Showing posts with label Common Gull. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Common Gull. Show all posts

Saturday, February 28, 2015

Saturday Circuit And PC Birding

There isn’t much to report from this morning’s grey affair. A shimmy around Conder Green on my way to business in Lancaster produced the usual wildfowl fayre of 90 Teal, 30 Wigeon, 6 Shelduck, 4 Tufted Duck, 2 Goldeneye, 2 Little Grebe, 2 Canada Goose, 2 Goosander, 2 Cormorant and 1 Little Egret.

Lapwings and Oystercatchers were on the spot for breeding around the margins with 30 or so Redshank, 1 Spotted Redshank and 2 Snipe. 

Common Snipe

As compensation for today’s meagre entry here’s an item from the Washington Post about Political Correctness reaching bird watching. Let me just check - no, today isn’t April 1st. 

"Bird watching has long been a popular and seemingly harmless weekend activity in Sweden. Its innocence, however, came to an abrupt end when many of the country's bird lovers were suddenly confronted with allegations of racism. 

For centuries, it has now been revealed, the Swedish had given birds some names that now could be considered offensive to certain groups. One species, for instance, was called "gypsy bird," whereas another was named "negro." The insult "caffer," which was used by white against blacks in South Africa, also resembled a Swedish bird species called "kaffer." There were other offensive bird names in Sweden, such as "Hottentot" — apparently inspired by the name of the language of an indigenous southwest African tribe called Khoikhoi, yet also a derogatory term for that tribe. 

Despite the prominence of bird watching among Swedes, the existence of these names and others like them had sparked little outrage and publicity until recently. When Sweden's Ornithological Society completed its first-ever global list of all 10,709 Swedish bird names two weeks ago, the organization also announced some awkward name changes. 

In the process of categorizing the names, staffers had raised concerns over some that had a potentially offensive nature. As a result, several of them have now been changed: "negro" bird, for instance, will now be called "black" bird. "When working on the list, it became obvious that some older names no longer were appropriate," Anders Wirdheim, Communications Officer at the Swedish Ornithological Society told The Washington Post. 

Wirdheim does not think that the bird names should be used to draw broader conclusions about the Swedish society. "Out of thousands of names, there were only 10 which could be understood as condescending or even racist," he said. Nevertheless, Sweden's Ornithological Society was surprised by how serious some have taken the racism allegations. "We had expected a few responses, but certainly not the flood of comments that followed the publication," Wirdheim said. 

"Here in Sweden, an overwhelming majority is for the changes we have implemented. However, the news has reached far beyond our borders and most outraged reactions have come from abroad." 

Blackbird

Naturally it’s only a matter of time before the European Union directs the UK to rename some offensively titled British birds. 

For a start our UK field guides are full of Tits not to mention a Shag, which makes it very embarrassing to discuss these species with non-UK birders. There’s the very impolite Dusky Warbler or Dusky Thrush, an abusive Sooty Shearwater or Sooty Tern and more than enough thank you of birds called “Yellow”, “Brown” or “White”. Thankfully the Martians haven’t arrived yet so for now we can forget all those “Green” birds. 

Great Tit

Yellow Wagtail

Then there are those species which have to be reminded they are of diminished stature by the use of the word “Little” or “Least”, or of less than ideal physical proportions, or with a disability, and  therefore labelled with a derogatory prefix - “Long-eared”, “Short-eared”, “Short-toed” or ”Long-toed” come to mind. And in these days of equality should we really refer to some bird species as “Common”, implying they are of a lowly class and that similar but less numerous species are superior? 

Short-toed Lark

Common Gull

And to precede so many of our British bird names with the adjective “Lesser” implies that the species is not of equal importance to its “Greater” relative when it clearly is. Be honest. Which would you rather see? A Greater White-fronted Goose or a Lesser White-fronted Goose? Me too. 

Lesser White-fronted Goose - CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Swans are very beautiful and graceful creatures. I suggest to readers that in 2015 it is no longer acceptable to begin the naming of our commonest British swan with the archaic term “Mute”. Surely “Inability To Speak Swan” would be more acceptable”? 

Mute Swan

Although not strictly speaking a British bird, the Bufflehead finds itself on the British List by virtue only of its rare transatlantic appearances here in the UK. Is that any reason to call an American cousin a “Bufflehead”? It is a word clearly designed to offend. 

Yes, it is definitely time to bring British Birds into the modern world of equality, diversity and tolerance. 

Suggestions for the New British List of Birds on a postcard please to Presidency of The European Union, Strasbourg, France.

Linking today to Anni's Birds.

Friday, February 8, 2013

Roundabout

Faced with where to go this morning, I realised I’d neglected Knott End of late, what with Christmas, then the poor weather followed by two weeks in Spain, so off I went for a look around the village hot spots. 

The tide was on the way in, pushing a small selection of waders to the shore: 250 Curlew, 145 Oystercatcher, 60+ Redshank, 8 Turnstone, 2 Bar-tailed Godwit and 4 Dunlin. Shelduck were scattered across the sands and I counted 40+, although not a single Eider duck again. When I walked along the esplanade I found 15 Twite, 2 Pied Wagtail and 1 Rock Pipit below the sea wall, and on the shore near the village a good count of 40+ Common Gull (Mew Gull - Larus canus) all in one spot. Common Gulls are rather handsome beasts which us bird watchers tend to forget about or ignore. 

It wasn’t snowing today although it is forecast for Sunday and the picture below was taken at Knott End a year or two ago with a layer of snow on the sea wall. 

Common Gull

Twite 

A visit to Fluke Hall and a perusal of the usual stubble field close to the road gave counts of 18 Pied Wagtails, 18 Blackbirds, 8 Goldfinch, 2 Song Thrush, 1 Mistle Thrush, 1 Redwing, 40 Oystercatcher, 40 Lapwing, 22 Redshank and 15 Curlew. The fields at Damside held 85 Golden Plover, 300 Lapwing, 40+ Redshank, 60 Curlew and a single Dunlin. 

The Rawcliffe feeding station beckoned where it’s not just the top up which is important, it’s also weighing up whether a ringing session might be worthwhile soon if there are a decent number of birds about. I travelled over the Pilling Moss road where at my usual viewpoint there was a glimpse of a Hen Harrier, a frustrating view of a fast flying bird which even as I raised the camera was hundreds of yards away. I also had the camera set to over expose from a previous shot. It’s an excuse for a record shot, the bird looking away too. 

Hen Harrier

The jury is still out on a ringing session for tomorrow, with 50+ Chaffinch, 2 Brambling, 15 Goldfinch and 10 Reed Buntings there or thereabouts the site but none of the birds exactly piling into the mixed seed left for them. There’s been a few returning north Fieldfares about this week, with another 20 or so today, mixed in with a small flock of Starlings in the hawthorn tops. 

Reed Bunting

A look around the wider area found 4 pairs of Buzzards circling in the afternoon sun, 14 Stock Dove and 300+ Woodpigeon on the stubble, and a remarkable and noisy flock of about 1500 Jackdaws exploiting the last of a nearby maize field. 

With rain and even snow forecast for the next three days there could be a lull in activities for Another Bird Blog, but please log in soon to find out. In the meantime log into Nature Footsteps http://nfmemes.blogspot.co.uk/  and  Anni's blog for more winged creatures.

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Knott The Arctic

This morning the Knott End pack ice resembled a scene from a Spitsbergen travelogue. From the esplanade I pencilled 1100 Oystercatchers in my notebook but wasn’t entirely sure if I should be on the lookout for Polar Bears too.

Oystercatcher

The Twite flock was bigger this morning at 80+ mobile birds, unable to find the seed put out for them that now lies buried under the ice and snow. The Rock Pipit was around near the jetty again, plus a Song Thrush, a refuge from the café garden, and then 6 overflying Skylark closely followed by a single Lapwing looking for something green and unfrozen. As the tide ran in I counted 135 Shelduck on the water, plus 4 Wigeon.

Shelduck

Wader numbers were similar to yesterday with 60 Redshank, 30 Ringed Plover, 13 Turnstone and 35 Knot.

Knot

Knot

Ringed Plover

In places you do have to tread carefully because the cryptically feathered Turnstones can go unnoticed and fly off before they are spotted. Even their white belly is useful in the snowy terrain.

Knot, Turnstone

Turnstone

There were the usual gulls hanging around for a free meal from the parked cars. There is simply no unfrozen fresh water about now, and I watched a Common Gull scoop up snow as a substitute.

Common Gull

Common Gull

Common Gull

Here's a picture of the Black-headed Gull from yesterday, the new temporary header that I have vowed will stay there until the arctic weather goes elsewhere.

Black-headed Gull
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