Another Warbler for Sheila

A comment from Sheila yesterday is the inspiration for today's blip:

Today's the day ...................... for a warbler lesson.

This is a Sedge warbler - note the very conspicuous supercilium (over eye stripe) and in fact this is a juvenile bird - note the speckled breast. Yesterday's offering from RCB was a Garden Warbler, which Sheila, is completely unlike Gladders Willow Warbler. The Garden Warbler has a very faint supercilium and a relatively thick dark bill, whilst the Willow Warbler has a long whitish supercillium, a prominent dark eye stripe and a fine slender bill with the lower mandible yellowish with a dark tip.

Okay Sheila?

Now as Sheila says she's okay on Chiffchaffs, they do exactly as they say on the tin - so you'll have no problem differentiating Gladders Willow Warbler with RCBs Chiffchaff - Yup! Sometimes the only way of differentiating the birds is to hear their song - not easy to do on blip.

There's no doubt warblers are a challenge and just to turn this lesson around I'd only ever seen one Garden Warbler before and that was around this time last year where I identified it from my photos once I got home. With the help of a new book "Advanced Bird ID Guide" (No pictures and no way a beginners book) I was completely happy that yesterday's bird was a Garden Warbler. I then had a look at last year's bird. Ooops no way a Garden Warbler, quite probably a Willow Warbler!

On a completely different subject, can anyone provide me with an alibi for this evening? - Mrs L dropped the camera and the 500mm lens now makes a clunking noise on focusing and the TTL image jumps! (Seems to still function okay though, so she might survive the night).

Today's offering from RCB is yet another warbler, a Blackcap - not the best of pictures, but at least it keeps up his different bird a day sequence, and it's relatively easy to identify for a warbler.