River Warbler at RSPB Ham Wall, Somerset Levels. 15th June 2021.

 

Our annual pilgrimage up to Somerset in the early summer was well timed today to coincide with the viewing of the long-staying River Warbler.

A vagrant bird more used to the heat of Eastern Europe across into Russia it sang it's little heart out for us today.

These birds are gradually spreading into parts of Western Europe but it was a first for me in this country. I did hear one singing in Hungary a couple of years back but got no photographs.

It must have been at Ham Wall reserve for about 10 days now and I never expected it to be still around & even less be as showy as it was.

I'd done my homework on it's song and it was immediately recognisable as soon as we got near.

It was about 10 metres from the path into the Avalon Hide and came very close to us as we stood in awe of this stunning songbird. Standing on the tops of cow parsley and reeds the sound of it competed with the backdrop of clicking camera shutters.

At the end of our day we saw it easier and more often than any of the other warblers such as Reed, Sedge and the very vocal Cetti's.

Here are a few more images.