Moorland bird identification please?

I’m up at Cupwith/Slaithwaite Moor. Despite the fires last spring the birds appear to have recovered/returned.
In the last hour up here I’ve seen more species than I remember in one go but am stuck with one in particular.

Sparrow sized, I thought it was a MeadowPipit at first but up close it had a beautifully sleek black head/cap.

Anyone got any suggestions. I’m not convinced it’s a Blackcap…..

female bullfinch? Sontechat or reed bunting aslo possibles based on black head

To say it’s a good day is a bit of an understatement. I’ve seen Meadow Pipits, a couple of Twites, Lapwing and what I suspect is a crow attacking their nest , Curlew, Cock Pheasant, several Skylarks, a common Sandpiper and a pair of Northern Wheatears. I can’t see the reservoir yet but I’ve heard some geese land, and the mallard should be back soon.
The other day there were three Oystercatchers and a Tufted Duck, and occasionally I see a Short Eared Owl up here.

female bullfinch?

You might have got it there !!

Not enough colour for the Stonechat and only the upper part of the head was black. I didn’t notice the white flash at the side of the head either, although the location would be right for reedbuntings.

MrsF has started using the merlin app for identifying bird song when she’s out walking. Obviously not great if it’s not singing, but it’s picked up loads more than we expected and has helped link bird to song, although half the time we can’t see them.

I’m no twitcher but I love seeing and hearing the lapwings go nutty this time of year up near the moors around Holmfirth, Meltham and Marsden.

Just got up close again and I’m pretty sure it was a reed bunting after all.

The lapwings up here are always a treat. There’s a patch of tussocky pasture that the cows have churned up and a month ago they were gathering there in their dozens. Now there’s just one pair that look to be nesting. They’re putting on that aerial display as I type.

I don’t think a female bullfinch would be up on a moor. They are a seed and bud feeding bird. The Male reedbunting sounds correct.

I don’t think a female bullfinch would be up on a moor.

I’m going with Reed Bunting. It was next to a reservoir, in a large area of rush grasses, so that makes a lot of sense.

I’ll go with Reed Bunting’s too keep seeing a pair in a reed bed where I walk my dogs.

You usually see bullfinches in pairs too.

Merlin and Birdnet are both excellent apps

I’d go with Reed bunting too.

sounds like reed bunting, but could it be a willow/marsh tit?

sounds like reed bunting, but could it be a willow/marsh tit?

There are some similarities between those birds. I get Marsh Tits in my garden, they’re not unlike a Coal Tit, but with a generally olive green body and wings and a black head with a black nape – Coal Tits have a white nape. Reed Buntings are more sparrow-like in their markings, brown and black streaks and grey underparts, apart from the black head on the male, with the white dividing band around the neck. I don’t think they could be mixed up.
What can be mixed up might be a black cap and a marsh tit – I get both, there’s been a black cap pair coming into my garden right through the winter, and I had a marsh tit the other day, and there are similarities;

top to bottom – reed bunting/marsh tit/black cap

Saw a group of parakeets yesterday in some woods near Coventry.
I don’t think I’ll use this one as my wildlife photographer of the year entry mind.

Very much enjoying the Merlin app as well. As well as the sound ID, you can search birds likely to be near you by shape – hawk, wader, LBJ, etc, and then spin through the photos.

It’s a Cornell University project, so you’re contributing to some science while you’re at it.

there’s Birda now too, a sort of gamified version of ebird / strava for bird watching. They also publish the sightings to scientific data sets same as eBird.

Also, an owl: