Birds ID from Helgoland, Germany (1 Viewer)

[Fritz73]

Can someone please advise on the ID's of attached photos taken in May 2017 at the island of Helgoland (North Sea), Germany?

1- Willow Warbler ?
2- Lesser Withethroat ?
3- Willow Warbler ?
4- "Thunberg" Yellow Wagtail ?
5- Herring Gull ?

Thanks for any further explanations.

 

[Fritz73]

6- Common Chiffchaff ?
7- flavissima spp Yellow Wagtail ?
8- Rock Pipit ?
9- Willow Warbler ?
10- Rock Pipit ?

 

[Fritz73]

11- Common Chiffchaff ?
12-female Common Redstart
13- Willow Warbler ?
14- Tawny Pipit ?
15- Common Whitethroat ?

 

[Fritz73]

16- Common Chiffchaff ?

Thanks again for your replies.

 

[Alexander Stöhr]

Hello Fritz,
agree with most of your ID (obviously 4 and 5 are changed), but

• both Rock Pipits (post 2) are Meadow Pipits imo by black and distinct streaking to underparts and jizz. More, do I see white outer tails? (yes this can appear in pictures of Rock Pipits, too)
• 11 is a Willow Warbler by long pp with larger spacing between the primaries towards wing-tip, head pattern and quite fresh wings for a bird in May. Its quite sure an acredula-type.
• 14 is a Tree Pipit by head pattern (dark, trinangular patch to the lores, broken pale spot at rear end of ear-coverts, ghosting an Olive-backed Pipit) and extremly fine, pencil-like streaks to the flanks. Bill seems all dark, lacking pinkish base of most Tree Pipit, but shape is also good).

The hardest birds for me are nr. 8 (I dont think I have enough experience with Scandinavian Rock Pipit) and 13 At first I agreed with a Willow Warbler. There are some threads about those birds, that ghost a Wood Warbler. Tail seems too long for this and I think I can see clear yellowish near the wing-bend, too far down for most (but not all?) Wood Warblers. But head pattern including a blackish and distinct loral-stripe makes this the best(?) mimic Willow Warbler I have ever seen (in life and on pictures). Monster pp makes this an acredula-type, too?

But: I just realized, that I dont have enough experince with migrant Wood Warblers. ID of this species includes song, call, habitat and behaviour, they often sing exposed and seems to balance on horizontal twigs, which they love.
As always, happy to corrected, but here, I hope for more detailed comments. What an interesting Warbler for me. I cant decide: Wood or Willow Warbler? Thanks for sharing!

 

[Fritz73]

Thanks Alexander!

Attached one more photos for nr 8 and one for nr 13. Maybe they help for further ID.

 

[Alexander Stöhr]

Thanks Fitz,
in the second picture, the Pipit seems better and easier for a Meadow Pipit.

But the warbler is still hard for me. With the new picture, it changes slightly towards an Willow Warbler with a monster pp, but I cant find the reason. Is it the rounded head? Dont know.
But the citrine-yellow-creme hue to the ear-coverts, giving the impression of a slight overexposure. (Wouldnt you buy this colour, when you want to paint a paler, less vivid ,variant Wood Warbler?)

 

[lou salomon]

13 is a clearcut Wood Warbler. agree on the other IDs including Meadow Pipit for 8.

 

[THE_FERN]

13 is a clearcut Wood Warbler. agree on the other IDs including Meadow Pipit for 8.

What makes it clear cut? Only thing I could see that was more or less unequivocal between the species was tail length, and here this is right on the borderline, I'd suggest (i.e. short for Willow, long for Wood).

 

[Butty]

Extremely long primaries, pale face.

 

[Andy Hurley]

What makes it clear cut? Only thing I could see that was more or less unequivocal between the species was tail length, and here this is right on the borderline, I'd suggest (i.e. short for Willow, long for Wood).

Apart from what Butty says, I think the very long eye stripe that is curving down. Not quite the dark rear hook mentioned in the Collins, but nevertheless downward curving. The belly is white, lacking any yellow tinge as much as is visible. Its worth doing a direct comparison with WWs in the first two posts for the comparatively straight eye stripe.

 

[Grahame Walbridge]

P1 falls well short of the PC's, surprised the ID is still in doubt! As Lou remarks, it's a clear cut Wood Warbler, if a little over-exposed.

Grahame

 

[Butty]

The exposure is fine, in both photos - look at the grass. The bird just has pale fore-underparts.