Monday 19 April 2010

Yellow wags are back

A recent posting on the SOS message board (Somerset ornithological society) roused me this afternoon into trip down onto a local moor where Yellow wagtails have returned from there wintering grounds in Africa. The damp grassland, ideal for feeding on invertebrates. Once in the rough area, i sat in the car, in a gateway, with the windows rolled down & listened. It wasn't long before i heard the call i was waiting for & looking up, saw a wagtail flying above me. I followed with my bins & saw it land about 250m away, too far for a shot. Minutes later it flew back towards me, accompanied by another! Now within range of the 600 with a 1.7x teleconverter attached, i set about recording the scene. A third bird flew back across the road in front of me.
You may notice that one of them looks a bit odd! Halfway between the usual subspecies we get in this country & the Blue-headed varient seen more comonly on the continent. Some have speculated, he may be a hybrid. What do you think?

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