Chiff chaff ?

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gary43

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Hi, I know I am rubbish at bird ID but think the fellow below is a chiff chaff. Would be happy for someone here to correct me though. Like the pose on this. I had a fraction of a second to spot and take this shot before it flew away so was pleased to get this as a record shot.

5H3A3910_zpsfyhacgl4.jpg



Below is a fun magpie shot. I like the quizzical expression. These are very flighty and I have struggled a lot recently to get a decent detail shot of these birds.


5H3A3991_zpsper1bmym.jpg
 
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Dark legs usually mean Chiff Chaff rather than Willow Warbler. Chiff Chaff also has that repetitive two note tune.
Some minus exposure compensation usually helps with black and white birds, this looks okay, you have detail in both the blacks and whites. Bird is still too central though ;)
 
Thanks for the steer Bill. I do have a copy in the house somewhere. I have spent the last 15 years getting expert bird id from my son. Now he is in Hong Kong it looks like I had better educate myself.

Dave, thanks also for the input. What I have posted are the OOC jpegs. I have these images in RAW format so can do the minus exposure in PP. Thanks again for the advice.
 
It a Chiff Chaff- no doubt in my mind, the Sedge Warbler has some white markings to the head

Love the expression on the Magpie

Les
 
In my experience chiffchaffs usually have dark wine coloured legs and willow warblers pale pink or yellowish legs. But this is by no means conclusive. I have seen willow warblers that I'd swear were chiffchaffs until they opened their beaks and started singing. Habitat can sometimes give a clue. I've seen and heard more chiffchaffs in suburban areas than willow warblers, but this could be that there are simply more chiffchaffs around generally. Willow warblers tend to have a little more yellowish colouration around the flanks.
Good catch with yours. A very active little bird and not at all easy to catch.
 
A good guide to get(if you use an iphone )is the collins bird guide app,this is excellent and also has the bird calls on it
which is a bonus,i carry mine everywhere cant recommend this highly enough,i've also got the book..
 
Hi Mike and Paul

Thanks to both for your comments. I will definitely have a look at the Collins app. Bird id with these little flitty fellow seems quite complex.

Regards

Gary
 
Apart from the song the other main difference is the length of the wings which are the result of evolution

Basically the WW migrates longer distances, into Southern Africa whereas the CC migrates shorter distances into Spain or the northern parts of Africa

Therefore the WW wings are longer having been developed over time for their longer journey

The birds can look very similar otherwise and WW can have dark legs especially in juvs or first winter birds

so it's song first, wings second, (if you can see them sideways on), and then lots of other smaller variations, including their habitat and when you see them in the UK and France

If you see them sideway on it is usually easy to tell one from the other but for a CC, the bird in question does appear to have a a strong yellowish supercilium, (?) which is a feature of the WW

But I have no idea looking at the image .....

hope this helps
 
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Hi Bill

Thanks for the authoritative information above. Glad that it is not just me who struggles to tell these apart !

I now know what to look out for now in future images though.

Hopefully, will manage to photo these birds again at different angles and will watch out for the yellow supercilium.

Regards

Gary
 
I think Bill summed it up very well,you wont be the first or last to get confused Gary...
Enjoy your birding..
 
Hi Paul

Will do !

OOI, did I notice that you were after a 5D3 ?

I do not have one for sale but did have one when they were first released in the UK and it is a really nice body. I gave mine up for a Nikon D800e which is probably better in most respects.

That said, I have now migrated back to Canon and might pick up a 5D3 again myself. The lack of crop though is a massive handicap. I do most of my birding whilst walking the dog and struggle to get near enough to get decent AF with FF bodies (I have had a lot !) and even with long lenses.

Anyway, hope you manage to get a 5D3 soon.
 
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