New shift patterns at work mean that I have to work the occasional Saturday, not great but the compensation for this comes in the shape of a day off in the week. Today I teamed up once again with Alan Shorrock for a trip to the dam at Rutland Water. Foggy interludes, some drizzle and a cold wind made for some fairly challenging conditions, I'd like to say that the birding made up for this but I'm afraid to say that it didn't!
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| Goosanders |
There was no sign of either of the Great Northern Divers that have been frequenting the area recently and not much else in all honesty. I can't remember there being so few birds in this area before and I'm not sure why. What is for sure is that this was my worst visit to Rutland ever. A pair of Goosanders were the pick of a small bunch, I'm hoping that my next excursion supplies a little more interest, it shouldn't be difficult!
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| Rutland selection |
Returning briefly to those Ecton Chiffies and I'm happy that I saw and photographed at least two tristis types but there's one bird that I photographed that I'm struggling with. Initially I thought it was a Sibe Chiffy but there are a couple of features that rule this out. With pale pinkish legs, a pale bill and an obvious supercilium I'd pass it off as a Willow Warbler had it been either spring or summer but winter records of these are rarer than Sibe Chiffies. It's a shame that the photo doesn't show the primary projection well enough but you can't always pin a name on a bird and I'll have to put this down to experience or lack thereof!
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| What is it? |
UPDATE Just learnt that not all Sibe Chiffs have black legs and that in some individuals they can appear paler. This combined with the bright sunshine exaggerating this feature in the photos makes me a little happier with the original ID.
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