Got a tricky ID issue...

Squirrel1970 · #1 (**permalink**) 24-10-2009, 01:36 PM

I love wandering around my local country park - there's so much of it to explore that I often get a little carried away and I'm frequently distracted - which is good, it means I'm observing things!

However, yesterday, I saw something thats eluded me... a bird the size of a blackbird and about the same shape (roughly) but it had an orange bib and a white flash near the rump just before the tail. The feathers (as I could see) were either black or dark brown and I never got to see much of its face at all. I vaguely remember some ringing around the eyes, but it was so quick! I never heard it, but it flew off before I could get my camera ready...
I know it was not a robin, it was a lot bigger than that, nearer blackbird size...
My usual rule is, if you see something you're not sure of, and it flies off before you can take a picture, take a picture anyway and remember what you saw and associate with that picture... which is what I did.
The area was woodland with an open 'field' area (full of moles and overgrown grasses and vegetation) nearby and there was a farm within the vicinity too (the field nothing to do with the farm)

TIA

david156 · #2 (**permalink**) 24-10-2009, 01:41 PM

hi.

Could be a Wheatear??

Jason Claxton · #3 (**permalink**) 24-10-2009, 01:44 PM

If not,how orange was the bib,if it is over blackbird size,and showed a grey rump when flying away,could it be a Fieldfare?

david156 · #4 (**permalink**) 24-10-2009, 01:45 PM

Did you see it with Blackbirds or was it on its own?

Squirrel1970 · #5 (**permalink**) 24-10-2009, 05:00 PM

It was on its own and I'm thinking maybe it was a fieldfare.... although, having said that, I was trying to pull my feet from a patch of sticky mud at the time too...

Jason Claxton · #6 (**permalink**) 24-10-2009, 05:14 PM

So you reckon it was a Fieldfare,if you're not certain I'm afraid you will have to face the mud again,dont let that put you off going back and seeing whether you can get a better view of it ,to make sure though,I'll leave it up to you.

cheers Jason

Squirrel1970 · #7 (**permalink**) 24-10-2009, 07:45 PM

I definitely shall be going back... I just hope the weather is as good to me as the birdlife has been so far (to be honest, sometimes, this place is a hot-spot for red-listed birds

)
I just need a new pair of boots.... had to use snow boots - not designed for mud.... which I'll be hoping to sort out on Monday

From then on, I'll continue to be the one that spots all the red-listed birds around here

Squirrel1970 · #8 (**permalink**) 25-10-2009, 01:47 AM

Erm.. I hate to have to admit it, but... it wasn't a fieldfare... I've mentioned on a few sites the description of the bird in question (I wished I had a mobile phone with twitter on it - it would've helped me!) and it seems that what I actually saw was an American Robin.
It's the same size as our blackbird(ish) and the bright orange chest bit seems spot-on...

However, I still need to get back down there for another look just to be doubly sure... and I know I'll probably be disappointed if it's moved on...

I know we do get the odd visitor swept in like this now and then and if this is true, then definitely, it's a real shocker!!

I'm keeping an open mind on the subject. I know we have had American Robins in the UK before now.... I've posted on the country parks website too - see if anyone else has seen similar