Studies in Greige

Picking through a lively bunch of sewage works Chiffchaffs for the Siberian version is nearly as much fun as gulls. All birders know this, so largely avoid it like the plague. Perfect. All the more for me. As mentioned here recently, my delvings into the world of tristis a few years back endeared them to me, so it was very enjoyable to spend two or three hours with the current Chiff crop at Colyton WTW yesterday. I walked away with what I thought were a few nice pics of one Sibe Chiff, but in fact I had photographed two...

Sibe Chiff #1 in warm sunshine.

#1 again, in flatter light. Those warm buff ear coverts seem to be a consistent feature in tristis.

Final shot of #1

Sibe Chiff #2 in flat light, but definitely slightly colder plumage than #1. Note warm buff ear coverts again.

#2 in flat light again. Really eye-catching compared to regular collybita birds. A proper study in greige.

#2 again

The sheer number of Chiffchaffs present here was quite a shock. The hedge was alive with them, and they were back and forth all over the works too. Absolutely impossible to count, but I would not be at all surprised to learn there were 100+ at the site. Picking out a Sibe Chiff was pot luck really, but then the challenge was to stay with it. Not easy. Anyway, between sightings I did photograph two or three collybita birds, just so I could post a few pics here for comparison. Standard Chiffchaffs are variable enough, so it's no surprise that tristis birds are too...

Regular collybita Chiff.

Different bird, very different look.

And another.

By this point I was in the mood for some gulls. Sadly they were not quite as rewarding. One Med Gull.