walking past a clump of hawthorns this morning I heard a few brief snatches of song that made me think Siberian Chiffchaff although the last one I heard was in March 1989! strangely it was at the exact same location where I was stood but it then went quiet and I nearly moved on but just as I was leaving it started singing again and eventually I managed to get a few poor recordings of the song and even worse ones of the call and after that I also managed to find the bird and get some good views; it was a real cracker and great to see it singing as well - My only previous singing tristis was also at the same site in Goxhill Marsh from March 11th -20th 1989 and an image of the bird was used in the British Birds Monthly Marathon competition with the result in Holt, P / April 2000 – vol. 93, issue 4, pp 212
Siberian Chiffchaffs are more than just a race of Chiffchaff they are a great bird and have travelled a long way to grace us with their presence; subtle and distinctive in plumage tones and with a voice that reflects their Taiga summer quarters; a great article on Sib Chiffs by one of their admirers was in the February 2011 Birding World, Siberian Chiffchaff - in from the cold by Anthony McGeehan it is a must read
No comments:
Post a Comment