Help Id. birds please.

StRoRo · #1 (**permalink**) 18-01-2010, 10:00 PM

Hi,
These are probably very simple for you to identify. I used to really be in to birds when I was about 10 and could tell Id most UK birds but now 20 years later I am rubbish.
I got a camera for Christmas so Im getting back in to it.

Can you please help me Id. these bad pictures?

First birdFirst and second picture, I only noticed because I heard it being harrassed by a crow. It was very far away, the light was going and I didnt have much chance to snap it so sorry for the quality.

I have ID books which shows summer and winter looks but this seems to be an in-between stage.

Second, I think its a Ruff, but there are about 3-4 other birds which look exactly the same in winter. These birds would shoot across the water and turn at great speeds.

Sorry if they are very simple, in re-learning how to Id birds again.

thebeard · #2 (**permalink**) 18-01-2010, 11:13 PM

your first is a common buzzard, nice pictures too!
the second one i'm not sure on, a sandpiper i think, but i'm terrible at wader ID, so i'll leave it for someone else

welcome to WAB, and enjoy your birding

Ferret · #3 (**permalink**) 19-01-2010, 12:56 AM

Hi StRoRo and welcome to Wild About Britain, the bird of prey is indeed a Buzzard Buteo buteo they can have quite variable plumage so you may not find an exact match in your I.D. book.

The second bird is indeed a Ruff Pilomachus pugnax . A very nice shot if I may say so. You can see the thin indistinct wing bar and the white sides to the upper tail with the legs and feet protruding out past the tail end, medium length bill that you can just see is slightly down curved.

Ferret

StRoRo · #4 (**permalink**) 19-01-2010, 03:58 PM

Thanks for that.
Im sure I will get better at identifying as time goes by.
It took me several hours of looking on the internet and in books to suspect it was a Ruff I think I had a short list of 3-4 birds all whick look like that in winter but completly different in summer. You guys can tell in moments.

Looking forward to spending time here.

Picidae · #5 (**permalink**) 19-01-2010, 04:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by StRoRo

Thanks for that.
Im sure I will get better at identifying as time goes by....
I had a list of 3-4 birds all whick look like that in winter but completly different in summer. You guys can tell in moments.

Looking forward to spending time here.

Welcome to WAB StRoRo

You've started with the hardest group of birds to hone your indentifying skills and the worst time of year for plumage distinctions, so no shame there! You will also find that not all ID photos of waders are so quickly identified on WAB and Ruff are generally the species many people trip up on simply because of their individual variability! (And as I type that, I realise Common Buzzard are too!)