If you can't beat them...

By Jerra

Willow Warbler ( Phylloscopus trochilus )

Sunday!  My day for leisurely starts!  When I did get up and filled the feeding station I thought I would try for a bird shot.  The Blue Tit pecking along the bottom of the window wasn't prepared to pose.  So I hung about near the window hoping for something perching in the bush.

Then a movement to the side caught my eye.  A warbler, it certainly wasn't there for the feeding station but naturally foraging.  I grabbed the camera and got one shot before it moved on.  Then I had to decide which sort of warbler it was.

I find warblers notoriously difficult.  They aren't easy even if you have them in the hand and can examine the length of fight feathers etc.  As you will notice its wings and tail aren't in view so looking for hints there is out of the question.  I am basing my identification on a couple of things basically; the size and strength of the supercilium (eye stripe) and the colour of the breast.  The dark legs would suggest I am wrong as Chiffchaff more commonly have dark legs, however dark legs in WW are not unknown.

If anyone knows better please tell me.

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