Siberian Chiffchaff

Third time lucky at Dalgety Bay. When we arrived there was another birder there that had seen the bird, but although there were a few birds flitting around the only one we could positively ID was a Common Chiffchaff. Our friend departed and we continued our search for the Siberian.

I'd set the camera on 5 stops overexposure as the birds were high in the trees against a bright background. I then found a bird through the lens that seemed to match the criteria and snapped away. It was quite flighty and not easy to follow in the camera, but after we'd been there an hour it was time to call a halt. I was quite certain I'd got the Siberian on camera, but probably a few of the Common as well.

It was only once I got home and uploaded the 820 photos that the initial bird we'd identified as the Common was in fact the only Common I'd photographed the remainder were all shots of the Siberian or in a lot of cases the branch where the Siberian had been. In the end I've only kept 57 of the 820.

How to identify a Siberian Chiffchaff:

Upperparts grey-brown without green.
Rather pale underparts without yellow; breast-sides and rear-flanks buff-brown.
More obvious and longer supercilium and eye stripe than Common. Supercilium usually more distinct behind eye and buff (without yellow)
Sometimes dark lateral crown-stripe
Often faint to rather obvious wing-bar over greater coverts
Bill smaller and straighter than Common