Great-tailed grackle, Speke Hall

To tick or not to tick, that is the question. And the answer is who really cares? 

When a North American grackle sp. was found at Speke Hall back in January, it was a bit of head scratcher in more ways than one. It was thought to be a great-tailed grackle and the first question was "how did it get here?". North American birds often get caught up in weather systems and carried across the Atlantic, but this is thought unlikely in the case of great-tailed grackle which is not a long distant migrant and so less prone to the vagaries of the planets weather systems. 

It's more generally assumed that Speke's proximity to the port of Liverpool gives us a big clue. It's not unknown for a bird to get onto a ship while it's in port and stay on board for the duration of the voyage, which may take it to a different country or even to a different continent. American sparrows which turn up in the UK are often thought to cross the Atlantic in this way, and other species such as house crow have expanded their range thanks to ship assistance. This is considered the most likely explanation as to how this bird got here.

This brings us to the second and more fundamental question raised by the appearance of this grackle - "exactly which species is it?". Common can be ruled out immediately because of it's size and much shorter tail, but boat-tailed and great-tailed are more difficult to separate. However, the Speke bird has been considered great-tailed almost from the moment of it's first appearance due to it's white eye ring and flat head. I don't think these features are totally conclusive though, hence the reason why it's been referred to as a 'probable' great-tailed grackle.  Fortunately the bird is a male and it stayed around into the spring and started singing. Analysis of it's song and calls has confirmed that it is indeed great-tailed grackle.

The next question is "Can I tick it?". The rules regarding what is accepted onto the British list are set by the British Ornithologist Union Records Committee (BOURC). Ship assistance alone does not prohibit admittance onto the British list but it must not be port to port and the bird must be capable of making the journey with no assistance. This seems unlikely in the case of great-tailed grackle so it is not currently on the British list.

There have been two previous occurrences of great-tailed grackle in the UK, a female at Nolton Haven, Pembrokeshire in 2023 and a male is currently in Hampshire. Both are considered ship assisted and the 2023 female has been admitted onto category E of the British list (opens in a new window), a category reserved for species which are considered introductions, ship assisted or escapees and whose populations are not considered self-sustaining. This will almost certainly be the fate of the Speke great-tailed grackle. Species in category E form no part of the British list and therefore this bird is not tickable......

...or is it??? You could just ignore the BOURC and stick it on your list, because as I often get told, it's your list, do what you want with it. I mean how many of us count ruddy shelduck? I know some who do. Ruddy shelduck isn't on the British list. How many people still have arctic, common and lesser redpolls on their list? Haven't they been lumped? What about hooded crow? Is that on your list? I could go on. You could take the attitude that this individual is a wild bird which chose to land on a ship and inadvertently got carried across the Atlantic until at the first opportunity it disembarked, still a wild bird. OK it was probably fed by crew members on the way but plenty of birds are helped through the winter by food put out by the public and they're still considered wild. 

Or you might just not bother with lists and think this is all a bit daft, and just think it's great to spend some time in the presence of a singing male great-tailed grackle today at Speke Hall. Not a sight or sound that you hear every day in Liverpool.

I called in to see this bird at the start of February, but it was elusive and I only got distant flight views. News that it was now singing from it's favoured copse prompted me to try again in the hope that it would be a a bit easier to see. So it proved.

When singing the bird spread and shook it's wings and tail.

Speke Hall.