Friday 4 September 2009

Checking the (gular) patch


After heavy rains overnight floods closed the coast road at the Seton Burn. Finally making it to Wrecked Craigs was reading Shag darvics (2 new) when this distinctive smaller cormorant caught my eye. Continental Cormorant (sinensis) is rare in Scotland, though probably overlooked and it is accepted that gular patch angle is the only reliable ID feature, though there is some overlap, i.e. only obvious individuals can be safely identified, see ID discussion. On this individual, the angle was very close to 90 degrees, though it has not come out well on the pictures. Worth looking out for again. Interestingly, a confirmed sinensis bird was seen at Musselburgh on 1 August (photo, 8th row).

No comments:

Post a Comment