Twite et al

Graham Catley · **Joined:** Tue Dec 28, 2004 11:20 pm **Posts:** 1667

not seen any recent estimates of the Twite flock at Theddlethorpe so put a spotted shot in the discussion folder -- 190 birds and not certain to be the whole flock -- one colour ringed left Orange/White right Yellow/M ---140+ Snow Bunts and 7 larks

John Walker · **Posted:** Wed Dec 02, 2009 7:57 am

Thanks for the count of twite Graham , wonder if the colour ringed bird is from the Pennines?, their may well be colour ringed snow bunts as well.
cheers John

Graham Catley · **Joined:** Tue Dec 28, 2004 11:20 pm **Posts:** 1667

I sent the details off to David Sowter who has quickly checked with the different ringers and the result is quite exciting; the bird was ringed in the Montrose basin in eastern Scotland last March (full details to come)
Raymond Duncan has kindly supplied the details:
There could be more than one bird with the same combination. You also mentioned snow buntings. Did you see if any of these were ringed?
We started colour ringing twite last winter to determine origins and were well rewarded thanks to many observers (see attached map). A lot of our birds are extremely site faithful in winter but we've always known a small but unknown proportion appear to wander around. As Dave says, this is a very exciting movement. I suspect it is a bird which has returned from breeding on the west coast to a different part of the east coast rather than a movement down the east coast though. Dave has always said there's a bit of a "black hole" from the Wash north to Eastern Scotland as far as our knowledge of wintering twite numbers, origins and movements go. It's another piece of the UK twite jigsaw waiting to be pieced together. Any ringers at Theddlesthorpe?
Thanks very much again for this great record. Thanks for forwarding on Dave.
Fingers crossed you may see some more over the winter.

Russell Hayes · **Posted:** Thu Dec 03, 2009 5:02 pm

Further to my picture in the album of this Twite

From David Sowter

This bird was ringed at Deerhill reservoir to SW of Huddersfield (SE0711) after the end of June this year. It is difficult from the photo to tell the age/sex of this bird but clearly part of the Pennine breeding flock that move to the east coast in the winter anywhere from the Humber down the Lincolnshire coast, the wash marshes and Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex coastal marshes and exceptionally as far a Sandwich in Kent.

The Lincolnshire Bird Club

Twite et al

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