A Very Odd Bunting

Powderham Marsh, Devon
My mate Pete alerted me to an odd bunting in the hedges of the third field from the car park. So after work I popped along for a quick look. On route I noted that there were large numbers of Common Pheasant. On arrival at the hedge I noted lots of activity. Several Common Reed Bunting, a single Female Cirl Bunting a Male Yellowhammer and Common Chaffinch were popping up after feeding in the field the other side of the hedge. The hedge in question is the one nearest the railway line and runs parallel with it. For anyone that knows the site well the field is the one just after the first feeding station.

I then noted the odd Bunting in question. It had its back to me but my first impression was that it appeared to be small looking. However on comparison with the Common Reed Bunting it was clear that it wasn’t. The head pattern was close to Little Bunting but it lacked any black markings and the brown crown stripe. It had a pink bill and pink legs and I noted a very distinctive white eye ring, which is a feature on winter Common Reed Bunting but again the rest of the head pattern didn’t seem to fit. From what I could see of the wings, no white wing bars were visible, which again pointed me away from Little Bunting. Sadly, I never got to see the front of the bird. The back pattern was very much Little Bunting looking. It flew off after a few moments and I had to leave as I needed to get home to run some errands. There was probably only about 15 minutes of decent daylight left anyway. I didn’t have my scope (unusual for me) to take a photo (not that I think it would have helped though as it was obscured most of the time).

A very odd bird indeed and I can’t put my finger on the ID. I have looked at lots of photos and articles, even looking at real out there species to no avail. The obvious possibilities are Common Reed Bunting or Little Bunting but I’m left thinking is it something more intriguing? I might have to pop back tomorrow armed with scope.