The Lincolnshire Bird Club

At Freiston shore this morning;

The Wash
Great skua - 10
Arctic skua - 14
Gannet - 57
Black tern - 4
Little gull - 2
Fulmar - 1
Kittiwake - 1
Eider - 35

'Wetland'
Barnacle goose - 1
Pink-footed goose - 1
Greenshank - 1
Common sandpiper - 1
Wheatear - 3

Lagoon
Curlew sandpiper - 3 (2 juvs, 1 adult)
Ruff - 2
Greenshank - 1

Hide track
Redstart - male

Cheers,

John

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Contact: recorder_south@lincsbirdclub.co.uk

And at Frampton Marsh this afternoon....

Slavonian Grebe still present on pool adjacent to seabank
Whinchat - 4
Teal - 140

Excellent count of Bonxies John!
Presumably flying by rather than lingering?

Roy

Hi Roy,

Yes, all south past Freiston and I guess then up the Welland and off to Southampton! One group of 7, plus singles.

John

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Contact: recorder_south@lincsbirdclub.co.uk

I can't find "Bonxies" in John's report and there is no mention in any of my guide books of such a species - anyone care to explain what this is all about.

Trevor,
"Bonxie" is a name for the Great Skua.

Regards

Freddy

Freddy

Thanks for that, but why not say Great Skua then. Having standard English names and Latin names for birds seems adequate to me without introducing another language - or am I missing something here?

You're definately missing something Trevor !

Bonxie is the local Shetland name for Great Skua. All of the common breeding birds on Shetland have local names, and its just that Bonxie has caught on with birders nationwide. Another widely used one is Tystie for Black Buillemot, but not many people down here call Eiders a Dunter, or Puffin a Tammy Norie.

Trevor,
.......... and don't say you can't find 'Black Buillemot' in your guidebook.

Regards,

Freddy

Thanks for the education - not having been brought up in the Shetlands I wasn't familiar with their language. It still seems to me that being in England the use of the English names (or even Latin for the learned) would be more widely understood and accepted. Maybe this is just another "elitist" ploy to make us newer members feel inadequate and unwanted!

Trevor,
In fairness to Roy and Paul, I would say that you'll find 'Bonxies' is a fairly common birding term for Great Skua, just as you will frequently meet 'Sprawks','Mipits', 'Poms','Barwits', etc. These terms are merely convenient 'birder-speak' and are not at all intended to be elitist or superior. The more that newer members become acquainted with the wider birding world , the more they will meet these terms (and others) and become quite comfortable with them.

Regards,

Freddy
PS ; Sparrowhawks, Meadow Pipits,Pomarine Skuas, Bar-tailed Godwits

There is an attempt to standardise English bird names, and the particular page for skuas is here http://www.worldbirdnames.org/n-shorebirds.html

Please note that from now on if you follow a standard system you will have to call Arctic Skua "Parasitic Jeager" (after all, thats probably the oldest name for them) and Guillemot becomes Common Murre.

Personally i have no time for standardising bird names. They evolve through time and use, as does all language. You'll find on most seawatches that people call Stercorarius skua "Bonxie" rather than Great Skua. And even the scientific name has changed recently. It used to be Catheracta! In reality bird names are constantly changing, depending on the fashion of the day. There is a policy nowadays to move away from calling birds after people, but its just a fashion. You just end up calling things after their geographical origin rather than the person who described them, and i think you lose something rather descriptive and romantic then.

Please don't think i'm having at go at you Trevor, because i'm not. Learning all of the different names was a huge joy for me when i was younger, but i remember how difficult and confusing it could be. Its just part of the learning process, as much as discovering that birds don't always look like their field guide depiction.

Cheers,

Paul

Or do what I have done from the start - learn the scientific names that are recognised worldwide.

Cormorant - Phalacrocorax Carbo
Shag - Phalacrocorax Aristotelis
Gannet - Morus Bassanus
Blue-footed Booby - Sula Nebouxii
Blue Tit - Cyanistes Caeruleus
Barn Owl - Tyto Alba

Etc..... etc.......... ** stops there before she starts showing off **

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Thanks Freddy and Paul. I can see something of an argument for using "Bonxie" but it is probably best used in conversation rather than written reports. I'm afraid I can't see any merit in slaughtering the English language with silly words like "sprawk" and "mipit" and can only imagine that some people find this sort of nonsense a form of "one upmanship" - some sort of pointless code which separates the elite from the normal people! At least I won't have to learn these rather pointless words as my membership will soon expire and I will soon return to the real world where English is the accepted language. I take Paul's point about language changing over the years but I reckon I will be long gone from this world before "sprawk" and "mipit" and other rather pointless words appear in the dictionary!

It does have its purpose, but only in text-speak when you have a limited message length or perhaps making the odd question in Bird Brain of Britain....... mind you, 'Bonxie' sounds like a game Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky might play in the Oval Office....

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