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Help Please

cmajor
06/05/2011 02:27

Walking round Ryemeads I am always aware of bird song and try to stand long enough to locate the bird and try to identify it. ("Daddy why is that man looking at the tree?"). Having been interested in'birding' since a youngster but never to the point of actually learning to identify them by song I am now trying to get the brain to remember. We found this bird high in a tree top, now here you have to excuse the picture as it was against the sun and a 'grab-shot'. I managed to lightened it in photoshop but we are having problems identifying the species. Can some kind person put a name to the bird, we think it could be a Sedge Warbler.
Many thanks
Graham

  • 06/05/2011 16:15

    I'm no expert but looking at the eye strip and knowing there are a lot of Sedge Warblers around the reserve at the moment - I'll go for that.

  • 07/05/2011 00:30

    Yeah it is a Sedge Warbler; the give away is the eye stripe (lacking on a Reed Warbler) as Jeff rightly points out.

    http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/s/sedgewarbler/index.aspx

    Learning to identify birds by song is tough but can really be a help in the field when you can't see the bird. A good place to start is the RSB website as it has songs for pretty much every bird you're likely to come across.

    Lovely photo by the way.

     

  • 07/05/2011 02:26

    Thanks JeffG and Redwood, That's another species spotted for us then. No we're not out for the record, but we do like to be able to identify species and learn what to look for, and yes we do have the RSBP book and the Collins one too.

    Thanks for the compliment on the picture Redwood although not one I would put on my website, well maybe, until I can take a better shot.

    Thanks also for the advice about the RSPB website and the bird song, but by the time I can walk upsatirs I have forgotten how it goes, so driving from Ryemeads to St. Albans I'd have no chance! Perhaps a little digital recorder on the present list might help. :-)

    Regards
    Graham
    www.photographybygr.co.uk

     

  • 07/05/2011 05:03 in reply to cmajor

    Graham,

    You could try one of these clever devices - http://www.birdmike.co.uk/home - it's on my present list!! Plays and records bird song.

    Jeff.

     

     

  • 07/05/2011 17:47 in reply to JeffG

    Lovely picture!

    Sedge warbler's can be difficult to identify the call! I do get confused with the sedge and reed calls!

    If you manage to get a picture, the sedge's white eye stripe is a good marking - reed's don't have that eye stripe.

    Getting to grips with the calls can be difficult! The RSPB website is a good one for calls, but there are things you can carry around with you. Jeff mentioned the bird mike, we have one here at the reserve and we use it when we lead walks. These portable devises are great!

    Good luck with the calls!