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On March 10 the (online) Dutch Birding Mystery Bird Competition was held. The quiz was organized by Diederik Kok and a replay of the broadcast can be viewed here. Around 150 birders from at least 8 different nationalities followed the competition and 90 of them submitted their answers. The average score was 12 correct identifications out of 30 mystery birds.
Clear winner was Killian Mullarney with 24 birds correctly identified. The table below gives the final ranking with those participants and their total of correct answers, with 16 or higher.
| Name | Country | Total | Ranking |
|---|---|---|---|
| Killian Mullarney | Ireland | 24 | 1 |
| Joonatan Toivanen | Finland | 22 | 2 |
| Tomas Swahn | Finland | 21 | 3 |
| Paul Dufour | France | 21 | 3 |
| Rune Neergaard | Denmark | 21 | 3 |
| Arthur Geilvoet | Netherlands | 19 | 6 |
| Pim Rijk | Netherlands | 19 | 6 |
| Mathieu Bally | Switzerland | 19 | 6 |
| Peter Adriaens | Belgium | 19 | 6 |
| Nils van Duivendijk | Netherlands | 18 | 10 |
| Frank van der Meer | Netherlands | 18 | 10 |
| Valtteri Salonen | Finland | 18 | 10 |
| Pierre andré Crochet | France | 18 | 10 |
| Leon Brüniger | Switzerland | 16 | 14 |
| Joachim Pintens | Belgium | 16 | 14 |
| Jaco Walhout | Netherlands | 16 | 14 |
| Robert van Tiel | Netherlands | 16 | 14 |
In the initial reviewing process of all the answers a few mistakes were made, especially where alternative scientific names or abbreviations were used in the answers. We apologize for this. The above results have been corrected for this.
With his impressive score, Killian is the winner of the ZEISS Terra ED 8x42 binoculars, sponsored by Zeiss Netherlands. Congratulation to him!
Joonatan Toivanen, Tomas Swahn, Paul Dufour, Rune Neergaard will all receive a copy of the forthcoming Handboek Europese Vogels door Nils van Duivendijk (2-volume set), either the Dutch edition (which will be published later this year) or the English edition (which is expected in one and half year), depending on their preference.
An overview over the correct identifications and the percentage of correct answers is given below.
| 1 | Great Black-backed Gull | Larus marinus | 17% |
| 2 | Crested Lark | Galerida cristata | 18% |
| 3 | Pochard | Aythya ferina | 38% |
| 4 | Common Eider | Somateria mollissima | 13% |
| 5 | Marsh Tit | Poecile palustris | 16% |
| 6 | Merlin | Falco columbarius | 79% |
| 7 | Savannah Sparrow (Ipswich) | Passerculus sandwichensis | 26% |
| 8 | (Common) Ringed Plover | Charadrius hiaticula | 31% |
| 9 | Least Sandpiper | Calidris minutilla | 47% |
| 10 | Greenfinch | Chloris chloris | 26% |
| 11 | Sparrowhawk | Accipiter nisus | 79% |
| 12 | European Golden Plover | Pluvialis apricaria | 22% |
| 13 | Plain Leaf Warbler | Phylloscopus neglectus | 35% |
| 14 | Meadow Pipit | Anthus pratensis | 53% |
| 15 | Pacific Golden Plover | Pluvialis fulva | 6% |
| 16 | Black Lark | Melanocorypha yeltoniensis | 57% |
| 17 | Red-crested Pochard | Netta rufina | 49% |
| 18 | Northern Wheatear | Oenanthe oenanthe | 74% |
| 19 | Common Snipe | Gallinago gallinago | 53% |
| 20 | Barred Warbler | Sylvia nisoria | 19% |
| 21 | (Siberian) Buff-bellied Pipit | Anthus rubescens (japonicus) | 49% |
| 22 | Rock Sparrow | Petronia petronia | 25% |
| 23 | Common Gull | Larus canus | 56% |
| 24 | House Sparrow | Passer domesticus | 53% |
| 25 | Blackbird | Turdus merula | 81% |
| 26 | Pallas’s Reed Bunting | Emberiza pallasi | 19% |
| 27 | Black Kite | Milvus migrans | 51% |
| 28 | Rock Bunting | Emberiza cia | 26% |
| 29 | Common Tern | Sterna hirundo | 43% |
| 30 | White-throated Robin | Irania gutturalis | 36% |
Pacific Golden Plover Pluvialis fulva, Oman, November 2012 (Thijs Fijen)
The most difficult mystery bird of the competition. Only 6% of the entrants identified this bird correctly. Other answers consisted of a wide array of other wader species.
Common Eider Somateria mollissima, female, Vlieland, Friesland, the Netherlands, June 2021 (Diederik Kok).
Correctly identified by only 13% of the entrants. Black Grouse was the most popular answer, followed by Hazel Grouse and Capercaillie.
Some other noteworthy mistakes:
- The adult Great-backed Gull with yellowish legs (17% correct answers) was identified as Kelp Gull by 67% of the entrants.
- The singing Marsh Tit (16% correct answers) was identified as a Phylloscopus species by 48% of the entrants. A wide variety of species were suggested, with Western Bonelli’s Warbler and Arctic Warbler being in particular popular.
- The calling Greenfinch (26% correct answers) was mistaken for the similar calls of Common Rosefinch (18%) and Western Bonelli’s Wabler (14%).
- The adult Common Gull (56% correct answers) was identified as Short-billed Gull by 29% of the entrants.
A special thanks goes to all the photographers and sounds recorders whose work could be used in this competition! In particular Chris van Rijswijk and Eduard Sangster.
Diederik Kok
