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Hello & possible Savi's Warbler

GazM
05/07/2020 11:25

Hi Everyone,

I've recently moved to Dodworth in Barnsley, and have a beautiful little garden that seems to attract a lot of bird life, which has now got me interested in watching them and finding out more about the visitors I get each day.

90% of what I seem to get in the garden is sparrows and dunnocks, but I also get pigeons, blackbirds, goldfinch's, blue tits and Jays. However, about a week ago I spotted this little fella...

Which looks to my (very) inexperienced eye to be a Savi's Warbler, but I wanted to get the take of the experts on here. Have I got that right, or am I off the mark?

  • 09/07/2020 14:38
    Awesome stuff. Thanks for that Tony.

    One thing I have found that can work is Google Lens. You have to have a pretty good picture to start with, but if you do it can just analyse the picture and tell you what it is. It seems like total witchcraft frankly, but under the right circumstances can really work.
  • 09/07/2020 15:04 in reply to GazM
    I have a fair selection of bird books and they all have one thing in common, and that is birds groups.
    If you look through the book it is divided up into different types of birds, ie. ducks, waders, birds of prey, warblers, thrushes, divers, gulls. etc.
    Look through the book a few times and you will soon see the different groups and when you see a bird you don't recognise you will have a rough idea what part of the book to look at.
    It doesn't take long to know where abouts to look.
  • 09/07/2020 15:25 in reply to GazM
    GazM said:
    One thing I have found that can work is Google Lens.

    Thanks for that, Gaz. I wasn't aware of it so have downloaded it to my phone. I tried it on a couple of photos on the front cover of a book - a butterfly and a robin. It identified them correctly in both cases although of course they were Hi Res images. Not sure how well it would work on images that are less than perfect. All this artificial intelligence is mind blowing - all I want is some ordinary intelligence. LOL

  • 09/07/2020 16:07

    Believe it or not, Google Lens actually managed to identify the attached picture as that of a Goldfinch, which blows my mind frankly!

  • 09/07/2020 16:25 in reply to GazM
    Yes, I'm quite impressed with it. I've been trying it out on some of my photos on Flickr just from the screen and although it didn't always come up with a single answer it did include the correct one. To ID a Goldfinch from that pic is indeed very good although any birder would have been able to do that.
    However, if it's viewed as a tool as an aid to ID and not a definitive answer then why not, especially for less experienced birders. Every little helps as they say.