Not the best light and a pretty heavy crop but it was a nice find. Photographed about 20 miles off the New Hampshire shore in March.
Seabird ID Quiz
Not the best light and a pretty heavy crop but it was a nice find. Photographed about 20 miles off the New Hampshire shore in March.
Thick-Billed Murre, Uria lomvia
Last edited by Jeff Donald; 10-24-2009 at 01:21 PM.
Hey,
We see lots of these in newfoundland..Yes Thick-billed Murre..but why/ More Specifically why not a Common Murre.These things are a little more tricky when you see them a mile away from land during a swawatch.Nicely done Axel..
Dave Brown
I guess this was too easy. :)
Don't you hate it Axel when the first guess is right:)
Thick-billed Murre
The short bill with a curved upper mandible and obvious gonydeal angle on the lower, coupled with the diagnostic white tomium stripe on the bill base are all classi features of thick-billed. The rather "lumpy" forehead, reminiscent of a Common Loon is rather characteristic of this species. The black upperparts rule out Common Murre, and the bill shape and pattern and short tail rule out Razorbill.
Really nice shot!!
Below is a comparison drawing I'd done of birds earlier in winter plumage that show all three species' head pattern for convenience. Note bill shape and the shape of the white area behind the eye (squareish on razorbill and pointed on Common). Note also that Thick billed is the only bird in winter that has a "hooded" look, with black extending down to the eye.
From (l) to (r): Thick-billed, razorbill and Common Murre
Julian, Great sketch and it really clarifies the differences!
Bridled Common Murre
Thanks Julian...lovely drawings..the Thick-Billed is still a lifer for me, they never seem to be around when I am. This year I hope to get to Newfoundland in winter for a possible sighting. Just for interest..in the Atlantic you can also find Bridled Common Murre's...approx. 15-25% of murres are bridled (according to Sibley's)...
Paul,
When are you thinking about coming to Newfoundland?Any species in mind that you are hoping to photograph? Depending when you come you should have unlimited opportunities with about 8 Gull species, including Yellow-legged and Common Gulls and quite possibly Slaty-backed Gull.There are usually 3-4 different species of Athya ducks,including Tufted Duck also Eurasian Wigeon, Dovekie etc. As well, we have an excellent cone and Mountain Ash berry crop.There could be Eurasian Thrushes such as Redwing ( annual in last 5 years) and hopfully Fieldfare (we're overdue for some more Fieldfares) and Finches,possibly many many Crossbills and other cone eating species.
Dave Brown
Hi Dave..I've been told best time for me to come there would be end of Feb or early March...species I'd like to see are Dovekie (lifer) and Thick Billed Murre (lifer), a bonus would be Gyrfalcon or King Eider (lifer). Tough part will be getting close enough to these birds to get decent photos.
Some of the rarer Northern Gulls or Fieldfare but that would be just luck of the draw.
Air Canada is having seat sales all the time, I'll start shopping around in January for tickets.
Hey Paul,
Depending on the year late February or March could be getting late for some birds. Late November-mid January are actually the best months for Dovekie,but still gettable later. Thick-billed Murre,well getting photos of that will be pretty much impossible,you have to get lucky and find a weak bird close to shore or something.Dovekies routinely spend time in sheltered coves very close to shore. King Eider is definitely possible,depending on when the Eider flocks form- late winter is definitely the best time and this species will be impossible to photograph other than perhaps distant record shots. Gyrfalcon is a possability,but by no means a guarentee.Lots of winters I don't see any.Occasionally there will be a Peregrine or Gyrfalcon that overwinters at a lake in St.John's. To be honest your chances of seeing YLGU are probably as good or better as some of the species you mention above.The issue is knowing it when you see it.We have lots of LBBG's and every possible hybrid combinationto complicate things a bit. If I were to suggest a time to visit I'd say that mid- late January would be the best time.This is dependant on ice cover on St.John's lakes.We get our largest gull flocks when the ice freezes,also all of our diving ducks get pushed close to shore at the mouths of rivers etc sometimes allowing unlimited amazing photo ops with up to 15 species. If you have the flexability I'm more than glad to keep you in the loop,in terms of how things are shaping up here this winter. Then you could really zero in on the best time to visit.
Dave Brown
Off the thread topic but one way to get out and see Thick-billed Murres in Newfoundland is to go out in a boat with some turr hunters. Twillingate this time of year would work if I remember the seasons correctly.
Hey John,
Could definitely work. I've never done it or known any locals who have.However,if you had a contact then you might be bale to get some shots,before the hunters get theirs :(.
Dave B
LOL...got carried away..but yes off topic
What are turr hunters?Originally Posted by John Chardine
I should have explained Axel. In Newfoundland, murres are called turrs. Many of the other seabirds also have local Newfoundland names. Turrs have been traditionally hunted in Newfoundland for 100s of years and after Newfoundland joined Canada in 1949, a special regulation was added to the Migratory Birds Convention Act to allow turr hunting to continue (the regulation was added in 1956). So to this day turrs are hunted in Newfoundland and Labrador from the late fall through the winter months. The majority of birds taken are Thick-billed Murres from Arctic Canada and Greenland. About 200,000 are currently taken every year. The number of hunters is declining because young boys are not taking up the sport from their dads and young people in Newfoundland are losing the taste for wild game such as turrs.
PS in Newfoundland
A Tinker is a Razorbill
A Bullbird is a Dovekie/Little Auk
A Pigeon is a Black Guillemot
A Tickleace is a Black-legged Kittiwake
and so on!
Last edited by John Chardine; 10-26-2009 at 08:29 PM.
Thanks, John, and good to hear that fewer people kill them, 200k seems to be a lot.
It is a lot Axel but the population appears able to sustain this. About half the birds taken are young of the year, which from a demographic perspective are not as valuable to the population. It would be another story if all the birds taken were adults.
When I lived and worked in Newfoundland (1989-1998) the turr hunt was pretty much unregulated and ran about 750,000 birds per year. This was not sustainable. Back then I worked with a small team of people which developed a legal framework to manage the hunt. I did all the population modeling to figure out what annual take was sustainable and also how the season length and bag limit could be adjusted to accomplish a sustainable harvest. We did all this in a few months, all along with heavy consultation with the hunters themselves. The new regulations were immediately successful and massively reduced the harvest to what we see today. So when I get a bit down in the mouth about what I'm accomplishing on the conservation front, I try to remember that as a result of the efforts of our team we save about half a million turrs every year! Now that's conservation!
Last edited by John Chardine; 10-26-2009 at 08:41 PM.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote