Chiffchaff

This chiffchaff was feeding in the birch tree outside the office window. This was one of the few brighter spells in a windy, rainy, blustery day. The little warbler has teamed up with the tit flocks that rove from tree to tree.

The chiffchaff is very similar in appearance to a willow warbler, the most obvious difference being the legs that are blackish rather than pale. Though I must admit I rarely get a good enough view to see their colour. At lunchtime, one sang briefly and quietly about 100 metres away, it might have been the same bird. In the breeding season the song is the most distinctive feature, the onomatopoeic disyllabic chiff-chaff repeated over and over - the easiest of the warbler songs to recognise.

The chiffchaff is one of our first Summer visitors to arrive, often in early March while it is still wintery. My first in Cumbria this year was 23 March. Then they are one of the last to leave in October, being relatively short-distance migrants, wintering mainly round the Mediterranean, though we do have small numbers staying in the country.

The wind was wild today. One of the ash trees next to the beck toppled and ended up resting against the roof of one of the neighbouring offices. Not too much damage done.