Dipping the YBWs

23 Wednesday Oct 2024

Tags

birding, birdwatching, British birds, Chiffchaff, dipping rare birds, Yellow-browed warbler

I sometimes wonder if I give the impression on here that I always find what I go searching for. That is very far from the truth as today’s blog illustrates.

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This year, there’s been a much larger than usual influx of Yellow-browed warblers to the UK from their breeding grounds in Siberia. The only time I’ve seen one of these was back in 2020 and there have been none locally since then, until this past two weeks, when at least four birds have been sighted within walking distance of my home. Have I seen them? Not even a distant feather! And I’ve been looking four times, for two of the birds in two different locations, for over 30 minutes at a time, standing staring at trees and listening in vain for their distinctive calls. Nada!

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I ‘celebrated’ my third time dipping (birder-speak for not seeing) these birds with the following tongue-in-cheek post on social media:

My birding day in 3 photographs, which I have entitled ‘Not a Yellow-browed warbler’, ‘Not a Yellow-browed warbler’ & ‘Definitely not a Yellow-browed warbler’.

These are those photos – the birds, in case you’re wondering, are all Chiffchaffs.

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362/366 New leaf flitter

27 Sunday Dec 2020

Posted by sconzani in birds

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

2020 birds, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Yellow-browed warbler

For several reasons (Covid restrictions, environmental concerns around travelling simply to see new birds, a desire for quality not quantity), I decided early in the year to restrict my birding to my local patch. That’s meant my list of the bird species I’ve seen this year only totals 118, not the 200 I’ve previously aimed for, but I’ve enjoyed spending more time observing the birds I have seen, getting to know their preferred places, behaviour, feeding patterns, etc. And I have seen one new bird this year, a stunning Yellow-browed warbler that appeared along the local coastal path back in October.

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280/366 Yellow-browed warbler

06 Tuesday Oct 2020

Posted by sconzani in autumn, birds

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

autumn bird migration, autumn passage of birds, birding, birdwatching, British birds, migrating birds, passage migrant, Yellow-browed warbler

Yesterday was brilliant! Not only did I manage a walk without getting wet, but I also saw my first-ever Yellow-browed warbler.

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I didn’t discover the bird – local birder extraordinaire Graham did that and put the word out on Twitter. The bird had been seen about half way along the coastal path between Penarth and Lavernock, so I kept a keen eye out as I walked in case the warbler had wandered further along the path. The hedgerows were alive with birds but it wasn’t until I got close to the original location that two other local birders alerted me to the bird’s presence.

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The Yellow-browed warbler (Phylloscopus inornatus) is a ‘scarce autumn passage migrant’ (Eastern Glamorgan Bird Report no.57) in south Wales. Most years there are just a handful of sightings, though that can vary dramatically – in 2016, there were 26 sightings reported, which earned the adjective ‘extraordinary’ from the bird report writer (Eastern Glamorgan Bird Report no.55).

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This is a small warbler, smaller than a Chiffchaff, and a very active feeder, so it can be tricky to spot in dense foliage, but I knew to look for its ‘yellow brow’, the thick stripe above its eye, and the two stripes on its wings, the top one quite short, the lower longer. It also has a distinctive call that is crisper than that of a Chiffchaff or Willow warbler, and similar to a Coal tit.

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I watched the bird – or perhaps I should say I stared at the bushes where the bird was – for about 45 minutes. Its intermittent calling helped find this little leaf flitter when it vanished for short periods, though I found it easiest to just watch for movement. It mostly seemed content to stay within a small area, a temporary feeding territory my bird guide calls it, and it was certainly defending that territory, aggressively chasing away a Chiffchaff that flew in. Eventually, I could see rain clouds on the horizon and judged it prudent to head homewards, but what a fabulous encounter I had enjoyed with my first Yellow-browed warbler!