It seems that people seemed to enjoy my last post about the Little Shearwater on Lundy. Therefore I thought I would take the time to do a similar post on a bird you may encounter whilst out birding. I certainly didn’t know what an Iberian Chiffchaff was until the first bird appeared in Kent, I can remember not being to bothered about it not being closer. Then I was surprised when another one of these nice little MEGA’s turned up at Potteric Carr in South Yorkshire which is only about 2 hours drive from my home in Durham.
On the way down to Norfolk my friend Stew very kindly said we could stop off and I could go and see it, it was hoying it down with rain and it didn’t look promising but I soldiered on and did the 40 minute walk to where the bird was in about 30 minutes. When I arrived I don’t think it had been heard for a while but the rain had come off, and then about 10 minutes or so before I had to leave I heard the very distinctive song that I had leanrt in preparation for coming to see the bird.
In the field I was quite taken back about how different the song was from a normal (Phylloscopus collybita) Chiffchaff. It’s song was just totally different! It was also nothing like that of Willow Warbler.
I have managed to put together another sound bite so you can compare the different songs of Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, and Iberian Chiffchaff. I have added the exact call of the same Iberian Chiffchaff that was at Potteric Carr.
Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus collybita)
Listen to call here: http://www.xeno-canto.org/recording.php?XC=26143
OR click play:
Willow Warbler (Phylloscopus trochilus trochilus)
Listen to call here: http://www.xeno-canto.org/europe/recording.php?XC=28531
OR click play:
Iberian Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus ibericus)
Listen to call here: http://www.xeno-canto.org/recording.php?XC=53690
OR click play:
On a personal level I feel that Iberian Chiffchaff is fairly straight forward to identify if it is seen singing its call. It to me is clearly very different and nothing like Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler.
Hope you enjoyed this post. Comments most welcome.
PLEASE NOTE, I DO NOT MEAN TO INFRIDNGE ANY COPYRIGHT LAWS. THEREFORE I WOULD LIKE TO STATE THE RECORDINGS ARE NOT MINE AND ARE THE PROPERTLY AND WORK OF OTHER PEOPLE. Thank You.
Yes i have heard one Andrew. My son just happens to live in Walderslade in Kent and lives less than 5 minutes from the glade where the one there was situated. Its call was slightly different to the recording you have. I described it as a Chiffchaff that wasn't quite sure whether or not it was a Chiffchaff. Like yours it started similarly , with the opening few notes of the usual call but deviated off into something else. It would however do the normal chiff chaff song once every four times. Visually, very difficult to tell any significant difference.
ReplyDeleteJohn
If only it were that straightforward Andrew !
ReplyDeleteI've heard 3 so called Ibe chiffs in the UK, the 1st one sounded spot on to my ears, but the sonogram wasn't apparently.... the 2nd sounded like a chiffchaff for half of the time and didn't sing like an Ibe chiff while I was there, so I thought it must be a collybita.... and the 3rd one was that poterric bird, which sounded just like the first one tbh ??!!
nice link again andrew. I heard the one in Gwent a month or so ago, this recording brings back nice memories! I think the wentwood forest bird was a tiny bit different to this one but it still sounds very similar.
ReplyDeleteHi NStringer, I found that when I was at the Potteric Carr bird it didn't sound anything like the Chiffchaff's I have heard, however I am not that experienced having only heard one Iberian Chiffchaff. I don't know what I was expecting the bird to sound like in the field but to me personaly it was fiarly distinctive and clearly not collybita or trochilus.
ReplyDeleteGlad you saw/heard an Ibe Chiffy Liam & Johnny.
ReplyDelete