Thursday 11 June 2020

Blyth's-reed Warbler,what a poser!,Sunday June 7th & Thursday June 11th 2020.

A well timed phone call from Tim and then a message from Graham about this superb find at Barton by Graham,of a singing male Blyth's-reed Warbler,had me dashing over to Barton to add this rare Acro to my Lincolnshire list and more importantly to see a singing bird,as my only previous record was of an autumn migrant at Spurn on October 10th 2007.
 The bird was found straight away on arrival,as a small crowd was present and it gave pretty good views in it's chosen little area of Hawthorns,Rose Bushes and Reed.I'm of the opinion the bird would have shown much better,if certain members of the birding community from over the river were not pressing it all the time and getting too close,so is life and the behaviour of some so called experienced birders wasn't great.
 The bird was a fantastic mimic,copying species such as Bee-eater,Quail,Redstart,Chaffinch,Greenfinch and even a Marsh Frog in amongst it's varied repertoire,making for some superb entertainment while we all had the chance to study the birds salient features.
 Eventually i had enjoyed my fill of sights and sounds of the bird and i was very content on how it had shown eventually and i made my way home.
 Fast forward 4 days and amazingly he was still present and i made an early morning visit,arriving just after dawn and this certainly paid divedends,as the bird showed incredibly well and close!.Only one other person was present,Barnsley based bird photographer Peter Garrity and we both enjoyed a fantastic performance from this super little bird,with us both getting some great photos and video footage of him between us.
 I hope this little songster manages a safe journey back to his wintering grounds in the Indian Subcontinent and eventually finds a mate on his travels.
 This is my first record of Blyth's for Lincolnshire and also the first record for the Barton Pits area and i beleive the 4th record for Lincolnshire,what a brilliantly entertaining bird.
Record Shot,7th June.


Record Shot,7th June.

2 comments:

  1. Great videos Steve, you got a good variation in song there compared with my efforts. Apologies for my shutter noise in the background (I blame Canon) - we definitely had a good show from the bird and our patience paid off in the end by standing back.

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  2. Hi Pete,no problem,a great morning out and a superb experience just listening to the expert mimicry of the bird.

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