Annoying little bird (but quite cute)

[Spikey88]

I'm trying to identify a little bird that has been sat on my house all day singing.The best way to describe the song is whistle eek eek or sometimes eek eek whistle.This may be a bit vague but hopefully someone might recognise it from my description.I've tried a few websites that give samples of bird songs but been unable to find it (plus it drives my cat nuts when I play them!!!)

Thanks to anyone who can help

[SteveD]

Where do you live? (We have been caught out like this before when somebody asked for help in the identification of a bird. After several replies it turned out that the poster was in India!)

Can you describe the bird (size, colour etc)?

[Spikey88]

Oo yep..sorry! I'm in Bedfordshire UK & as for the bird, I couldn't really see the colouring of it but it isn't much bigger than a sparrow.

Thanks

[Thunderbird+]

Just a wild guess,with little to go on- chafinch. It often has that two toned note (bit like a sqeeky bike pump)

[Spikey88]

I just listened to a chaffinch on the net..& nope..it isn't like that.Thanks for the suggestion though.Mind you, saying that, they have different dialects (according to one webpage I looked at) & I was listening to one in yorkshire so maybe the accent threw me.<g>

The little bird I keep hearing has a definite eeeeek eeeeek whistle noise ...umm the eek part sounds a bit like a cricket but louder & more prolonged & the whistle is one note.

I'll have to find a way of recording it & posting it somewhere on the net I think!

[Cetti]

The Dunnock is pretty vocal at the moment Spikey, so have a listen to this song.

If the link is wrong, it's on the RSPB site where you can check the song and also the video of the bird.

[Thunderbird+]

Hi Spikey, I've just had another thought, at this time of year, what you heared may not have been the song of an adult bird, but the call of a newly fledged youngster still semi dependant on its mother more food. Do you think this could be a possibility ?

[Spikey88]

Hi all,

Well I now think you are right Thunderbird! I think it may be a chaffinch now.I nipped home from work at lunchtime today & it was there doing it's usual eek eek whistle, but suddenly burst into a different song (which I had never heard it do before) which does sound like the chaffinch.(I think it just does the eek eek whistle when it thinks I'm home...just to wind me up!!) I'll try & get a closer look at the little bird though it is always very high up in a tree or on top of the house.

Thanks for the suggestion Cetti, I did listen to the Dunnock on the RSPB webpage...& also found this webpage that was very handy for samples of bird calls http://www.northamptonshirewildlife.co.uk

Thank you all for you help & at last I can stop calling it "the eek eek bird"