Saw a flock of about twenty of these little birds along the riverbank in Newport. Any suggestions what they might be?
"He had softly and suddenly vanished away---For the Snark was a Boojum, you see." The Hunting of the Snark, Lewis Carroll
They look like Reed Buntings ... but I may be wrong!
Ant
"IT IS SAID THAT LIFE FLASHES BEFORE YOUR EYES BEFORE YOU DIE. THAT IS TRUE, IT'S CALLED LIVING."Death - Terry Pratchett (The Last Continent).
I was thinking more lesser redpoll / twite / linnet.They flew as a group like a wall of birds. ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
The reed buntings around in the wetlands yesterday looked like this:
I would agree Finch rather than bunting, probably linnet female,due to colouration, bill shape and face pattern.
I've tweaked part of the original, which may help others decide ...
Best regardsNigel
| My Images | Newport Wetlands on Flickr @barman58
Thanks, so that's what linnets look like! (It's only about half a year since I thought that a reed bunting was a strange looking sparrow -still learning :) )
Ahh .. to be honest, same here, I wouldn't know a Linnet if one came and pecked me ... another little brown job .. next year I will actually read my ID books and try and learn a few more! ;o)
I checked three Guides plus an on line check before I made my suggestion lol ;)
LBJ's are never easy, the females all look the same and the flit about too much
A similar bird is the Twite but they would be unlikely to be seen this far south. As is often the case, the male Linnet in spring is much more colourful than the female - a really smart bird worth looking out for.