Garden Warbler, and I thought it was a Chiffchaff - Ha!

DonnaM

DonnaM

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Donna
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Hi folks, havn't posted for a while as my bird shots seem to look very ordinary and uninspiring these days, however, this little beauty fleetingly graced my garden this morning. If there was an eye stripe I would be certain that is a chiffchaff but with no discernable eye stripe I am not so sure. Is this a juvenile or is it something different and new to me?

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Comments, ID and crit welcome.
 
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It looks very much like a juvenile with the faded flash over the eye,more to the point these shots just scream quality,fantastic job Donna.
 
ghostdancer said:
It looks very much like a juvenile with the faded flash over the eye,more to the point these shots just scream quality,fantastic job Donna.
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Thanks for the comments re quality, I wasn't that impressed personally as my technique seems to have failed me recently so thanks for the encouragement to keep trying.

Jonc said:
I'm no expert but to me more like a Garden warbler, lovely crisp shots
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Martyn... said:
Could it be a young Garden Warbler?
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Garden Warbler? Now you guys really have got me interested. I cannot say that I have positively ID'd one before so I have no experience to go on. I think the pale eye ring points to more to Chiffchaff than Garden Warbler though.
 
DonnaM said:
Thanks for the comments re quality, I wasn't that impressed personally as my technique seems to have failed me recently so thanks for the encouragement to keep trying.





Garden Warbler? Now you guys really have got me interested. I cannot say that I have positively ID'd one before so I have no experience to go on. I think the pale eye ring points to more to Chiffchaff than Garden Warbler though.
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Slender bill, overall profile to me points to a warbler. Against it being a chaffinch - it has no wing bars.
 
Jonc said:
Slender bill, overall profile to me points to a warbler. Against it being a chaffinch - it has no wing bars.
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Sorry Donna, I should've put my glasses on as I misread your original post. Just reviewed my reference book which illustrates both juv Chiffchaff & Garden Warbler. The Chiffchaff has a more distintive eye stripe. Hopefully a TP Bird expert will confirm ID.
 
Donna I have just had it confirmed (by an expert) that it is a Garden Warbler

Now then you were lucky to get one out in the open, as they generally sulk about deep in cover, nice set of images, but that third one is lovely (y)
 
DonnaM said:
Thanks for the comments re quality, I wasn't that impressed personally as my technique seems to have failed me recently so thanks for the encouragement to keep trying.





Garden Warbler? Now you guys really have got me interested. I cannot say that I have positively ID'd one before so I have no experience to go on. I think the pale eye ring points to more to Chiffchaff than Garden Warbler though.
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Donna, you really need to start to be impressed with your technique and quality, because believe me, and I'm no expert but they are as good as I have seen on this site.
 
This is a garden warbler, no doubt about it! Would post a photo of one that I took a couple of months ago but it is your thread. ;)

Great shots BTW. :)
 
Martyn... said:
Do you think it is a Chiffchaff ?
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it has the start of an eye flash of a juvenile, but it is still up for debate, I'm sure the chiffchaff also has darker legs, but my monitor is not the best so I can't really tell how dark they are.
 
ghostdancer said:
it has the start of an eye flash of a juvenile, but it is still up for debate, I'm sure the chiffchaff also has darker legs, but my monitor is not the best so I can't really tell how dark they are.
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The reason I said Garden Warbler initially was that it had no obvious wing bars, and was more of a dull grey appearance, along with it's overall shape.

The Chiffchaff always appears to be more of an olive shade, with a bolder eye stripe.

Warblers can be hard to ID especially when you cannot hear the song.

To eliminate any doubt I sent a copy of the image to one of the most knowledgeable birders in the area, if not the UK, he confirmed it as a Garden Warbler.
 
A huge, huge :ty: to everyone who has replied.

A Garden Warbler is a first for me and I am very grateful Martyn for your efforts to get it confirmed.

Special thanks too to Ghostdancer for your kind comments, just what I need to get working again.

I think I will now need to edit the thread title.
 
What are you talking about Donna saying your shots are ordinary and uninspiring, you post some good stuff so get out there and be a wildlife togger:) and get posting, well caught wish I could get a warbler any warbler would do for me:LOL:
 
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