WHEATEARS IN LINCOLNSHIRE by Mike Tarrant.

One of my favourite groups of birds is the genus oenanthe - the Wheatears. The name oenanthe comes from the ancient Greek language (as oinanthe) and was mentioned by Aristotle, although he was apparently unable to identify the bird generically. Unfortunately for him, the telescope had not been invented when he lived ! However, the name he used was applied to wheatears by unspecified later authors. The common English name "wheatear" apparently derives from "white-arse" used by country folk and it is obvious to see why. It is the plumage feature that usually announces the bird's presence as it flies off in front of you. In Lincolnshire, we have been starved of sightings of the rarer wheatears, with the recent Pied Wheatear at Gibraltar Point being the first County record of that species. There have been three records of Desert Wheatears; the first being in September 1970 at Donna Nook. The date for this record being unusually early for Desert Wheatears, although it was accepted as first for Lincolnshire on an apparent fly-by sighting seems, in my opinion to places a great deal of confidence in the ability of the observer. Are they really that easy in flight?

Photo.1 © Mike Tarrant.

Northern Wheatear, Saltfleetby in July. This bird is in juvenile plumage but this is a short-lived stage in the bird's life, mainly lasting from July until August after which it starts its post-juvenile moult to first-winter plumage. The moult will include the head, body and some inner wing-covert feathers. Probably, the wheatears we see on the coast at this time of the year are the UK breeders moving away from their natal areas.

Photo.2 © Mike Tarrant.

Northern Wheatear, Huttoft in late-September. After completing its post-juvenile moult, it attains its first-winter plumage. This is akin to the adult female winter plumage, except that the retained juvenile all-tail and most or all of the wing feathers, including sometimes some scapulars, are now looking duller and relatively worn. Most wheatears on passage at this time of the year are continental drift migrants but also including the Greenland and Icelandic breeding subspecies, leucorhoa.

Photo.3 © Mike Tarrant.

Desert Wheatear, Donna Nook on Oct-10, 1991. I was instrumental in finding this bird at Donna Nook with Barry Clarkson in 1991. There had been a fall of wheatears although this bird chose to feed on its own in a recently-harvested sugar-beet field; it later moved to a more appropriate area for the species towards the outfall at Pye's Hall, where its favourite perch was an old gun emplacement, from which it would sally out for passing insects as well as taking beetles and flies from the sand. Wheatears are usually prominent and easy to see, but this Desert Wheatear was surprisingly elusive at times, and it was possible to visit the area and miss it, but fortunately most who went were rewarded with good views. The brown-grey plumage suggests an eastern origin, either that of the race atrogularis of Central Asia or deserti from the Middle East, rather than homochroa from western North Africa.

Photo.4 © Mike Tarrant.

Desert Wheatear, Theddlethorpe in Nov-1999. Having seen an adult female, it was most propitious to see a male Desert Wheatear in the county too. This bird was apparently found by a visitor to Lincolnshire (don't they seem to find the best birds?) Unlike the Donna Nook bird, this Desert Wheatear was quite the opposite in its behaviour, performing for its admirers down to just a few feet, seemingly oblivious of humans. With the large expanse of wind-blown sand and the Desert Wheatear, it just needed a camel to complete the perfect scene.

Photos 5 and 6. © Mike Tarrant.

Isabelline Wheatear, Israel in October 1989. So can we expect any more rare wheatears in the county? It is surely time for a Black-eared, Eastern or Western matters not. However, with the relatively recent records in East Yorkshire and Norfolk, I cannot believe that an Isabelline has not set foot in the county. Have we overlooked them? Just as a reminder of their shape and form, here are two photographs of one I took in Israel in Oct-1989. When the next one arrives on the Lincolnshire coast, it just has to be sure to bump into that other rarity there - a Lincolnshire birder !

Also see:

Lincolnshire Wheatear Computer Desktop Wallpaper.

and pictures of past Wheatear records in Lincolnshire:

Desert Wheatear Rimac Nov 2000
Pied Wheatear Gibraltar Point 2000

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