Nightingale?

[2dogs2000]

Okay, I know the photo is rubbish but it was the only one I got.




This bird was very elusive and constantly hiding in thicket.
This was on the 10th July 2008 .The song was beautiful and followed by what I can only describe as rasping sounds. I have listened to bird songs on the RSPB site and although I can't confirm the actual song the rasping sounds were identical. Is there any other bird apart from a nightingale which makes this sound?

[ron1863]

Hey, at least you got to see and hear one, living up in Scotland I have zero chance.

[Jason Green]

Whitethroat?

If it was the sound without having seen the picture I might have said Mistle Thrush.

[2dogs2000]

Originally Posted by Jason Green

Whitethroat?

If it was the sound without having seen the picture I might have said Mistle Thrush.

It definitely wasn't a mistle thrush.

I listened to the song of the whitethroat but there was no rasping sound. The rasping sound was a definite match with the nightingale and that's why I am asking if any other bird makes that particular sound.

[Jason Green]

Maybe it was then. I only say a Whitethroat due to the head - it rises to a tiny point, whereas the Nightingale's seems smoother, rounder; that's all

Nightingale
- The RSPB: Nightingale

If not, have you also tried the lesser whitethroat?
- The RSPB: Lesser whitethroat

[2dogs2000]

Thanks for trying to help Jason.
Have you listened to the nightingale on the RSPB site? At the end of its song there are 4 notes that I definitely heard. Maybe I heard one bird and photographed another (anything is possible with me).

[Jason Green]

Originally Posted by 2dogs2000

Thanks for trying to help Jason.
Have you listened to the nightingale on the RSPB site? At the end of its song there are 4 notes that I definitely heard.

No, not yet and yes, it probably was, lucky you

Originally Posted by 2dogs2000

Maybe I heard one bird and photographed another (anything is possible with me).

I've done this myself!

Just see what other WAB'ers say soon

[aeshna5]

I think Jason was right- it definitely loooks like a Whitethroat to me!

[rlchew]

That profile definitely looks like a Common Whitethroat to me.

In my experience, Nightingales usually sing from deep cover and then only for a small period in May. In suitable habitat in their restricted range, they can be easy to hear but very difficult to see. Trying to see a Nightingale can be a frustrating experience!

Richard

[Tursiops2]

Originally Posted by rlchew

That profile definitely looks like a Common Whitethroat to me.

In my experience, Nightingales usually sing from deep cover and then only for a small period in May. In suitable habitat in their restricted range, they can be easy to hear but very difficult to see. Trying to see a Nightingale can be a frustrating experience!

Richard

I agree entirely . The bird in the photo is almost certainly a Whitethroat; a Nightingale is very unlikely to sing from such an exposed position, and it would have a more "Robin-like" silhouette. Whitethroats have a rasping alarm call, which you may have heard if you were too close to the nest.

[Jason Green]

Hi,

Yes, whitethroats DO rasp. At me at least .

In fact the only time I did hear them was when they were. I think two males were challenging each other.

[snake]

I get the odd Nightingale in the garden, I only hear them singing at the end of April and into May.
I think That the males arrive before the females, sing their little heads off to attract a female, then when they have found one they stop singing.
At least that is how it seems.

[caernerch]

the bird on the wire is not a nightingale, wrong silhouette. the head and beak shape are not right, plus tail looks a bit short. I have seen nightingales singing from similar perches, on migration, before they select a territory; after which they sit in the middle of deep cover to sing. a few sbj's fit the shape - including whitethroat. their song is always described as "scratchy" so it's hard to confuse with a nightingale's which always starts with three or four 'practice' notes on an ascending scale and continues with a sweet melody. doesn't seem to get us much further - but that's birding for you!
regards

[ChrisJB]

It looks very like a whitethroat to me. The time of year you heard it is also almost certainly too late for nightingale too. Whitethroats also have a distinctive scratchy scolding/contact - type call and they will also sometimes slot a few of these scratchy calls in between the usual happy song. My local ones ceased singing about a fortnight ago and all I hear now is the scratchy stuff.

Regards, Chris

[2dogs2000]

Oh well. Maybe next year. The photo was rubbish anyway and has now been deleted from my files. Thank you all for your help.

[zoed73]

Originally Posted by rlchew

In my experience, Nightingales usually sing from deep cover and then only for a small period in May. In suitable habitat in their restricted range, they can be easy to hear but very difficult to see. Trying to see a Nightingale can be a frustrating experience!

Richard

Just like Ron1863, I have zero chance of seeing a Nightingale . . .
. . . except when I was in Spain in June past.
We visited a reserve twice. On the first visit we were constantly bombarded by a birdsong which we could not identify. (Remember, I had never seen, or heard, a Nightingale before.)
Richard (richew) stated they "usually sing from deep cover . . . they can be easy to hear but very difficult to see." I can certainly rubber-stamp these statements as well as confirming that "trying to see a Nightingale can be a very frustrating experience!" ~ INDEED!
It wasn't until our second visit that we discovered their identity. In a total of around 8 hours in the reserve, and hearing them almost constantly, we only managed to catch sight of 3 !

I have no experience of UK Nightingales, but these Spanish ones were still filling the air with their songs well into the second half of June. Different locales, different habits, I guess