Iberian Chiffchaff.
When i was at work yesterday the pager alerted me to the news of a Iberian Chiffchaff at Walderslade in Kent singing and showing well , i have never seen one before and i was on my way to Southampton on an over night delivery EEK !! , will it stay or just pass through ????
Fortunately it stayed and i managed to get to the site at about 6.45 pm tonight , i met a birder on the way out and he said it was still around and showing well , so of i set and found roughly the area this guy had told me about , i heard Chiffchaff on the way in and then i heard the unmistakable song of the Iberian Chiffchaff and what's more i had it all to myself , eventually it appeared on a bare ash tree more or less in front of me and started singing , i got some pictures :
Iberian Chiffchaff singing .
Iberian Chiffchaff
It did seem rather long tailed but that could be because it seemed to be missing some under tail coverts ?? the song is very diagnostic in the id of this species in my opinion , still a tricky bird to catch up with and i am very pleased to have seen one at last especially in Kent .
