What is this please..?

Juno,

I'm certainly no expert but It looks like either a Chiffchaff of Willow Warbler to me. I think the Chiffchaff has dark legs and the warbler has greener legs?? DId you happen to hear it sing?

Great photo by the way!! What camera have you got?

 

cheers

Ladybird

 

Hi Juno

I don't have a clue but I love the photos!

Hello Ladybird, yes i heard it singing... now as i'm new to birding you have to understand to me it sounded like a bird singing.!

My Camera is a Nokia D5000 and the lens was a Tamron 70-300mm.   However i felt very inadequate walking  round the reserve, some equipment was huge.! 

 

 I'm already looking at the classifieds for a better pair of Binoculars and a bigger lens.  (And a green coat, and better bag.)

Ha! LOL. I know what you mean about the size of equipment. I always feel very inadequate when I see what some people have. Anyway, I tell myself that size isn't everything....................

 I've got a Canon 450D and the same lens as you. I'd love a bigger lens but I'm afraid that isn't likely at the moment, and I've never got as good a shot as yours.

If you go on the RSPB website and look under the birds and wildlife tab you can listen to the song of the birds listed aphabetically. Chiffchaffs have a very distinctive sound. Have a listen. I am no expert but one thing I have learned is that willow warblers and chiffchaffs are very difficult to tell apart without their song to go by.

cheers

Ladybird 

 

Juno said:

Hello Ladybird, yes i heard it singing... now as i'm new to birding you have to understand to me it sounded like a bird singing.!

My Camera is a Nokia D5000 and the lens was a Tamron 70-300mm.   However i felt very inadequate walking  round the reserve, some equipment was huge.! 

 

 I'm already looking at the classifieds for a better pair of Binoculars and a bigger lens.  (And a green coat, and better bag.)

 

OK - If it was a "Willowchiff (either a Willow Warbler or a Chiffchaff but we haven't decided which) and you heard it then you're on a winner. Chiffchaffs say "chiff chaff" (or tee-too) repeatedly and are pretty much unmistakable from that alone.  Willow Warblers have a song that descends in pitch, but forget about that for now. Chiffchaffs say their name just like Cuckoos do.  Willow Warblers don't. 

This is a good tester Juno. Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler are notoriously difficult to separate without knowledge of the song. However, there are several features which, with a little experience can be used to differentiate the species:

1. Look at the supercillium (the pale "eyebrow" stripe). In Chiffchaff, this usually ends quite close behind the eye, but in Willow Warbler, is almost as long behind the eye as  it is in front of it.

2. The cheeks of Chiffchaffs are much "cleaner" than Willow Warbler, which show, at least, some dark markings in the form of a crescent.

3. look at the bird's wing (top picture). In Willow Warbler, the exposed parts of the primaries (the wingtip feathers) are near equal in length to the tertials (the large, innermost secondary feathers, which overlap the base of the primaries in the folded wing). In Chiffchaffs, the exposed primaries never usually exceed half the length of the tertials. This is known as the "Primary Projection". Willow Warblers migrate further than Chiffchaffs, so have evolved longer wings.

So, armed with this knowledge, we can successfully ID the subject as.............

Spin a coin on your kitchen work top, listen carefully as it slows down -  thats the sound of a Willow Warbler.??

Hi Soosin,

Isn't that the trill of Wood Warbler?

If the legs are black, as they do look to me, then it's a Chiffchaff. Willow warblers are identical in appearance and size except they have pink legs. I would say with confidence it's a Chiffchaff.

Hi Lynettemj,

Check out the species' most obvious differences in my earlier post. Also, am I wrong in thinking that leg colour's no longer thought to be diagnostic, as some Willow Warblers show dark legs (but, usually, still pale feet)?