Well there you go 😅 One (slightly simplistic?) thing was the bill of that slight oddball at Cley the other day ~ largely dark with only very small amounts of olive coming through (like the bird above) & markedly different from the unequivocal 2nd winter from a few days before. But all that grey...🤔

Yup, I've heard a few species over the years give calls on release from the hand (calls I haven't heard in the field), hence I thought that was the likely scenario here. Good plan to be in record as Neil Bowman (I assume it was him) released it & good that you actually got the call recorded.

I'm intrigued Tim. Was that distinctive short Hume's call (a single note I've not heard before from HLW) recorded when the bird was in the hand (which is my guess) or in the field? Either way, in-hand or in the field, how did someone get it to call, right on cue, after you're asked if you're ready?

Don't start with that one...😂

I did go 2CY first off and wrestled with it for the rest for the rest of the evening! Not sure I've seen "spotty morph" (not knowingly) - the only other 2CY this winter was standard "smart morph". Interesting stuff, thanks Tom.

Enjoyed this an interesting Caspian tonight ~ it seems to be a particularly advanced 1CY bird, with a lot of grey in the mantle & also across the closed wing. Earlier hatching/fledging dates in our warming climate seems likely to become more frequent as we go forward.
#NorfolkBirding
#cleybirds
2/2

Haiku in there somewhere...

The gaudy pheasants seemed like a strange pair to have ever been given the nod (GP at least dates back to 1971 & the inception of Category C). Are Golden Pheasant & Lady Amherst's Pheasant best served in C6, Category E or should they be removed from the contemporary British List altogether?

A new category, acknowledging the wild origin of a species whilst understanding that ship-assistance isn't a barrier to acceptance above & beyond Category E feels appropriate. Yes, it's a can of worms (hello non-Nearctic species, Pied Crow anyone?) but a shrewd shift seems right.
#ukbirding
4/4

We've had 2 species of Grackles alighting near ports in the last 2 years. Discussions need to happen re: Brown Thrasher, Spotted Towhee, Northern Mockingbird, various Sparrows (Lark, Song & White-throated for starters), House Finch & Evening Grosbeak maybe & that's just for starters.
#ukbirding
3/4

Aspects of the British List are in need of an overhaul in regard to how we categorise (in particular) many Nearctic species that are either simply unlucky to stray or that use ingenuity to make the most of assisted transit to navigate their way across the Atlantic.
The list is long.
2/4
#ukbirding

They do sprawl I guess but you're right, anything but lively. The Torpid would be quite apt.