I have known of this journey to my sons for something like 4 weeks and about 3 weeks ago the alert of an Iberian Chiffchaff in a place in Kent had me more than interested as this happens to be where he lives. But that was over 3 weeks ago and i have kept a countdown ( cue the clock and music) going since then. To be truthful i was totally confident that the bird would still be there and on Sunday morning as i walked into the clearing i heard the distinctive call that i had heard on the Kent Ornithilogical Site's pages and looked straight up at the bird, which at that point was high in the canopy. The bird very kindly dropped down and allowed a few photographic and camcorder opportunities then flew back up on high. I did have my wife and grandson in tow so i could only stay for a very limited time and will return before i leave the area. I'm not great with colours but the length of the wing and the song are the things that were obvious to my very limited birding skills and although its "only a Chiffchaff" as i have read a quite a few postings at various sites i do feel i have seen and particularly HEARD something different. Anyway, the camcorder footage is very limited and something i hope to improve on but below are a couple of images of said bird.
I have been to Suffolk for a couple of days and what a fabulous place to visit it was. Bird wise, i had sightings of Spoonbills, Bearded Reedlings ( of which i dipped in Norfolk last month) but above all had views of 5 different Bitterns, one of which held a silent captive audience for fully 45 minutes.........aye 45 minutes. More of which in my next posting.
The light wasn't brilliant, so will call back again before i leave.
Oh My God, your going to be boring this weekend, "Did I mention that I had seen an Iberian", "Managed a couple of short sightings of a Bittern although one was a bit longer than usual, 45mins I think", "Lets not bother with that Spoonbill as I saw one earlier"
ReplyDeleteI was going to say Hope you had a nice time but I wont bother
Blowing a Raspberry
John
*loud chortle* You two make me laugh!
ReplyDeleteIs birding a male thing? I can't imagine two women friends getting so involved in the world of birds and going to the lengths that you two do. It's nice though, that fellas get so caught up in the world of birds of the feathered variety. :)
I'm glad you got to see your Iberian Chiffchaff John, and that it put on such a good show for you. :D
Lesley,
ReplyDeleteI was very much interested in "birds" of the other variety but i discovered the other type. Much less hassle, i reckon. Yes, the Iberian Chiffchaff was very accommodating even if the light wasn't. To be truthful, it almost looked like any old Chiffchaff but it did have a very interesting call.