What exactly is an Eastern Yellow Wagtail ?

Friday 15 th October again started dull but it brightened up by early afternoon.

There wasn't a lot to get terribly excited about so perhaps the target for the day was to mop up some stragglers and get the list up over 100.

A Firecrest at Carreg Dhu Gardens showed well as did 2 Bramblings with c150 Chaffinches in the 'Quinoa Field' at Tremelethen :

Brambling

Brambling

Brambling



Brambling






















A Kingfisher at Porthellick Pool brought the trip list to exactly 100. Water Rail and 2 Jack Snipe also showed well.

'Mr Boby'

The Yellow Browed Warbler was still present at Porthellick and showed much better today.

The recently published Mitchell & Vinicombe checklist includes as an added species something called "Eastern Yellow Wagtail" so on news of a possible at Pelistry I went to see what the fuss was about.

Eastern Yellow Wagtail

Eastern Yellow Wagtail

Eastern Yellow Wagtail

Eastern Yellow Wagtail

One of the apparent clinchers is the call. The EYW has a buzzier 'psit' call than its more Western neighbours. I heard the EYW call as I did the 'ordinary' one the other day at Carn Friars. I would not like to comment as to difference or otherwise and I simply do not see or indeed hear Yellow Wagtail often enough to add anything sensible to the debate. Some birders were of the opinion that the call of this supposed EYW did not conform to its supposed ID, but then again some felt that there was a 'buzzy' quality about the call. Mitchell & Vinicombe refer to research carried out in 2003:

"............ that a deep split exists in Yellow Wagtails between the Eastern Palearctic forms ................. and all the other subspecies .................."

"......... that grey and white birds occur rarely in most subspecies of Yellow Wagtail and commonly in Black Headed and Sykes Wagtails.............. It seems likely that most such birds (i.e grey & white) seen in Britain will prove to relate to tschutschensis (one of the Eastern Palearctic forms).

Other birds of note today included a Common Buzzard at Porthellick and c15 Sanderling, 1 Common Sand and a Black Redstart at Porthloo.