Little brown jobs

Garden Warbler
Sylvia borin

Today I pursued an exercise in identifying Warblers on Wimbledon Common. It is about the only time of year I would consider such a folly as they are all in full song which makes identification somewhat easier. Not just because they are a collection of small greeny/brown birds of a similar shape and size, but also because the skulk and hide in the fresh green foliage, rarely staying still and exceptionally good at placing obstructions between you and them. This one is about the largest of the bunch. The Garden Warbler has a song consisting of repeated passages of piercing staccato whistles. Not quite a Nightingale, but there is certainly a resemblance. The other warblers in evidence were Chiffchaffs, Blackcaps and Willow Warblers. Once you have catalogued the songs in your mind, you can locate them at a distance and keep an ear out for any unusual calls that are worth investigating closer.

... and then photographing them is even harder.

The extra is a Chiffchaff on Putney Heath.