Channel wagtail (M f flava × flavissima): After work I drove down to Carr Lane Pools to unwind and attempt to pick out a water pipit. From Town Lane looking onto the pools from the bridge I counted at least nine white wags, dozens of meadow pipits, two little ring plover and a single stunning Channel wag, but no water pipit.
Carr Lane is becoming well known for having breeding Channel wags, these little beauties are the commonest variety of blue-headed wags that we in the north of Britain typically get.
Channel wags are a type of blue-headed wagtail and that form due to a pairing of yellow and blue-headed interbreeding. This results in a wagtail that exhibits a washed-out blue/grey-head, often more extensive white in the supercilium, ear-coverts and throat.
The wind was picking up and came with a bitter cole bite, so after staying a while I was forced to seek the warmth of my car heater.
