Hi Greg,
Looks like you have yourself a 1st winter Pied wagtail.
1st winter birds have a yellow washed out look that seems to show in your picture
Cheers
Craig
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better. - Albert Einstein
thanks craig i thougfhrt5 it was a pied wagtail but the colouring threw me
greg
No probs Greg.
Sometimes birds plummages do look different compared to the books and other photos.
The light and conditions of the day can also play havoc with trying to ID them, and then there is the juvenile birds that can look very different especially when it comes to Gulls.
Hi Craig,
Hopefully you can help me out too. I just saw this Raptor circling me over the Ripple Nature Reserve on Thames Road, Barking. At first I thought I saw a Kestrel although it was flying through the trees, so was thinking more Sparrowhawk. Sorry for rubbish photos, Was trying not to shoot directly into the sun, and that's where he (or she) wanted to fly.
Cheers,
Michael
Hi Mike,
Its a Sparrowhawk. The banded tail and rounded black white barred wings are a good way of IDing this species. It could be a male with the hint of the pink near the head but its hard to say - generally the female is a much bigger bird and can sometimes be confused with the similar but more powerful looking Goshawk.
Good capture and its not that often you see this species out in the open.
thanks