The Lincolnshire Bird Club

1 Common Crane seen passing overhead crossing the Humber from South to North bank this morning, the bird originally came from over the pits at Far Ings before passing over Chowder Ness and on towards the North bank of the Humber.

Rgds

Joe

It would be interesting to know exactly what time this happened. A crane has been resident at the Ouse/Trent/Humber confluence for a month now (likely the Bonby bird). It has spent much of the daytimes feeding on arable land west of the Trent, to begin with in Lincolnshire but now mainly in Yorkshire: today for example it was next to Blacktoft Sands reserve at 0930. Currently (1113) it is standing on a low-tide sandbank in the Trent next to Alk Flats. It was on the same sandbank for at least an hour yesterday morning at roughly the same time (11-12). Does this mean it's different from Joe's bird?

Andrew

A true rookie error on my part i'm afraid, having not seen either species before I had based my identification of the bird I saw largely on size. When I came onto the forum last night I noticed Dean Eades photo of the White Stork reported at Thornton Curtis, which I then checked on bird guides. I noticed a further sighting of the bird had occured in the afternoon at Market Weighton, which seemed a logical path for the bird I had seen crossing the Humber. I recognised the bird in the photograph instantly as the bird I had seen on the wing, particulalrly becuase of the distinctly ragged plumage especially the missing wing primaries.

No doubt I have made a bit of a prat of myself to the wider birding public in Lincolnshire, but I guess its all part and parcel of the process of learning and i'm prepared to have a bit of a laugh in this case at my own expense . It serves as a valuable lesson to pay more attention in future and assume nothing. To answer Andrews question your bird is definitely different to mine in the fact that it acutally was a Common Crane

That said it was still a good experience to see a new species in Lincolnshire even though sadly it is only an escapee. I will pay for the stitches if anyone splits a side reading this.

Rgds

Joe

Joe it is not the first time that the two species have been confused and in sunny conditions cranes can appear quite white so distant views can be tricky; its good to get the facts right and really helpful to know that it was clearly the same stork that has been touring both banks of the estuary as I understand it was near Bubwith on the Derwent Ings last week; it had been at Thornton for 3 days;

for those with an interest in bizarre birding coincidences the stork was in the very same field at Thornton Curtis where the immature male Snowy Owl was first seen in autumn 1990 before transporting itself to Wainfleet

Joe, you're sacked!

Interestingly a colleague spotted a White Stork at Sherburn-in-Elmet not far from leeds earlier in the month around the 13th which was also a suspected escape and in fact I think was even confirmed as having a ring, who knows if this was possibly the same bird.

P.S Thanks for your support Andy, never mind sacked I should be handing in my resignation Maybe a bit early for that yet though...

Joe et al.

Nice to see people for once admitting mistakes?errors!!
Though a quick sighting/unfamiliarity or just auto-suggesting to themselves what they have seen and it appears right to them at the place and the time, as earlier posts have said if we were perfect and got it right everytime it wouldn't be worth doing. Think of me this coming weekend, NW coast of Norfolk, long weekend ! probably stitched for co-leading an expedition and I still don't know bugger all really after nearly 50 years????? and it only cost's me 50 quid not counting evening meals and a beer!

Replies on a very small postcard, with a 50 quid waiver to me!!

HELP!!.

All the best.

Brian.

I read somewhere that there has been a White stork esacpee around for a couple fo years in yorkshire and it is a ssumed that the bird is from harewood house. I cant rememeber were I got this information sadly I will try have a look round.

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http://anthonybentleywildlifephotography.blogspot.com/

UK life list 310 (Harlequin Duck)
Lincolnshire List 246 (Puffin)
Village (Brigsley) list 99 (Shelduck)

Thanks Anthony