Boat-tailed Grackle, Calshot, Hampshire
© Ian WellsBoat-tailed Grackle, Calshot, Hampshire
In a week of fairly unremarkable winds, a few tasty, unexpected tricks and treats were nonetheless in store.

On Sunday afternoon, news broke of a grackle species wandering around the RNLI lifeboat station at Calshot Spit, Hampshire. When the first photo was revealed, it appeared to be a Great-tailed Grackle, and a nice male to boot. It wasn't until late the same evening when frame-filling photographs were being downloaded that the identification started to be questioned. The slimmer bill, more rounded head and 'cuter' look all fitted the appearance of a Atlantic Boat-tailed Grackle far better than Great-tailed Grackle.


The Atlantic population exhibits pale yellow irises, much like Great-tailed Grackle, making identification a little trickier than normal (Pacific-coast populations of Boat-tailed Grackle show dark irises). This represents the first appearance of Boat-tailed Grackle in Britain and was a confiding bird too, which is unsurprising given the species' comically bold attitude in the North American home range - often picking food from plates on picnic benches in my experience. At least now it can enjoy some proper British scran like fish and chips, rather than Wendy's or In-N-Out Burgers.

mmmm
It doesn't take a genius to connect the dots as to how it's got here: the positioning of Calshot Spit is perfect for a ship assist, being situated just south of the Port of Southampton, one of the UK's biggest shipping ports. Coupled with the largely sedentary habits of this species, the bird is destined for Category E obscurity when it makes its way in front of the records committees.

I won't go into the same old ship-assist debate that we've all been over a million times before, but I reckon if you're willing to twitch Black-headed Wagtail, Northern Long-tailed Tit, Eastern Nightingale or Rough-legged Hawk (other distinctive taxa that aren't 'tickable' in Britain), then I don't see why you shouldn't have a look at a wild Boat-tailed Grackle if you're nearby. At the end of the day, we're all keen to see exciting new birds, and I think this falls nicely into that category. You can find more information about the status of grackles in the Western Palearctic in this article from 2023, written by Sam Viles who, needless to say, is at the front of the Calshot crowd as I write this article.