I say at last, as I have seen numerous Yellow-browed Warblers at the Obs over the years, so perhaps I shouldn't get too excited about them. Perhaps it's because I am of a certain age and remember when this Siberian sprite used to be a mega! In fact over here in the northwest a Yellow-browed Warbler was the nearest you were going to get to finding your own 'Sibe'! Nowadays we usually expect 2 or 3 at least at the Obs and I don't think it will be long before we hit double figures in the autumn and perhaps that will be this year as we have had four today!
I called at the cemetery first thing this morning and it was fairly quiet with just four Redwings that I would consider as being grounded. The wind was a fairly stiff east-southeasterly and this made viewing conditions difficult as the trees were moving around quite a bit. However, as I was just putting my gear in the boot of my car before heading off to the coastal park I heard a Chiffchaff giving it's sub-song and two Goldcrests calling and I thought "hello"!
I had been in the park for just a few minutes when I caught sight of a small phyllosc moving through some Poplars. I lifted my bins and it was a Yellow-browed Warbler. I made a quick call to Ian and I was just about to try and get some shots of it when I heard somebody shout "is there anything about"? With that the YBW flew off and into some more distant cover! I turned round to see a visiting birder and thought about saying "there was until you shouted", but thought better of it!
This guy then followed me round everywhere chewing my ear off about everything he had seen over the past few days. What's happened to people's field craft today? He continued to name drop both birds and birders as I tried to escape! I heard the YBW calling and got some distant views, but none as good as the ones when this guy flushed it with his booming voice. Some council workers came into the park with mechanical kit and it was 'game over' for me and a sharp exit!
Oh, I nearly forgot besides the YBW there were a few other migrants in the park including ten Redwings, five Song Thrushes, four Goldcrests and a Blackcap. It's a couple of days of catching up on work for me now, but hopefully I'll get out on Friday.
2 comments:
Why do some people, and I hesitate to use the word "birder" there, find it necessary to name drop? Is is it meant to impress how they know the really important and special people on the local scene?
For those who like to keep a low profile while just laughing at their nonsense it all remains a constant source of amusement. Not to mention the chance to wind them up every now and then with a sighting which may or may not be true.
It's a mystery to me and I couldn't agree more! They must think it impresses people when really it's a source of amusement as you say!
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