Saturday, March 25, 2017

spring is back!

first day out birding for a while.making the most of the sunshine. Along Hollins Lane, Sowerby Bridge then back along the canal. is this a chiffchaff or willow warbler??

pretty new to the area and birding so any help with id or good spots much appreciated.
plenty of birds along my usual route

treecreepr
goldfinch
goldcrest
sparrowhawk
cormarant
heron


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4 comments:

David Sutcliffe said...

Hi Matt - there is a very good piece on the BTO website. It's a video on comparisons between Willow Warbler and Chiff-chaff which should help you. Song is quite different and is one of the best pointers, though they are not always singing ! Wonder if this one was singing ?

Chiff-chaff usually arrive in March (some overwinter)and Willow Warblers arrive maybe second week in April. Chiff-chaff are already singing in suitable Calderdale woodland though no Willow Warblers reported as yet.

Leg colour is a pointer - usually dark in Chiff-chaff and much paler in Willow W. The bright sunshine in this picture could be misleading as the leg colour in the shade does look dark. I suspect this is a Chiff-chaff. Lovely pictures by the way.

Copy and paste this in your browser, check the video out and see what you think.

https://www.bto.org/about-birds/bird-id?page=8

9:49 pm
MattEames said...

Thanks for this David. Really appreciate the help. pretty certain now,after seeing the video and the date i saw this that its a chiffchaff.the bird definately seemed to be a bit dumpier and not as stream lined as a willow warbler. wasnt singing,ill be lsiteninng out now that i know the differences.
Have a less hectic work schedule atm and a brand new canon bridge so will hopefully be out and about much more!

10:38 pm
Mick Cunningham said...

i wonder why HBC and Calderdale birds persist in using Chiff Chaff when its name is Chiffchaff?

Spot on Matt, you've clearly got a good eye for jizz if you noticed it was dumpy

12:16 am
David Sutcliffe said...

Hi Mick. I've absolutely no idea either. Just one of those things we have grown up with. Will try do our best to get it right in future !!!

11:42 am

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