A GRACKLE IN GARSTON-LANCASHIRE

It began, as these things so often do, with a casual comment from a dog walker. He mentioned to a local patch birder that he’d seen a “strange bird” in the area. The remark lingered, and a couple of weeks later, it paid off. After some patient groundwork, @jackbirder finally pinned the bird down at dusk at Speke Hall Estate, confirming that something decidedly unusual had been present for some time.

The news spread quickly: the bird was believed to be a probable male Great-tailed Grackle, a remarkable record, surely another boat-assisted one that was frequenting a wet copse at the north end of the northernmost meadow at Speke Hall Estate, where it had been associating with Magpies. Given the likelihood that it had already been in the area for up to two weeks, anticipation built overnight.

When the finder relocated the bird again the following morning, Jenna and I made our way to Speke Hall. A small gathering of birders assembled, scanning the copse intently. An hour passed with no sign. 

The copse

Me casually waiting for the Grackle to put in an appearance

Then, suddenly, the bird flew in from the west, landing at the top of the copse and finally revealing itself.

Probable male Great-tailed grackle

For those present, it was a timely reminder that the most extraordinary records can begin with the most ordinary of encounters, and that it always pays to listen when someone says they’ve seen a “strange bird”.

That said, without a definitive sample, caution remains advisable. In the absence of a DNA-confirmed dropping, it is perhaps safest to regard the bird as Grackle sp. for now. This follows last year’s situation at Calshot, Hampshire, where a bird initially identified as a Great-tailed Grackle was later re-assessed by some as a likely Boat-tailed Grackle, based on structural features such as a more raised crown and a weaker bill. Ultimately, a droppings sample confirmed that the bird was a Great-tailed.

Should the Speke Hall bird linger, it is hoped that further evidence may be obtained, allowing its identification to be confirmed beyond doubt. However, under the current policy of the British Ornithologists’ Union Records Committee, ship-assisted vagrants involving port-to-port or coast-to-coast transport are not eligible for inclusion on the British List. Suspected ship-assisted records may be considered only where the species concerned is regarded as capable of undertaking an unassisted transatlantic crossing under favourable meteorological conditions.