Rarities in Suffolk, 1996 C O L L A R E D PRATINCOLE - S E C O N D FOR SUFFOLK On Saturday, June 8th 1996 I decided to forego the pleasures of Euro 96 and walk north from Dunwich along the beach to the shore pools. I was pleased to find a female Red-backed Shrike and was back at the car park when I heard a Turnstone-like cali overhead which I recognised as a pratincole. I looked round and picked up the bird coming in off the sea at a fair height. It carne lower, passed directly overhead and flew north to settle on the pools from which I had just returned! Cursing, but excited, I quickly walked back up the beach and located it on the ground. Once 1 had got my telescope on it and confirmed it as a Collared - its wings and tail tips fell level - 1 rang Richard Millington at Birdline. He said that the Collared Pratincole recently present at Cley, Norfolk had in fact left earlier in the day, but that it had most of the right-hand side of the tail missing. I hadn't seen this, but finally the bird pumped its tail down revealing that it was the same bird. It showed well for much of the afternoon and evening and I saw it again briefly the following day over Minsmere RSPB reserve. Descríption Size, structure and behaviour: obviously a pratincole; in flight like a cross between a skua and a tern. On the ground about Knot-sized, with long wings and tail, the tips of which fell level, and a hunched neck posture - occasionally in alarm it would bob its head and pump its tail habitually. It did not feed in the air during the time I watched it, but it did run a few paces and pick at prey on the ground in a plover-like way. Plumage: crown, nape, hind-neck, mantle, scapulars, wing coverts and tertials a uniform, mid (olive-grey) brown; the crown, hind-neck and neck sides were distinctly paler and more ochreous. Rump and upper tail coverts white, forming a square patch in flight and also noted when preening. Remiges dark brown with the outer primary possessing a bright white feather shaft, again noted in flight and whilst preening; the white trailing edge to the wing was very worn and was only seen once when it landed on some brown earth. Rectrices black with white edge to outer feather, which was also long, forming a deep fork. Area around eye darker brown - with a small white crescent just visible on the lower rear side, and a dark (black) line ran down from the eye, outlining the yellow-cream chin and throat - the black line on the throat being very thin. The colour of the mantle extended onto the breast to form a sharply demarcated pectoral band, against puré white underparts. In flight, chestnut axillaries and under wing coverts contrasted with the dark remiges and white underbody. Bare parís: bilí short and slightly hooked - blunt-tipped - largely black, but with a crimson base to the lower mandible; eye dark; legs short and dull reddish brown/ black. Brían Small, 20 Willow Green, Worlingworth,
Woodbridge IP13 7LP.
A R C T I C WARBLER - S E C O N D FOR SUFFOLK On September 16th 1996 I was in Suffolk acting as a guide for two birders from Arizona and decided to walk south along the disused railway line from Stirrups Lane at Corton where there had been a number of good birds in recent days. We had gone about 100 métrés when a bird flew into a low Sycamore in front of us. It was the first bird we had seen and my first impression was that it was a medium-sized warbler or a flycatcher. I was therefore surprised to find that it was a Phylloscopus warbler and a brief glimpse revealed a long, prominent supercilium and an obvious wing-bar, suggesting Greenish or Arctic Warbler. A better view of the bill structure and face 171