One for the Twitters, Bird Identification

[Lenny HB]

Hoping someone will know the answer DBK , Stewart J .
On the beach the other day saw some small birds that I can't identify I was too slow it was raining by the time I got my phone & glasses out they were gone.

About the size of a Goldfinch may be a bit smaller and slimmer. Dark green body, dark greeny brown wings, I think there was a small spot of red on top of the head but what was really noticeable was a bright yellow flash on the side of the neck under the bill.
Can't find them in any of our bird books or online, I'm sure I've seen them before so not that uncommon.

 

[DBK]

Hoping someone will know the answer DBK , Stewart J .
On the beach the other day saw some small birds that I can't identify I was too slow it was raining by the time I got my phone & glasses out they were gone.

About the size of a Goldfinch may be a bit smaller and slimmer. Dark green body, dark greeny brown wings, I think there was a small spot of red on top of the head but what was really noticeable was a bright yellow flash on the side of the neck under the bill.
Can't find them in any of our bird books or online, I'm sure I've seen them before so not that uncommon.

I'm stumped. The only small birds I can think of with a bit of red on their heads are male Redpoll and Linnet, but they have red breasts, not yellow.

 

[Spriddler]

Siskin? I've 4 regular visitors to my garden.
Possibly the rare Serin of which there are a few breeding pairs only along the South coast.

 

[TheAleMan]

I'm stumped. The only small birds I can think of with a bit of red on their heads are male Redpoll and Linnet, but they have red breasts, not yellow.

Those are the two I had in mind before I scrolled to your post. Stumped too ?

 

[Lenny HB]

I'm stumped. The only small birds I can think of with a bit of red on their heads are male Redpoll and Linnet, but they have red breasts, not yellow.

I think the breast was dark green like the rest of the body not 100% sure there was red on the head, I can't draw it even a stick man is a challenge to my art skills.

Siskin? I've 4 regular visitors to my garden.
Possibly the rare Serin of which there are a few breeding pairs only along the South coast.

Nope.

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[DBK]

You'll have to go back and shoot one. That's what the Victorian naturalists did. I can't even think of any vagrants they might have been. We've had strong easterly winds so something might have been blown across from the Continent. I read this morning there have been several sightings of the Large tortoiseshell butterfly in the south, including West Sussex. The butterfly is considered extinct in the UK but individuals have drifted over recently. This is behind a paywall but you should be able to read some of it.

Return of lost large tortoiseshell butterfly

A butterfly that virtually vanished from Britain more than half a century ago could be making a comeback after the largest number of sightings for decades.The large tortoiseshell disappeared in the 1960s, partly because its caterpillars feed primarily on elm trees, millions of which were killed by D

www.thetimes.co.uk

 

[elamessa]

Green finch?

 

[autorouter]

Any chance it's this one? No red on its head, but apart from that it fits.

Hundreds of twitchers descend on quarry after rare Asian bird never before seen in the UK flaps into view

This was the astonishing scene today when thousands of twitchers descended on a quarry near Newcastle to spot a bird never before seen in the UK.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[ManTheVan]

If it was on a beach, I would plump for Turnstones, especially at a distance. They move quite rapidly, ferreting about, lifting weeds and stones as they hunt for food. They don’t have a red spot, but the other features are a possible fit. As they never sit still it can be difficult to pin them down for a photo.

Turnstone | The Wildlife Trusts

The turnstone can be spotted fluttering around large stones on rocky and gravelly shores, flipping them over to look for prey. It can even lift rocks as big as its own body! Although a migrant to the UK, it can be seen all year-round as different populations arrive throughout the seasons.

www.wildlifetrusts.org

 

[Lenny HB]

Green finch?

Nope, we get them in the garden.

Any chance it's this one? No red on its head, but apart from that it fits.
View attachment 385145

Hundreds of twitchers descend on quarry after rare Asian bird never before seen in the UK flaps into view

This was the astonishing scene today when thousands of twitchers descended on a quarry near Newcastle to spot a bird never before seen in the UK.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Much slimmer and more striking bright colours.

If it was on a beach, I would plump for Turnstones, especially at a distance. They move quite rapidly, ferreting about, lifting weeds and stones as they hunt for food. They don’t have a red spot, but the other features are a possible fit. As they never sit still it can be difficult to pin them down for a photo.

Turnstone | The Wildlife Trusts

The turnstone can be spotted fluttering around large stones on rocky and gravelly shores, flipping them over to look for prey. It can even lift rocks as big as its own body! Although a migrant to the UK, it can be seen all year-round as different populations arrive throughout the seasons.

www.wildlifetrusts.org

Nothing like that I was only a few feet from them.

You lot are making me feel I've gone loony and imaging things.

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[Hymerbell]

The only bird I can identify is a pigeon...and then only if it is really close

 

[pappajohn]

Another one for DBK
Sparrow sized 'finch'
Can't remember much of the body but it had a greyish head with a red face and black band sideways over the top of its head.
It was in our garden but never seen one before

 

[DBK]

Another one for DBK
Sparrow sized 'finch'
Can't remember much of the body but it had a greyish head with a red face and black band sideways over the top of its head.
It was in our garden but never seen one before

A Goldfinch has red, black and white on the head. The only other bird I can think of is Lesser spotted Woodpecker. These are Sparrow sized, occasionally come to bird tables but very rarely seen on the ground if that was where it was.

 

[TheAleMan]

If it was on a beach, I would plump for Turnstones, especially at a distance. They move quite rapidly, ferreting about, lifting weeds and stones as they hunt for food. They don’t have a red spot, but the other features are a possible fit. As they never sit still it can be difficult to pin them down for a photo.

Turnstone | The Wildlife Trusts

The turnstone can be spotted fluttering around large stones on rocky and gravelly shores, flipping them over to look for prey. It can even lift rocks as big as its own body! Although a migrant to the UK, it can be seen all year-round as different populations arrive throughout the seasons.

www.wildlifetrusts.org

Goldfinch size ?

 

[autorouter]

How about a female blackcap? Blackcap male has black on top of head, but female is red/chestnut colour on top of head.

Blackcap Warbler Bird Facts | Sylvia Atricapilla

A distinctive greyish warbler, the male has a black cap, the female a chestnut one. Its delightful fluting song has earned it the name 'northern nightingale'

www.rspb.org.uk

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[Lenny HB]

How about a female blackcap? Blackcap male has black on top of head, but female is red/chestnut colour on top of head.
View attachment 385165

Blackcap Warbler Bird Facts | Sylvia Atricapilla

A distinctive greyish warbler, the male has a black cap, the female a chestnut one. Its delightful fluting song has earned it the name 'northern nightingale'

www.rspb.org.uk

Nope nothing like that.

 

[acropolis22]

Re the thread title, don't you mean "twitchers"? I know social media is everywhere, but surely it hasn't taken over birdwatching too.......

 

[pappajohn]

A Goldfinch has red, black and white on the head. The only other bird I can think of is Lesser spotted Woodpecker. These are Sparrow sized, occasionally come to bird tables but very rarely seen on the ground if that was where it was.

Think I'll go with goldfinch. It was on the very outer branch's of a fir tree.
We do get a few finch's but this one stood out as I hadn't seen one before.

 

[old-mo]

Much slimmer and more striking bright colours.

You lot are making me feel I've gone loony and imaging things. ...
.........................................................................................................................................

A budgerigar ........................................

 

[Lenny HB]

Think I'll go with goldfinch. It was on the very outer branch's of a fir tree.
We do get a few finch's but this one stood out as I hadn't seen one before.

I first thought of them as Goldfinches but I'm sure it wasn't as we get them in the garden. Hope I see them again and get a pic next time.

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[Hymerbell]

Did it have two legs and a beak ?

 

[Hymerbell]

If so I think I know what it might be

 

[Lenny HB]

No it's not a pigeon.

 

[Hymerbell]

No it's not a pigeon.

Oh..in that case I can’t help you..sorry.

 

[The Coops]

Greenfinch?

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[Bustup15]

Was it one of these Lenny HB ?

 

[Hymerbell]

Was it one of these Lenny HB ?

View attachment 385212

Ah....a pigeon

 

[pappajohn]

Or one of these?

 

[busbuddy]

Firecrest? The boss says it shouldn't be here now but anything is possible at the moment, we recently had a sparrow hawk feeding off the bird table

 

[Yorkshire Puds]

not one of these was it?

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