siberian suspect

The sewage farm at Ely has provided some interseting Chiffchaffs over the last few winters- it's almost suspiciously consistent in turning up pale grey-buff birds that contrast with the dingy olive collybita. Last weekend's bird was no less compelling- Dunc's first response was to compare it to a Booted warbler. There was no umming and arring about the question of when olive becomes brown, or when yellow becomes buff- this bird was brown and buffy white. Although distant, other features were just as obvious. The bold supercilium and pale cheeks, the fine pale wingbar and dark bill and legs.

I recorded my impression of the bird in this rough sketch below, with a collybita for comparison.

The weather has been fairly unpleasant, and it wasn't until Thursday that i returned for a proper look for the bird again. The morning sun had already disappeared by the time I got there, and after a few minutes scanning the bushes in the compound, I was beginning to think that the brisk wind was forcing the warblers to stick to the shelter of the underbrush. Remembering that in the past I'd encountered Chiffchaffs in the brambles just outside the sewage farm compound, across the railway line- I thought it was worth a quick look. A passing fellow asked what i was looking for, and almost before I'd got the words "possible siberian" out, a pale flash flitted to the top of the bramble thicket. It moved quickly and was soon lost, only to re-emerge further along the railway embankment. The light was grey and I only managed a few shots before the first spattering of rain started falling, but the results are, I think, quite convincing. Little details like the white eye-ring and a milky-lemon tint to the wing feather edging add to the evidence that supports this bird being Siberian- but it didn't call, and I wonder if, as Dunc mentioned, diagnoses can be made certainly without sonographic confirmation. If this bird isn't a Sibe- they can't be done on sight alone.