Tuesday 15 August 2017

Melodious Warbler

In the early mornings I have constantly been covering the bushes at the far end of Bowling Green Marsh by the path to the viewing platform and usually I only get a few Common Chiffchaff and a few other odds and sods but today it finally paid off !!! As around 9.30 I was making my way down the path and I saw a larger looking warbler sat on the last tree that looks out over the Clyst Estuary , I tried to get the other side of it in hope of getting a shot of it but it then called & flew into a row of bushes . I knew that it was an Hippolais but had not clinched it yet , so I then put the news out of a possible Melodious Warbler ! I then got onto the bird again where I got most of the features on the bird with its brownish green upperparts and paler underparts , there was no panel showing in the wings and it had a pale bill like a dagger .
It then went into cover and it wasn`t seen then for quite a while , by then other birders had started to turn up and a call of Melodious Warbler was played and it got a response from the bird right away , later on around half 11ish the bird was refound and showed to around half a dozen birders that were still there looking for it but it then dropped back into cover again , I stayed looking for it until 2ish but up till then it was very elusive and had only showed the twice , it was a strange feeling as I was over the moon with finding the bird but I was pissed off a bit as I was unable to get all of the birders on to it . Plus I could not get a photo of it !!

I think that this is the 1st record for the Exe Estuary but not to sure ??

I have just heard that it is not the 1st for the Exe Estuary as one was seen at Dawlish Warren on this same date in 1980 , so that is 37 years until this one ! Still I am happy with it being a 1st for Bowling Green Marsh ... I think lol .....

3 comments:

  1. Nice find, Dave. I know exactly how you feel by the way I've been there several times! It's important to at least get the other locals onto a bird, isn't it?!

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  2. Plus all these photographers get pictures of it even though you didn't!

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  3. Cheers Tim , when you cover a local patch , as you know most of the times you get nothing much at all so it was nice to get something in the end and at least some birders saw it and others heard it on call .

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