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Message: <blockquote data-quote="KnockerNorton" data-source="post: 1254939" data-attributes="member: 66452">We do have the possibility that this is a moulting adult, not a juvenile. There is no clear evidence that it is a juvneile, just the overall impression that it is rather scruffy. But a moulting adult would be scruffy too at this time of year. It would also be moulting the tail (so some apparent short feathers could be regrowing) and moulting the wings, so some wing tips or tertials could be missing that give a false impression.Again, i think the bill is the key point on this bird. All other criteria could be ambiguous or variable for either reed or garden (face pattern, shape, colour [due to photo], habitat [i see reed in potato fields, and garden on coastal dunes, it means nothing in late summer], leg/foot colour [staining/age/variation]). Only bill length is something we can be sure of, and which is the most distinctive feature on this bird in relation to reed or garden. We can see all of it. For me, it is not long enough for reed, but the blunt rounded tip, shortish length is good for garden. It looks rather thickish-based to me too.</blockquote>