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Pipit, Essex, UK (1 Viewer)

Essex Tern

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England
I was looking for Water Pipits, and although a bit of a blurry mess due to the extreme range - is anyone who is familiar with the species able to confirm Water as opposed to Meadow, of which I saw plenty, from these “images” please? I think all the same bird.

N.b. Habitat was OK as they have been seen there in good numbers the past couple of weeks.
 

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Pale legs seem to exclude Water Pipit.

That was one of my doubts - the bird is strongly front lit if that makes a difference.

I did see a more promising bird in the field but that was even further away so no chance of a photo of even this quality - my main hopes on this bird were the mantle, and overall tone.
 
These images are less than ideal, but it looks to me like a Water Pipit. Note I'm not saying we can prove this is a Water Pipit from these images.
Pale leg colour does not exclude Water Pipit. This species has frequently pale legs during winter, although of a different tone from say Meadow Pipit (less "bubble gum" pink, more like a very pale shade of brown). Dark legs would exclude Meadow Pipit, but pale legs do not exclude Water Pipit at all. And lighting conditions do have an effect, exacerbating the paleness in case of a strong direct light as mentioned.

A few examples, some more extreme than others, can be seen below:
1) https://www.flickr.com/photos/vitorlouzan/8090914854/
2) https://www.flickr.com/photos/amaia28/16333721915/
3) https://www.flickr.com/photos/44092060@N08/15565070599/
4) https://www.flickr.com/photos/yako36/16772385719/
5) https://www.flickr.com/photos/alvaronunes/16021901439/
6) https://www.flickr.com/photos/antoniogonalves/3299441085/
7) https://www.flickr.com/photos/93109334@N02/25100501276/
8) https://www.flickr.com/photos/44092060@N08/20758754789/
 
The expression looks more mipit to me and the covert bars look more buff than white too. However I agree that the pictures are less than ideal but if I had to put money on it I'd go with mipit.
 
Thanks all, was hoping the mantle could rule out Mipit, but the distance was my undoing - will bring my higher mag scope to get a better look if I try again!
 

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If you check some of the photos on the links I posted above you'll see several with less than white tips to MC and GC, some of them quite buffish. It does vary.

Agreed, I'm just saying I'm getting mipit from 1st pic more than water but it's very tricky with lighting etc. Mantle in other pics looks good for either and bill size difficult to determine too.
 
Size compared to that Pied Wag in pic #1 also suggests Water to me, it looks too bulky for Mipit. But I'd not like to be conclusive over it!
 
Thanks all.

I thnk the extra comments are now swaying me to be stronger with my in field thoughts - my actual views were clearer than these photos, but I could have done with getting a closer look really, hence a few photos to try and pick out a little more once home.

This bird was actively feeding on the ground, a flooded field, in the presence of Meadow Pipits, which all kept very separate and tended to be landing on posts, fences, and landing further up the field on a much drier part, this bird and one or two others were pretty much ground based, whereas the Meadow Pipits even left the area at times.

Another bird I did see did have more of a grey head and brown body combo, this bird seeming to be at a different stage of moult it would appear, but in the field did stand out as having a grey brown tone, very bright underparts, and did have a bit of a super going on, although I think maybe moult interfering a bit with this.

The confirmation that the legs don’t rule out Water, the observation of general bulkiness, together with my in field observations now make me happy to accept this bird as Water Pipit: not possible to confirm conclusively from the photos I accept, but I am grateful for the extra thoughts that make me go with my general feeling in the field this bird was indeed different to the numerous Mipits I saw.
 
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