I have this bird marked down as a 'whitethroat' but never feel sure that it is correct ~ so I thought I might get some thoughts or a confirmation from you 'wise ones'.
I took it on the 29th May 2009. I was walking on the North Cornwall coastal path round Dodman Point, south of Gorran Haven. There was a big drop into the sea one side of me and a gorse hedge the other with fields behind, very windy and bleak.
This little bird was singing its heart out! All comments really appreciated,
David
davidmelville said: What do you think about that . . . . . job done or is the jury still out? David
What do you think about that . . . . . job done or is the jury still out?
Jury still out at my location. But does have some characteristics of Female Blackcap!
I've had a look through the galleries and this link is to a Whitethroat, which is a brilliant capture by HavUsinowt.
You can use this to compare the characteristics with your photo!
http://www.rspb.org.uk/community/media/p/82678.aspx
Are we agreed it isn't a Whitethroat, what do the other ANCIENT ones think!
Regards Buzzard
Nature Is Amazing - Let Us Keep It That Way
Hi, I thought we had done this one :)
as far as I can see It's a worn adult willow warbler, note vague yellow patches,
tail too short for whitethroat, no throat- breast contrast, bill too slender,
outertail feathers wrong for lesser whitethroat
blackcap isnt even in the ball park :) It's not hefty enough!
etc etc
S
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Hi S,
Well so did I!
But if you read all the above you will see that it is not and open and close book, quite the contrary and I guess it will rage on as there are at least 3x heavy weight birders contenting to be correct.
So that is why it has come up again ~ where does a guy go?
Yes, I see what S's getting at, the head looks large in relation to the body.
So where are we going to settle . . . . . we need to agree or bin this pic!
Aw no Dave don't bin it mate! There's bound to be better blokes/girls than us out there than us, who can give you a definite! Besides, I've got loads of pics (especially fungi) I can't ID for sure. Also, lots of invertebrates that don't even have a common name! As you get more shots together, and get more confident, you'll be able to cross reference. This is the thing about bird ID (or anything, come to think of it), you only know it when you know it. If you'd been familiar with this individual's song, visual ID wouldn't have mattered. When, of course, something's presented in a way that's different to what we're used to it can throw us.
Those of us who've been at it for a hell of a long time can apparently get things at the drop of a hat, and all this seems mighty impressive. But there's no incredible ability on display here. It's all to do with familiarity! I could go to S. America birding (if I had the shills), and six year olds could show me up, because I'd be dealing with a whole new suite of unfamiliar species!
Bill Oddie once said that he knew someone who couldn't ID a bird if it was facing the opposite way to its plate in his field guide! And there's the tale of a Brit out birding in the US, who came across two old dears watching mixed stuff on a pool somewhere. He pointed out a group of small waders, and asked what they were. Came the reply "Oh no, we don't look at them, they upset us!"
All the best.
MC
Thanks MC ~ I will ponder all that, keep the pic and press on.
Cheers,
Hi,
maybe I'll just stick it under Killian and Lars' noses and see what they say :)