The Lincolnshire Bird Club

Just had a phone call from Ollie Metcalf who has seen a probable Lanner hybrid with a red ring on its right leg in South Sea Lane, Cleethorpes this afternoon. If anyone knows the owner of this bird please let tem know.

John

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Lincolnshire Birds https://www.flickr.com/photos/120340949 ... 8078912016
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Contact: recorder_north@lincsbirdclub.co.uk

Coincidently i had an odd looking distant falcon chasing waders at Cleethorpes early this morning, *South Sea Lane is next door in Humberston by the way.

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Regards, DJB. http://bradderscleebirding.blogspot.co.uk/

Perhaps this individual was the one I recorded at the south end of Donna Nook yesterday (8th). When I first saw the bird it was feeding on prey on a stubble field near to the sea-bank. Even though it was distant, it seemed rather odd in the bright sunshine. I was anticipating a Peregrine when I initially focused upon it, and although it seemed similarly-sized to a male Peregrine, it was quite pale-headed and showed a less pronounced facial pattern while the upperparts were a distinctly warm dark brown. On two occasions, it stretched and craned forward with raised wings to reveal heavily whitish-spotted brown underwing coverts and a finely barred tail. The facial pattern comprised a thin dark 'C'-shaped line extending upwards from the moustachial stripe, through the eye and down the side of the nape. The crown merely seemed pale and rather creamish.

As the bird was feeding, I did not try to approach it and consequently I did not see it any closer than ca. 200 yards through binoculars. The angle I was watching from precluded any views of the underparts and I could not see the legs for any rings or jesses. I have no experience of this species or its races at all. Pitfalls can litter the identification of birds bred or cross-bred for falconry purposes and with such incomplete views I am unaware as to whether or not this bird was hybridized with any other species.

Eventually, I saw it in flight from one side when it left low to the south. Before it disappeared behind the bank, I could not add any further plumage details, but did note its light and shallow flicking wing-beats, the relatively longer wings and tail compared to a Peregrine and the slim body with none of the deep-chested appearance of a Peregrine.

After the bird had gone, I went out to the spot where it had been and from the few feathers that I could find, I was able to establish that a Skylark had been its prey.

Just in terms of escaped falcons it is worth being aware of the Independent Bird Register http://www.independentbirdregister.co.u ... Found.html which provides lists of recently escaped birds (if registered with them) and a place to report found/seen birds (if you have the bird or have seen a ring number etc).

In terms of identification escaped falcons, the majority of falcons produced in captivity are hybrids these days and trying to identify them as anything else is probably over-ambitious.... If interested in escaped falcons I co-wrote this paper (http://www.int-res.com/abstracts/esr/v14/n3/p243-257/ - paper is free open access) which, amongst other things, used evidence from registration of birds under Schedule 4 of the Wildlife & Country side Act to document the numbers of registered falcons which escpaed or were released to the wild.

Vin