The first of September, which shall forever more be known by me as ‘The Day of the 10 Spotted flycatchers‘, also produced another lovely bird sighting, this one completely unexpected and almost missed. I was buzzing from just having seen the first two Spot flies of the day when, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed movement in the trees edging a local brook. I was tempted to ignore it but some instinct told me to look more closely, so I stood still, watching and waiting for leaves to move, a shape to appear.

I was on the point of giving up and moving on, when it happened again, only this time I caught a glimpse of something brown and a bit stripey. Be patient, I told myself. In the space of perhaps 15 minutes, as the bird moved along the tree line, I caught several more tantalizing glimpses, before it finally emerged a little further. And then I knew it, a Sedge warbler (Acrocephalus schoenobaenus), a bird that breeds in Britain but spends our winter in sub-Saharan Africa. It took another 10 minutes before this handsome warbler emerged far enough for a reasonable photo and then flew further along the field. I wished it well on its long journey (yes, I do often talk to the wildlife I see), and carried on, smiling even more broadly than before.