The Lincolnshire Bird Club

Apparently there has been a Calandra Lark at Gib this morning,what a cracking bird to add to the county list!.Shame it has flown off!!!.



Steve.

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I would bet it has not gone too far - but just chose to dissapear into one of the most inaacessible parts of coastal Lincs - on the seaward side of the Greenshanks Creek.

About 20 people combed the area between North Building and Seacroft Esplanade this afternoon. I left at about 4pm, when it hadn't been relocated since KWs (?) lats sighting at about 10.30. They don't have a great record for sticking around unfortunately.

Phil

We were amongst the unsuccesful search party but didn't want to miss the chance of such a mega!
Did see our first Turtle Doves and Swifts of the year whilst at Gib.
On the way home called at Ruckland and saw the White-tailed Eagle - it was sat in the the same place in a field for over two hours, albeit at long-range.

Roy & Linda

Sounds like a magic day at Gib today with a Honey Buzzard reported by BirdGuides

Another great day for migration started with a singing Golden Oriole in the Plantation (D matthews), then more passage of hirundines, corvids, swifts, finches, yellow wagtails etc.

A single flock of 75 crossbill flews outh down the East Dunes
An osprey flew west
A honey buzzard flew north-west
2 spoonbills moved south or south-east

The Calandra was almost impossible to see on the ground but goiod flight views were obtained - Having seen them before in flight and looked for the dark underwing, I had not previously appreciated how dark the upperwing is too and how the jizz resembles a giant woodlark with the short-tailed appearance - handy hints for anyone looking for it tomorrow !

Cheers

Kev

In my experience it's Bimaculated that has the shortest tailed appearance in flight!!

Did you get any shots of it Kev?

Roy

Presumably Kev noted an absence of obvious white trailing edge to wings and sides to tail, which would have indicated Bimaculated Lark ?

Phil

Some ref pics here
http://pewit.blogspot.com/2009/03/calandra-larks.html

That didn't quite come out right - perhaps should have read "Presumably Kev would have noted an absence of obvious white trailing edge to wings and sides to tail if it had been a Bimaculated Lark" or something. Good pics Graham, Spain or Turkey ?

Phil

Of course, as all familiar with Calandra Lark will know, the very prominent white trailing edge to the wing is a salient ID point. When Johnny Nicholson described his flyby 'Calandra Lark' to me last year he totally failed to mention the white trailing edge - so the record did not go any further.

Extremadura

Great record Kev!!!
Well done!!i say!
Roger.

Hi

I did not mention the white trailing edge because I was only mentioning the features that I had not appreciated before. However, the white edge was a veritable blaze against the dark wings that any greater black-backed gull would have been proud of! This feature was always visible in flight.

I have seen Bimacs in Turkey - flight views readily elimintade that species.

On the one occasion when this bird decked in the open, I did try video - a desperate measure at 60 metres or so, but two skylarks mobbed it and flushed it off before I could set up for scoping/digiscoping and that was when it was lsst seen.

Kev