On 2 November, while travelling to work in Oxfordshire, news reached me that a grackle had been discovered in the RNLI station car park immediately north of Calshot Castle, Hampshire. I was able to see the bird later that day and, although the encounter was thoroughly enjoyable, it was clear from the outset that the circumstances surrounding its arrival would render the record inadmissible for listing purposes.
Subsequent scrutiny of photographs prompted a reassessment of the bird’s identity, leading to its reidentification as a Boat-tailed Grackle Quiscalus major. This interpretation generated considerable interest, as it was thought to represent the first documented ship-assisted occurrence of the species in Britain.
However, the story has since taken a further turn. DNA analysis has now conclusively established that the bird is in fact a male Great-tailed Grackle Quiscalus mexicanus, not a Boat-tailed Grackle. The case serves as a reminder of the identification challenges posed by large Quiscalus grackles and highlights the increasing role of genetic evidence in resolving complex vagrancy records.
