Sedge warblers

20 Friday Jun 2025

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birding, birding at Radipole, birdwatching, British birds, Radipole birds, RSPB Radipole, Sedge warbler

I don’t see Sedge warblers very often; if I’m lucky, I might see or, sometimes only hear, one or two as they pass through the local area during Spring and Autumn migration. That’s my excuse for not recognising these two birds, seen on two separate visits to RSPB Radipole in Weymouth. As I could hear Reed warblers singing all around me while I was exploring the reserve, which is jam-packed full of Reed beds, I just assumed these were also Reed warblers.

Wrong! The streaking of dark and light above the eyes is a sure sign of a Sedge warbler. My more expert birding friends think that the first bird, above, is an adult, though I’m not entirely convinced that it isn’t a well-grown youngster, as it was flapping its wings in the way juvenile birds do to get their parents to feed them.

The bird below is definitely a youngster; one of my friends pointed out that you can still see the gape, the yellow fleshy part at the base of its beak that is a characteristic of chicks. And it behaved like a chick: ‘My mum told me to stay right here until she got back so I’m not moving even though you’re coming along the path towards me, getting closer and closer with that black thing in front of your face, and I’m a little bit scared.’

After quickly grabbing a couple of photos, I moved past, then stopped further along the path and watched as one of its parents brought it food, and moved it to a different bush, a bit further away from the main path.

Singing in the rain

03 Friday May 2024

Posted by sconzani in birds, spring

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cardiff Bay birding, Cardiff Bay Wetlands Reserve, Reed warbler, Sedge warbler, spring migration

Thursday morning was looking grim and grey, with cloud so low it looked like fog, and a constant fine drizzle. But, when word came through that there was a festival of singing warblers at Cardiff Bay wetlands, I had to go. And it was absolutely amazing – with at least 14 newly arrived Sedge warblers singing alongside the resident Reed and Cetti’s warblers, as well as the more usual Blackbirds, Green- and Goldfinches, and Reed buntings, I may have got wet but was filled with wonder at the surround sound bird song. The Sedge warblers were mostly skulking but this Reed warbler, which had probably arrived a few days earlier and already established his territory, was enthusiastically advertising his presence.

240503 reed warbler

233/366 Migration, migration, migration

20 Thursday Aug 2020

Posted by sconzani in autumn, birds, nature

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autumn migration, bird migration, birding, British birds, Pied flycatcher, Redstart, Sedge warbler, Whitethroat, Willow warbler

While yesterday’s Clouded yellow butterfly was migrating northwards on the hot southerlies, our local birds were heading in the opposite direction, to their various wintering spots around the Mediterranean and in locations all over the African continent. They started heading south in ever-increasing numbers about three weeks ago – at least, that’s when I started noticing this year’s autumn migration. Blackcaps, Chiffchaffs, Swallows, Sand and House martins … for a lot of these little birds their long journey has already begun.

200820 pied flycatcher

The first noteworthy bird for me was a Pied flycatcher, found by a local birder at Cosmeston one day, and I just happened to be right there he re-found it the following day. That was 22 July, the day I also began to notice how many Willow warblers there were everywhere – I’ve been seeing good numbers of these lovely little birds almost daily since then.

200820 willow warbler

On 2 August, this Sedge warbler was a surprise find in the hedgerow on a local farm. With any luck, it will be well on its way to sub-Saharan Africa by now.

200820 sedge warbler

Also on 2 August, in that same hedgerow, I noticed a lot of Whitethroats, and they’re also passing through in small numbers every day now.

I’ve seen a Redstart at Cosmeston a few times – these photos were taken on 4 August and 16 August in almost the exact same location. Might it be the same bird that has perhaps found the place to its liking and is trying to fatten up before flying onward?

In recent days, I’ve also been seeing some of my favourite migrants, Spotted flycatchers (several now seen) and Whinchat (just one so far) but I’m going to post separate blogs about those superb little birds.

142/365 Birding at Magor Marsh

22 Wednesday May 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, birds, insects, nature, trees

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#365DaysWild, Glamorgan Bird Club, Grey heron, Little egret, Magor Marsh, Mistletoe, Sedge warbler

It was a cracking blue-sky day for our Glamorgan Bird Club trip to the Gwent Wildlife Trust’s Magor Marsh Reserve today, and what a fabulous place it is! A natural area of fenland, divided by the lush waterways of ancient reens, home to large areas of reed bed and magnificent wildflower meadows, interspersed with small wooded areas.

190522 reen

The bird list today was not extensive but I think it was the first time any of us had seen Little egrets nesting in Britain, and one of those was easy to see from the bird hide, and it was sharing its tree with a nesting Grey heron.

190522 nesting herons

Plus the reserve was alive with Redgies – Reed and Sedge warblers – and you know how much I love those little birds. One Sedgie even hopped out for a few photos.

190522 sedge warbler

And, because Bird Club outings are about more than just birds, when the bird life was a bit sparse we simply turned our attention to all the other interesting flora and fauna that surrounded us.

Like a tree adorned with huge bundles of Mistletoe, and another, probably a Blackthorn, with what looked like galls affecting its fruit.

And all the damselflies and beetles, bees and butterflies (though not as many butterflies as I was hoping for – I’m blaming the coolish wind). All in all, it was a pleasure to explore this lovely reserve and another most excellent field trip.

My favourite Sedge warbler

28 Monday May 2018

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature

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Acrocephalus schoenobaenus, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Sedge warbler

A friend asked me recently what my three favourite birds were from my recent birding trip: I think she was a little surprised by my answer. Number one, not surprisingly, was the Puffin – so beautifully marked, so much character; number two was the Glossy ibis – I loved that we got such close views and were able to observe its behaviour; and number three was this little bird, the Sedge warbler (Acrocephalus schoenobaenus).

180528 sedge warbler (1)

Though usually very vocal, often loudly so, they are more often heard than seen, and I’d only had brief glimpses of Sedge warblers hiding amongst reed beds before this trip.

So, having the opportunity to see this little bird at very close quarters and listen to him belting out his song, intent on advertising himself to any potential mates and stake his claim on his little bit of the planet, oblivious to the likes of me and others taking his photo, and watching and listening intently to him, was pure dead brilliant!

180528 sedge warbler (8)