but autumn has brought both to our shores in the past and history has a tendency to repeat itself. Over the years I have seen all of these species in Britain, as well as an escaped Sarus Crane in Cambridgeshire back in the 1970s. Escaped cranes may be exceptional, but it’s worth being aware of such…

Basic Principles Great Northern Divers are impressive birds and any encounter with this species, either distantly on the sea or a more intimate view on an inland waterbody, is always a memorable experience. Its close relative White-billed Diver is, however, far rarer in Britain – finding one would make for a truly great day. Great Northern Diver Though a regular wintering bird in British waters, Great Northern Diver is mainly a Nearctic species, where it is known as Common Loon. It breeds in Svalbard and Iceland, but its main range stretches from Greenland to Alaska. Here it is mainly a Low Arctic bird, breeding on lakes in the taiga zone. Nevertheless it is a relatively common winterer in north-west Europe, mostly at sea, but it also turns up inland on…

Basic Principles The effects of climate change on our birds are becoming ever more obvious, with a number of Mediterranean species advancing northwards and becoming more regular in Britain. The clearest evidence for this is provided by the herons, with first Little Egret and now Western Cattle and Great Egrets establishing themselves as part of the British avifauna. Following in their footsteps, albeit a little more tentatively, are a number of other, rarer, southern herons. Little Bittern This species breeds across central and southern Europe and also in south-west and Central Asia, wintering in sub-Saharan Africa. It has traditionally been a rare spring vagrant to Britain – mostly in May and June but with a few in summer and early autumn – with just over 250 records between 1950 and…

Basic Principles Grebes are an enchanting feature of our wetland environments, both freshwater and marine. Here we will focus on two sometimes confusing species pairs, the large Great Crested and Red-necked Grebes, and two ‘small grebes’: Black-necked and Slavonian. Great Crested Grebe This is Britain’s most familiar and much-loved grebe. It breeds throughout the Palearctic region, with outlier populations as far away as southern Africa, Australia and New Zealand. Great Crested Grebe is a common breeding bird on lakes, reservoirs, meres and gravel pits across much of Britain, but is most regular in the South and East. Here it delights with its famously attractive head plumes and exotic co-ordinated, almost penguin-like, dance display. The species winters both inland and on the coast, and there is also some exchange of birds…

Basic Principles Cormorant is a common, familiar and widespread species in both coastal and inland habitats throughout much of Britain, even in the centre of cities. The original British Trust for Ornithology Atlas of Breeding Birds in Britain and Ireland (with fieldwork carried out 1968-72) showed it to be a widespread breeder, with just over 8,000 pairs on rocky coasts, although it was absent from the east and south coasts of England between Yorkshire and the Isle of Wight (Sharrock 1976). The Bird Atlas 2007-11 revealed a similar coastal distribution, but confirmed that inland breeding was also occurring across a large swathe of lowland England (Balmer et al 2013). Cormorant Historically, Cormorant populations in Britain and on the near-Continent have been kept at a low level by a combination of…

Basic Principles Crakes and rails are something of an enigma, usually (although not always) difficult to see. Even Water Rail can be a challenge to glimpse, and very few of us have extensive experience of any of the other species. Finding a Spotted Crake is likely to be a rare event in one’s birding career, while most of us will never locate either a Little or a Baillon’s Crake in Britain. These last two are mostly known only from a twitched bird at home or sightings on a foreign holiday. Although not especially difficult to identify, the main problem is remembering what to look for on what might be a brief, unrepeated view. With small crakes, the important thing is to go for the key features fast. Spotted Crake This…