Reed Warbler? - London UK (1 Viewer)

[ChrisKten]

Loads of Warblers foraging in some bushes at my local reservoirs this morning; this one looked a bit different. It's probably just the light. but it looked paler than most of the others. I've a couple of others that I'm unsure of, but I've not processed the pictures yet.

Thanks

 

[ChrisKten]

Nobody confident enough to confirm it as a Reed Warbler?

 

[Collin]

Confirmed. No contrast of primary tips, with equal spacing. Dark claws and oval nostril.
Nice pic.

 

[ChrisKten]

Thanks, Collin; I thought it best to check, as it looked a bit different to the other Reed Warblers.

 

[mathare]

Not that I have seen many (probably the same bird several times given dates & locations) the Reed Warbler(s) I have seen have had a slightly more pronounced stripe running from the eye forward. Can that vary much between individuals or is it present to the same extent here but isn't so obvious from the angle & lighting in the photo?

There is a lightening of colour in the original photo but it's less of a stripe than I have seen in the past.

 

[Collin]

Not that I have seen many (probably the same bird several times given dates & locations) the Reed Warbler(s) I have seen have had a slightly more pronounced stripe running from the eye forward. Can that vary much between individuals or is it present to the same extent here but isn't so obvious from the angle & lighting in the photo?

There is a lightening of colour in the original photo but it's less of a stripe than I have seen in the past.

This stripe /"running from the eye forward"/ is loral-stripe /lore/. It seems, that some birds are with obvious such, some without. Maybe is individual or age related, I don`t know.

 

[mathare]

Thanks Collin. It's always nice to know what features one can/can't readily use to help distinguish between similar species. Sounds like the lore isn't one of them but the features you mentioned when confirming the ID can be - much appreciated :t:

 

[ChrisKten]

I think the features Collin mentioned was to rule out Marsh Warbler; although I could easily be wrong