The curse of the little brown jobs

Hello folks!

Well, after a blazing hot summer (haha – actually, it really wasn't that bad!), we are now sliding right into the autumnal months. Days are getting darker, with cold spells, and the marshmallows and sweet chestnuts are being toasted. Birders at Burton Mere Wetlands come billowing into the Reception Hide announcing things like “brrrrrrrrrrr, it's cold out there” and proceed to warm themselves at the fire. Halloween is also on the way, which automatically makes me think of horror films. ARRGGHHH! I'm scared, someone please hold me?

Anyway, silliness over. The changing seasons has me thinking about the change in plumage of the birds at the reserve. For people like myself, this causes a massive amount of frustration. You think you've learned to ID a bird and BAM! Suddenly the bird starts to go into their winter plumage and then starts looking completely different to what you had initially seen. But even more frustrating than this - the thing that constantly evades me on the ID-ing front, are those blooming little brown-coloured birds. Now, the plumage change isn't usually quite as drastic on these passerines (perching birds), but they are generally annoying all year around, because not only do they all look the same, but some will migrate for the winter, whilst other equally annoying brown birds will return for the winter. So basically it's all just confusing and I want to cry.

Dunnock by Tim Kinch

This is not a syndrome that exists all to myself. There is even a name for it: 'little brown jobs'. I'm pretty positive though that these birds were put on the planet to completely and utterly confuse me. Well-seasoned birders may scoff and say “oh, they're easy to identify”, however, this does not help the beginner or not-so-very-good-at-ID-ing types such as myself. Some days I want to just give up and throw in the ID-ing towel. Apparently, it does get easier though.

Examples of 'little brown jobs' that may confuse everyone at Burton Mere Wetlands and will be returning for the winter include: siskin, brambling, redpoll, redwing and fieldfare. Examples of resident British birds that are still with us and you're very likely to see should you pop down and have a wander, would be: meadow pipit, stonechat, chaffinch, greenfinch linnet and dunnock. It's worth noting that some of the numbers of these increase as some will come in from different countries for the winter. Finally, birds that we won't see until the spring include: common whitethroat, lesser whitethroat, willow warbler, chiffchaff, reed warbler and grasshopper warbler.

Common whitethroat by Tim Kinch

Now, after you've picked your jaw up off the floor considering the magnitude of this 'brown bird syndrome', here's another piece of information that I'm going to throw your way, and it's one word for you: females. Females are generally the hardest of all bird types to ID and in the brown-coloured birding world, they are incredibly difficult. But do not despair as even a knowledgeable birder can struggle with these. Most of the male versions of the aforementioned birds do tend to range in colours and are not strictly brown. Females, however – brown, brown, brown in about 90% of cases.

So, what's a fledgling birder to do? Haha pun. Get it? 'Fledgling'.

Something that will really help with ID-ing of ANY bird and not just passerines is learning song and contact calls. This can definitely help with birds that are really quite tricky to tell apart, such as chiffchaff and willow warbler. Learning bird calls also means that you will be able to quickly locate birds that you may not initially be able to see. It IS quite a long learning curve and just like trying to ID birds by sight, don't expect to be able to do this overnight. There are CDs that can be bought for this purpose or MP3' online. Sometimes, people post videos of certain birds online, showcasing a specific bird's call. The internet can really be your friend for this purpose.

The RSPB website is a great starting point for getting more familiar with birds' appearance and sound. Another excellent resource is the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) website. I have found this site specifically helpful when it comes to ID-ing birds that are very similar. It goes into extensive comparisons of birds and how to tell them apart. A great guide for newbie and experienced birder alike. You can find the site here:www.bto.org

Some great comparisons to start with:

https://www.bto.org/about-birds/bird-id/reed-warbler-sedge-warbler

https://www.bto.org/about-birds/bird-id/willow-warbler-chiffchaff

https://www.bto.org/about-birds/bird-id/whitethroat-lesser-whitethroat

Finally, I give you the quickest and best way to learn. Are you ready? Go with someone else. Definitely, endeavour to learn your bird calls and do a bit of research yourself, but something that will boost your birding confidence and ability to pick out those brown-coloured beauties is by going birding with someone who really knows their stuff. Not only is it fun, but you will be immersed into a crash course of birding. Your brain may ache and be overwhelmed by a barrage of information, but you'll often get to see things you may have missed otherwise. When I started volunteering at Burton Mere Wetlands, I only took a minor interest for the first year. It wasn't until I started making birding friends that I actually began to learn more about birds.

There are lots of helpful and friendly volunteers and staff at Burton Mere Wetlands to help you out, should you become stuck with the identification of a 'little brown job' or any other type and there are many experienced birders who will often be happy to explain the difference between certain types of birds. So don't be afraid to ask, because you will likely learn a great deal. As I mentioned at the start, autumn is now here, so you should really check out the reserve in all its beautiful colours and returning winter-visiting birds.

Until next time. Get down to the reserve and have a look around. Not that I'm telling you what to do, even though I sort of am.